I had a youth sports coach recently ask me to put some agility drills together that he can implement for his team during practice. I told him it is quite simple to put drills together, even if the only equipment you have access to is a set of cones.
Closed Drills – Predetermined Patterns
- Make different shapes with your set of cones
o Box, diamond, zig zag patterns, etc. - Determine the movement pattern you want your athletes to perform between each set of cones
o Sprints, backpedal, carioca, shuffles, crossovers, etc. - The possibilities are endless – Be Creative
Open Drills – Reaction Drills
- These drills may be more effective because sport is random and movement patterns are not preplanned during a game or match.
- Two athletes can complete against each other in mirror drills
o Example: Box mirror drill – One athlete is the leader who runs/shuffles/backpedals/etc. from cone to cone while their competitor needs to mimic the same movement patterns. - A group of athletes can compete against each other with open line drills
o The athletes start at one cone, when the whistle is blown the athletes first sprint. On the second whistle they backpedal, this continues until the athletes finish through the second cone. The coach can incorporate lateral movements as well as linear movements for these drills.
Be creative and make sure the workouts have progressions built in. The progression can include adding movements that are more advanced or can be the addition of more drills and repetitions.
Train Hard-Train Smart
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