Warm-Up, 2 of 9. Straight from the Hockey IQ book appendix.
From the locker room: We do the stations before games in the lot with three of us on a timer. The lateral hops feel dumb for about a week and then you notice your first crossover is already there.
When: Team warm-up in the parking lot or a hallway. Works great with two or three players rotating.
What you need: Your hockey bag and a timer (your phone).
3 stations, 45 sec on / 15 sec transition, 2 rounds:
- Station 1: Front Carry Marches (knees up, bag hugged)
- Station 2: Bag Clean to Shoulder (alternate sides)
- Station 3: Lateral Hop Overs (scale to stepping over the bag side to side)
Focus:
- Clean = hips first, no curling with the arms
- March tall, no leaning back
Why it works: The marches load one leg at a time, like skating. The clean teaches you to drive with your hips, the same power move as a stride. The lateral hops are the crossover pattern. Two rounds is six minutes.
Scale it: Hop overs too much on a game day? Step over the bag instead. Bag too heavy for cleans? Clean it to your chest instead of your shoulder.
Every warm-up and stretch routine here is in the back of the Hockey IQ book, with the full 9-week hockey-bag program. Back to Warm-Up.
FIND. A. WAY.
