Speed and Agility Drills

A lot of sports demand speed and agility from their players. Games like soccer and basketball are not for couch potatoes! And to complement the effort you put in and your talents, you need to work on your speed and agility which will help you improve your game.

Drills for Sports

Like I said, speed and agility can often be the cornerstones of a player's performance. If he already is a good player, it can add a whole new dimension to his game. For example, in soccer, you may be, technically, a very good passer or a finisher, but if you can step up the speed of your game, wouldn't it be an added advantage?

Straight Sprints
Sprints are undoubtedly the best way to improve your speed and agility. Between your warm up and game practice, make sure you do a few repetitions of sprints. Sprints are generally short 25 yard runs where you have to focus on running as fast as possible rather than as long as you can. Sprints help you improve your running technique and make you a faster runner overall, as they help you reflect on how you can run faster.

All you need for this simple exercise is a couple of markers, set at a small distance apart and run. 5, to-and-fro sprints can be one of the simplest and best drills.

Cone Sprints
Now this may not necessarily be the correct term for this type of sprint, but it does involve sprinting and the use of cones! The cones maybe placed in a 'Z' formation or in a zigzag formation. Now you're supposed to run from one cone to the other, from the start to the end. While straight sprints only involve running straight, cone sprints help improve your speed while turning. Cone sprints help you change direction faster and also teach you how to turn with as less energy.

Ladder Drill
The ladder drill is one of the simplest agility drills for kids. Simple to implement, the ladder drill has a ladder laid down on the ground while the players run putting their feet through it. Ladder drill is a good speed and agility drill and helps improve coordination and speed of leg movement. It is one of the best speed drills for baseball and other sports.

Stop and Go
This one helps you improve your 'pick-up'. Suppose in soccer, you come across a defender. You'll have to halt your run, make a sideways move or a dribble and then shoot off again. So you need to be able to stop for a second and start the next speedy run quickly enough.

This is where the stop-start drills come in. While you can do this drill in figure of 8s, 'Z' formations or in a straight run, the point to keep in mind here, is to quickly increase your speed after you stop. So divide your track into high speed and low speed sections. Sprint hard in the high speed section, then slow down and then sprint hard again. This is one of the best drills for football.

One thing to always remember when you do these drills is to warm up well. Speed and agility drills demand a lot of explosive motion, which cannot be 'cold-started'. If tried, it may lead to injuries. Hence, before doing these them, warm up well.