since we are all agreed (if you dont agree, why not?!)that “training for speed” is the best journal/program for speed enhancement.
however i have yet to be convinced of a best way to increase your agility and quickness. i have a few ideas that ive gathered that i believe are sound but i never see good info on proper progression when it comes to agility.
who out there has a system/journal/book/video that they feel is hands down the best?
Your question raises the whole issue of “Sport Specific” training. This buzzword has been with us for the last few years without much of a challenge. BUT:
1: Why must agility be trained away from the sport itself? If you need to be that specific, then why not just play the sport all the time and eliminate any preparatory work?
2: Since much of the prep work is (or should be) aimed at improving elasticity and core strength/stability, how can this NOT have a major impact on agility, even without specific agility drills?
3: Many athletes (tennis players in particular) suffer from repetitive stress/injury problems due to the sheer volume of change-of-direction work they must undertake in their skill acquisition training (games, volley, return-of-serve etc.) . “Sport Specific” drills replicate the direction change demands- ONLY WITHOUT THE SKILL ACQUISITION! How will INCREASING the volume of this type of work help anything? (Back to Q2!)
nope…Bryan Tobias is great, yet he trains people all day. I hope that we will get together in Tampa and create a video. Some limits in agility, some drills are great, but pickup games of reaction ball and hoops can do it without all the gizmos.
Following from Charlie’s comments above…
I have found that I have received the best results from focusing on strength in the weightroom, speed and elasticity on the track (linear sprinting and jumping) and flexibility and recovery work - not so called “sport specific” training. All of these qualities above will significantly enhance “agility”.
One coach recently made the comment to one of the basketball athletes I have been working with - “You are now catching the ball in the post much better since you’ve been working in the weightroom!” Does lifting weights lead to better hands? Perhaps, but the coach also noted that because the athlete is stronger and can get better position and hold off the defender, her ability to receive the ball in the post has been greatly improved.
Athletes who I have simply worked out as would track sprinters are commenting at how they have improved reaction time, linear speed, direction change, coordination, and more. Anecdotally, athletes who I know have gone towards the “agility” type of training are getting more connective tissue problems. Much of the so called “agility” work is also turned into endurance (or at least special endurance) work and is not applicable to their game anyways.
Originally posted by Charlie Francis
1: Why must agility be trained away from the sport itself? If you need to be that specific, then why not just play the sport all the time and eliminate any preparatory work?
Because in a football game, a running back may get 20 carries. So in a season, a back may get 200-300 chances to practice their skills. Out of those, they might only get a handful of opportunities to break down a guy 1:1. This is not enough reps for any significant learning or improvment to occur for that skill (or movement pattern.) That is why duplicating and practicing these movement patterns outside of a game is important.
You may say: “Well, if you only do it a few times a season, then why train it…how important can it be?” The answer of course is that if that guy I have to break down is the last guy between me and the goal line, it is quite important.
That said, I agree that you have to get the foundation set first and that strength levels (eccentric, elastic and core) are very important. Improving these, in and of themselves, will improve agility, but in-graining the proper movement patterns to make use of this strength is also important.
Originally posted by NumberTwo
[b]Following from Charlie’s comments above…I have found that I have received the best results from focusing on strength in the weightroom, speed and elasticity on the track (linear sprinting and jumping) and flexibility and recovery work - not so called “sport specific” training. All of these qualities above will significantly enhance “agility”.[/b]
I have found that many athletes on my football team are faster than their agility. That is, they cannot control the speed they have and take too much time, too many steps and too much distance to come under control and stop, even when only running at 75% of their max speed. The strength gained from sprinting and in the weightroom can help here, but they also need to learn how to apply it.
One coach recently made the comment to one of the basketball athletes I have been working with - “You are now catching the ball in the post much better since you’ve been working in the weightroom!” Does lifting weights lead to better hands? Perhaps, but the coach also noted that because the athlete is stronger and can get better position and hold off the defender, her ability to receive the ball in the post has been greatly improved.
I noticed this when catching the ball playing football as well. The extra strength gives you a greater ability to hold your position and focus on the ball while being jostled and hit while trying to make a catch.
I have found that many athletes on my football team are faster than their agility. That is, they cannot control the speed they have and take too much time, too many steps and too much distance to come under control and stop, even when only running at 75% of their max speed. The strength gained from sprinting and in the weightroom can help here, but they also need to learn how to apply it.
you got it…
If the athlete has proper playing technique then improving the “engine” as Richard Tomlin refers to improving strength and speed in a general sense is the way to go. Most athletes that make in their sport have a foundation of good cutting mechanics, hence why they are in the league. Yet not all NBA athletes and football athletes are blessed with multi directional technique.
