Football Agility Drills
By S. R. Tucker
In every sport it’s important for players to be somewhat agile. In football it’s very important for most of the players to be very agile. For this reason football players are often required to complete football agility drills in practice.
You’ve probably seen football players running through tires. You also may have seen football players running over blocks and around other obstacles. These are all football agility drills that help a player improve his balance and agility.
But there are many other drills that football players can do in practice as well. These drills are effective whether they are being used for youth football agility drills or professional football agility drills.
Part of being agile is being able to start and stop quickly. Since football is played in spurts of only a few seconds at a time, being able to explode into motion is very important.
Players can be helped with starting and stopping simply by running short sprints in practice everyday. Not only will this help them with their agility but it will also help them with their physical conditioning.
A more specific running drill that also helps with conditioning and agility are shuttle runs. Shuttle runs require a player to run a certain distance, turn and run back, and then run another longer distance. The distance keeps getting longer and each time the player must run back to the place where he began.
For example, the player has to run 10 yards, go back, run 20 yards, and then go back, then 30 yards, etc. Not only does this help improve a player’s stamina and endurance but it also helps the player learn to take-off and explode into action.
Another one of the great football agility drill involves working one-on-one with a player. So it can’t be done with the team as a whole during practice. For this drill all you need is a step and a weighted ball. You may want to use a football instead of a weighted ball, that’s good too.
First, have the player step-up onto the step and balance himself on just one leg. Then have him slowly return back to the ground. He should do 2 sets of 20 step-ups for each leg. His movements should be slow and deliberate and his body should be under control at all times.
Once the player has mastered stepping-up, begin throwing him a weighted ball while he is standing on the step (with one leg). The player should catch the ball and then throw it back without losing his balance. This should be done in 2 sets of 20. Remember, you can also use a football for this drill instead of a weighted ball.
Having solid agility is a must for football players. That’s why it’s important for football players to perform football agility drills in practice. These drills should help the players improve their ability to burst into action, keep their balance, and change directions. All of these abilities are needed on the football field for just about every play.
Coach Tucker is a life-long student of football. He has coached throughout the US and spoken at over 100 camps and clinics. You can discover more of Steve's free football agility drills here.
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