Football players are constantly preached to about the importance of speed and agility at all positions in the game today. Employing certain workouts to increase in these areas can also help a player with balance, change of direction, body control and even the prevention of injuries.
Weight Sled
The weight sled uses resistance training which, over time, can improve an athlete's acceleration when used properly. This sort of resistance training helps an athlete produce the type of force to move forward at a quicker rate. The suggested weight to use is 10 percent of the individual's body weight. When you are considering whether to add more weight be sure not to over do it because bad form negates positive gains.
A weight sled can be substituted with a speed parachute. Depending on whether you are doing other strength training involving your legs, you may want to limit yourself to using the sled one to two times a week.
Dot Drill
The dot drill increases foot speed, change of direction, leg and ankle strength and body control. In addition to increasing agility it can also help protect from ACL tears by teaching proper knee bend which is necessary to achieve maximum speed results when practicing the drill. To do the dot drill you can either buy a BFS Dot Drill Mat or spray paint dots on the concrete with dimensions of 3 feet by 4 feet by 3/8 inch. The individual will proceed to do numerous speed drills on the diagram using your right foot, left foot and both feet. In the resources section, there is a link to a diagram with different exercises using the dot drill that may be beneficial to beginners. After enough training the dot drill can be utilized as much as six times a week when taking under consideration all other workouts.
Shuttle Drill
Shuttle drills help with your speed and endurance, and are also used to test agility at the amateur level and at the NFL Combine. There are numerous way to practice shuttle drills. They include short sprints, long sprints, back pedaling or lateral movement, and typically employ change of direction in some phase of the drill. One example, used at the NFL Combine, is the short shuttle. To do the short shuttle line up in a three-point stance on the five-yard line facing the sidelines. Come out of your stance toward your right in a sprint and go five yards touching the yard line, sprint 10 yards in the opposite direction again touching the yard line, and finish by sprinting five yards back to the position you started. This is one of many shuttle drill exercises you can incorporate into your workout.
Ladder Drill
You can improve foot speed, coordination, lateral movement and knee and ankle stability with the ladder drill. The goal is to do different variations of the ladder drill with an emphasis on technique, working without touching the ladder and over time seeing increased speed. Employ different exercises, which can be found in the resources section, through the course of a workout to add more variation. This drill can be accomplished by laying a ladder along the floor comprised of rope and plastic pieces for safety reasons and to allow quick footwork.
Parallel Squats
Parallel Squats are a great way to add strength in your legs which plays a crucial part in increasing speed and acceleration, but to see greater improvements in your 40 time means incorporating plyometric workouts, like the aforementioned, with squats. In the 1992 issue of the "Journal of Applied Sport Science Research," Kent Adams, John P. O'Shea, Katie L O'Shea and Mike Climstein found that subjects increased their vertical jump by gains greater than 280 percent in comparison to just doing plyometrics or squats. These results are a precursor to greater speed because the vertical jump is indicative of ones explosiveness, and explosiveness translates to speed and quickness on the football field.
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