Hops: combo multidirectional
Category: Agility
Level: 3
8-12 reps each leg
Carla van den Berg
- Soft bend at knees and hips
- Knees stacked over ankle
- Absorb each landing from the ball of the foot to the heel
- Arm opposite to the standing leg should be in front, acting as a counter-balance
- When hopping up and down onto same leg, swing arms from the shoulder to switch their initial position at peak of the jump, then swing arms again beck to initial position for landing
- Variations include
- Continuous hops
- Controlled landings
- Progressing height or distance
- Side-to-side while moving forward or backward along a line
- Forward and backward while moving sideways along a line
- Knee collapsing inward at plant and cute movement
- Cue "Drive knee out towards pinky toe"
- Cue “Squeeze glutes”
- Straight, locked knee
- Cue “Soft knee bend”
- Cue “Sit back slightly”
- Not fully absorbing landing back to heels
- Cue “Land softly and quietly”
- Counter-balancing with arm from same side as standing leg
- Cue “Arm position should switch twice between takeoff to landing; ‘Swish-swish’”
- Quick, continuous hops help develop ankle stability
- Quick, continuous hops are recommended for this rugby program, as many exercises already focus on knee control
- Slow, controlled landings help develop knee control
- Reinforces soft landing technique
- Develops arm/leg coordination