@EamonnFlanagan: Plyometric Coaching Checklist:...

Plyometric Coaching Checklist: From Head to Foot

📋 The head
📋 Torso & pelvis
📋 Knee position
📋 Ankle & foot (before ground contact)
📋 Foot (at ground contact)
📋 CoM over foot (in mid stance)

The Head 🧠

The head can weigh ~5kg and sits at the distal end of the body. Even subtle deviations affect downstream posture.

✅ Keep the head neutral
✅ Relax neck/shoulders
🚫 Don't develop momentum from the head & neck

Torso & Pelvis

A controlled pelvis is key. Watch for excessive lordosis and rib cage “flaring.” The pelvis and rib cage should be connected.

✅ Rib cage & pelvis connection
✅ Pelvis within "neutral" range
🚫 Avoid "penduluming" pelvis
🚫 No “disconnected” upper/lower body

This becomes more challenging in horizontal, unilateral tasks such as bounding.

Knee Position

At the apex of bounds or hops, keep the knees lower than the hips. This:

✅ Avoid excessive hip flexion
✅ Stops pelvis from penduluming
✅ Decreases impact forces at foot strike

Ankle & Foot (before ground contact)

Pre-activation is key

✅ Dorsiflex the ankle pre-contact
✅ Develop stiffness through pretension
✅ Flatter foot contact on unilateral / horizontal plyometrics
🚫 Don’t strike the ground overly plantarflexed

Foot at ground contact

Think “attack the ground

✅ Aim for a full foot or near-full foot contact
✅ Maximize surface area for force transmission
🚫 No excessive landing on the balls of the feet

Knee-Hip-Shoulder-CoM "stacked"

At peak compression, the center of mass should be stacked over the foot.

✅ Compact, upright posture
✅ Stiff and strong
✅ Ready to rebound

This is the key position to leverage amortisation in the stretch shortening cycle. Don’t let it collapse.

This thread is a quick overview of the coaching info that we cover in "Plyometrics: The science & practice of reactive strength development", the 3-hour course on Sportsmith

See here for more:

sportsmith.co/courses/plyome…