Speed, as simply defined as possible, is the rate of movement. When most people think of training for speed, they imagine that it involves simply teaching their limbs to move through the same movements at a faster rate. And while this is a factor, it’s true, speed and effectiveness cannot be viewed in a vacuum. Among other things, the ability to start quickly, that is, to initiate a movement, affects speed.

Agility comes down to being able to move well and effectively in a variety of directions and change these directions quickly without loosing balance, fluidity of movement or focus. There is a precision and grace to agility that makes it instantly recognizable in any athlete’s skill set.

Quickness is the measured time between the introduction of a stimulus and the athlete’s reaction to this stimulus. Quickness is different from speed in that speed is the measurement of the rate of movement from the beginning to the end of the movement while quickness, in simple terms, measures response time. For one example, you can think of quickness as the interval of time between a runner hearing the starter pistol’s shot and the runner initiating his or her run.

Training for speed, agility and quickness is often grouped together because it is generally inefficient to attempt to train an athlete for one element without training for the others. In the sport of basketball, for example, the player must possess speed to sprint from one end of the court to the next. He must possess agility to pivot and pass the ball or shoot and he must be endowed with quickness to be able to initiate these or other movements with the minimum delay.

Creating a program to train for speed, agility and quickness, therefore, must be a foremost concern for any coach or athlete. Ideally, an athlete should begin speed, agility and quickness training as soon as possible and develop these skills concurrently with the specific sport’s skill set. In fact, even very young athletes, down to school age children, should be exposed to some form of training for speed, agility and quickness (though intensity should not be high and their developing physiques should be taken into consideration.)

Many coaches and athletes will find that training for speed, agility and quickness is often the favorite part of training programs. Drills tend to be unusual and much more game-like then standard sport-specific training. Training for speed, agility and quickness through diversionary drills and exercises are excellent ways to infuse fun into standard trainings while training each athlete’s mind and body to activate in ways that will exponentially and critically improve his or her performance.