I played a game of hoops against a group of NFL athletes that (who thougtht they would poop popouri) and they got rocked by my team of college age reject athletes that were good in HS, but couldn’t make a NCAA Div I team unless it was in a “feel good movie of the year” situation. Why? Because they were not familar with some movements although they played and practiced football since pee wee. Just like we teach starts there are different needs that can be worked on to help if you have game film. This is not fun though. getting game requires that the video guy go through all of the tape from games 1-16, for hoops and baseball you better send a gift certificate for the best steak house for him and his wife. After you look at the tape you must again analyzet the play…was he out of position cause he was at Mons Venus strip club instead of reading his playbook? Lot’s of variables! After that what is the problem…coordination…or conditioning/mobility/power?
Some work on agility is usefull, but for 5-10% of the cases their shouldn’t be all of the sports specific drills and functional exercises to mimic the movements. I use Bryan Tobias’s progression on reaction ball from teaching the kids how to play their sport. Good hips and drills can be learned without adding too much volume, but it must be done during the off season…last minute patch work during the season smells like tendon trouble!
The example of game carries doesn’t hold up, as players practice their routes thousands of times outside of games in the team setting. While the fundamentals must be perfected, but once in place, there is the issue of training in general and the means for advancing abilities. Football is perhaps the poorest example of the problem because of the shorter season and lesser number of games, but think of tennis and basketball (NBA).
Perhaps it is simply an issue of semantics then. I wasn’t classifying “running routes” as equivalent to “playing the sport.”
However, I do agree that as the level of the athlete increases, there is less need for the foundational (or perhaps remedial) work in movement pattern training. But I do think that there is a place for this type of training even at the higher levels, but most especially in GPP. After all, in sprinting, we do A’s and B’s (arguably movement pattern/remedial work) even at the highest levels where technical competence is already ingrained.
I’m not suggesting that these elements should be left out entirely. I’m saying that they shouldn’t be the foundation of the training.
Originally posted by Charlie Francis
I’m not suggesting that these elements should be left out entirely. I’m saying that they shouldn’t be the foundation of the training.
I agree entirely, as many so called conditioning experts are basing their whole philosophy of training on Speed, Agility and Quickness drills (SAQ) ad nauseum. If someone asks me where my ‘agility ladder’ is one more time, I’m going to lose it!
Originally posted by NumberTwo
If someone asks me where my ‘agility ladder’ is one more time, I’m going to lose it!
No. 2, tell 'em its in your silk stockings just near the suspender belt and offer to show them 
Originally posted by Clemson
[b]
Some work on agility is usefull, but for 5-10% of the cases their shouldn’t be all of the sports specific drills and functional exercises to mimic the movements. I use Bryan Tobias’s progression on reaction ball from teaching the kids how to play their sport. Good hips and drills can be learned without adding too much volume, but it must be done during the off season…last minute patch work during the season smells like tendon trouble!
Could you specify regarding the drills.
I know this is an old thread but i wanted to ask of what specific agility drills would be done in the case where you WOULD use them?
LOL! I read this thread a few times an yeah it made me laugh. Number two I can so relate with someone asking me about the agility ladder. I told them I sold mine to 1 year old niece so she can use it as a ladder to climb out of her crib. Charlie I couldnt agree with you more. I train my guys as athletes, not quote on quote sport-specific. The main theme I was taught was does it transfer to the playing field, court, etc? Then lets do it. Nice info xlr8. The biggest problem I notice about athletes I get is the lack of kinesthetic awareness they have. I teach that to them then they just move so much easier and seem to handle other things so much better
What do You do to teach them this?
Go into many a gym and they get you standing on a swiss ball or bosu to teach you…
Not quite. I’m not from the Rich Rodriguez school of stupidity. I should have clarified myself. I teach them how to jump, land, and run properly. Thats what I meant to say.
Your not asking for the methodoligy are you
I’ve followed Charlie’s recommendations.
We sprint 2 sessions a week, and do some change of direction work once, but this is limited to a few shuttles for those who will test, but mostly some type of tag and med ball throws and short accels with throws.
Tag creates an open environment of random practice, similar to game situations (for most sports).
My guys have been some of the most agile at their camps, yet people are surprised to hear we rarely do any change of direction work.
I’ve found the agility tests do involve some change of direction, but acceleration ability is more important. Case in point, one of my best athletes came in running a 4.2 pro shuttle on my watch. After 2 years, he left to college running high 3.8’s, and tested at his school in the low 3.8s.
oh ok - cool 