All The Basics of Agility and Quickness Training
Your athlete needs to be quicker, shiftier, and improve their agility. For their sport, they need be able to stop on a dime and fake the opponent out of their shoes. But that natural ability to move perfectly around the field like Barry Sanders or Tyreek Hill just hasn’t shown up yet. We know where to start.
Agility and quickness can be neatly summarized as Multi-directional speed, or MDS for short. MDS is really boiled down to the ability to decelerate and move in any direction as quickly as possible. It is also the ability to stop and change direction without losing speed or balance.
These are the main drill progressions we teach at a beginning and intermediate level to athletes in our MDS classes. All of these drills can be practiced at home in a relatively small space. If your athlete can learn these technical drills, then apply them to their movement on the field, they will raise their game to the next level. Watch all parts of these videos and remember practice makes perfect!
Multi-Directional Speed Drills
Deceleration & Re-acceleration
The ability to decelerate is a game changer for your safety as an athlete and for your ability to change direction quickly. It’s an often overlooked part of sports: when an athlete hasn’t practiced this, it can lead to a higher risk of injury.
Practicing deceleration is one of the first points we teach to all our athletes. The ability to quickly reaccelerate after deceleration is what makes you “shifty” and agile on the field.
Inside-leg Speed Skaters
When moving laterally, you must be able to change direction quickly without losing speed or balance. That’s where the speed skater progressions come in.
Athletes should have a wide base on support with their feet, a low center of gravity, a straight and strong back, and their weight on their inside foot when changing direction in these drills. These 4 rules will help your athlete understand proper positioning for agility and quickness.
Outside-leg Speed Skaters
Sometimes an athlete has to “shift” quickly around defenders or through the offensive line. That’s where understanding how to change direction on their outside leg is important. They will need to be able to stay low and push off their outside leg (the leg that’s not on the side they intend to go) quickly and with intent.
Glute strength helps a lot here, but an athlete should be able to stabilize in this position and push off in any direction. See the full progression in the video and slowly work your way up to mastering control of these movements. Eventually, you’ll want to be able to do this quickly while maintaining balance.
Hip Turn and Quarter Eagles
Being quick and “shifty” isn’t just about your feet. It’s also about the ability to move your hips in a fast and efficient way. Athletes should be able to “snap” their hips quickly: it’s something that helps your athleticism and movement ability from a young age all the way to the pros.
Practice your ability to react with the ability to stay low while turning your hips. This is important in any sport. Then, understand how to move out of that position.
Watch these videos, then watch them again and again. Practice along while you watch, and your athlete will be guaranteed to improve in the quickness and agility department. They’ll become a whole new athlete!
If you think our coaches can help your athlete improve on their speed, agility and quickness, reach out to us here!
