What is a sensible starting dose for the Skater Bound to Stick?

Start with 2 sets of 4 to 5 sticks per side, resting between reps so each landing gets a genuine stuck hold rather than a rushed one. You should already own a controlled single-leg landing and a basic lateral bound before adding the stick, since holding still afterward is the harder half of this drill.

How do you make the Skater Bound to Stick easier or harder?

To regress it, shrink the lateral distance so the landing is easier to control, or skip the hold at first and just work the bound and land. To progress it, increase the distance, close your eyes briefly after sticking the landing, or add a light external load once every rep looks clean.

What is the Skater Bound to Stick good for?

It builds the single-leg deceleration and hip control that safe cutting and landing depend on, which makes it valuable for field and court athletes and for return-to-sport work after a lower-body injury. It is not the right choice while balance or landing mechanics are still shaky on a single leg, since the lateral travel adds a demand that a weak single-leg base cannot absorb safely.

Advanced

Skater Bound to Stick

This drill takes the crossover skater push and adds a deliberate stuck landing: you bound sideways, land on one leg, and hold it still for a beat before the next rep. The pause forces the glutes and the outside of the hip to decelerate and stabilize the whole body, which is exactly what safe cutting and landing require. Because of the hold, it doubles as a single-leg balance challenge.

Equipment: Body Weight
Body part: Glutes, Quads
Type: Balance, Plyometric
Browse by muscle: Gluteus Maximus, Gluteus Medius, Vastus Lateralis
Browse by movement: Gait Drill, Lunge

How to do it

1
Stand on one leg with a slight hip and knee bend, the other foot swept behind.
2
Push explosively off the standing leg and bound laterally to the opposite foot.
3
Land on the ball of that foot with a soft knee, letting the hip sit back to absorb.
4
Stick the landing and hold a stable single-leg position for a couple of seconds.
5
Once balanced and quiet, bound back to the other side and stick again.
6
Repeat for the prescribed reps, keeping every landing controlled.

Tips

Hold each landing until it is truly still before pushing off again.
Keep the landing knee tracking over the toes and the hip level, not dropped.
Reach the free leg and arms across for balance the way a speed skater does.

Variations

Common mistakes

The bound travels more forward than sideways, drifting off the lateral line the crossover push is supposed to travel.
The trailing foot never fully sweeps behind on the setup, so the push-off starts from a square stance instead of the loaded, offset position the drill calls for.
Once fatigue builds, the arm reach collapses to the sides instead of crossing the body, and the stick position starts to wobble noticeably longer before it settles.
Rushing straight into the next bound without resetting a stable base first turns the drill into continuous skating instead of the stop-and-hold pattern that builds control.
The push-off leg only partially extends the hip and knee instead of driving explosively, so the bound covers less distance than the setup implies.

Frequently asked

What is a sensible starting dose for the Skater Bound to Stick?: Start with 2 sets of 4 to 5 sticks per side, resting between reps so each landing gets a genuine stuck hold rather than a rushed one. You should already own a controlled single-leg landing and a basic lateral bound before adding the stick, since holding still afterward is the harder half of this drill.
How do you make the Skater Bound to Stick easier or harder?: To regress it, shrink the lateral distance so the landing is easier to control, or skip the hold at first and just work the bound and land. To progress it, increase the distance, close your eyes briefly after sticking the landing, or add a light external load once every rep looks clean.
What is the Skater Bound to Stick good for?: It builds the single-leg deceleration and hip control that safe cutting and landing depend on, which makes it valuable for field and court athletes and for return-to-sport work after a lower-body injury. It is not the right choice while balance or landing mechanics are still shaky on a single leg, since the lateral travel adds a demand that a weak single-leg base cannot absorb safely.

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