The best athletes, however, must be both fast and quick and must train in both of these areas. The ability to stop, stabilize, change direction and re-accelerate while maintaining balance, proper posture and full muscular control is the essence of agility and the essence of the effective footwork, balance, coordination and timing that well-trained athletes make look so effortless.

Agility training as a discipline is absolutely unparalled for improving foot speed, quickness, acceleration, speed changes, deceleration, directional change and reaction time. Additionally, it enhances neuromuscular control, dynamic flexibility, functional core strength and proprioception. Beyond performance benefits, increased agility also helps to prevent injuries by improving musculoskeletal control and proper body mechanics.

Agility training drills can be easily incorporated into an athlete’s training program. For example, one of the easiest ways to begin to involve agility training is by having athletes jump rope. They should jump once per rope rotation and can begin with a two legged hop before progressing to an alternating foot hop or a boxer’s shuffle. An agility training exercise like this is a good introduction to the program and also makes for an outstanding session warm-up. Another excellent simple but challenging agility training drill requires creating a large box on the field with four cones. The athlete will sprint from the first cone to the second, perform a lateral shuffle from the second cone to the third, backpedal from the third to the fourth and perform a carioca lateral shuffle (one foot crosses in front of the other and then crosses behind) from the fourth cone to the first. Quick movement changes and pivots at each of the corners should be emphasized.

Agility ladders and/or agility rings are also an excellent way to switch up an agility training session and add some fun. An agility ladder is an especially good progression from the box drill because similar movements will be performed on the ladder but the orientation of the ladder rungs requires the athlete’s feet to land in a more exact positioning. Front hops, high knee hops, skips, double and single foot hops, lateral hops and laterally moving in front of, inside of and behind the ladder represent just a few of the options an agility ladder can offer. Agility rings, cones and other types of place markers are excellent for training athletes outside of a more linear structure. With rings and cones, diagonal movement can be incorporated into agility training drills, offering greater athletic versatility and mobility.

If at all possible, agility training drills should be created to mimic the athlete’s sport as much as possible. Sport-specific agility training only serves to further emphasize the building of correct neural pathways in the brain and gives the athlete better control of his or her body when actually in play.