Band Skate Jumps are a great exercise to incorporate into any training protocol. Specifically for baseball and softball, lateral explosive movements are integrated into almost every play on a field. The horizontal drive you see with pitchers is closely related to the skate jump. An infielders first step or stealing a base mimics this movement!
When performing this exercise, make sure the shoulders are over the toes and the hips are flexed. Lateral direction of force is the goal so focus on the initial explosion from the leg closest to the rack and see how far you can jump out without losing balance on the leg you land on. On the way back towards the rack, there is a deceleration component and eccentric contraction on the leg musculature that started the initial skate jump. It’s important that you have good body angles such as shin angles and trunk angles. Understand where your center of gravity (COG) is throughout the motion. The angles and your center of gravity position will result in faster or slower movements. Pay attention to them! Don’t forget to resist the motion when you land. Don’t let the band pull you into the rack!
We usually do sets of 3-4 of 4-8 reps on each side.
Progression:
1. Body Weight Skate jumps
2. Weighted Skate Jumps using plate or weighted vest
3. Band Skate Jumps
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