1 legged lateral hops for better performance

Single legged lateral hopping drills are great for helping an athlete to increase:

• balance and stability
• ankle and leg strength
• coordination

They are also useful for an athletes agility, training the action of "planting" on one foot with each hop. Most single legged drills are performed moving forwards and backwards, but the forgotten direction is moving laterally.

Hopping laterally on one foot adds another dimension to one legged training, since many athletic actions are performed multi-directional---playing forwards, backwards, sideways, with constant changes of direction. Training to move on one foot laterally also helps to increase an athletes ability to change direction quicker, wasting no movement as they explode from one place to another.

Here are some tips in incorporating one foot lateral hops into your training:

1. focus on landing on your "power pads" (forefoot), not flat footed
2. bounce softly off the ankle, pushing sideways upon each ground landing
3. keep knee slightly bent so it acts as a shock absorber
4. keeps hips, knees and shoulders square, with head on a swivel
5. arms must stay relaxed with arms slightly bent (no arm swimming!)
6. set a distance of about 5-10yards
7. move in both directions (to the left and right) with each foot

Check out the above video, and add the single legged lateral hops to your routine, and watch it pay off!