Speed And Agility Drills For Football

Agility and speed are separate, but related, athletic skills. Football players need to be able to accelerate quickly and change direction quickly, all while maintaining balance and applying force against the ground to generate power. Practicing sport-specific speed and agility drills can help athletes develop the skills they need to play well and reduce their risk of injury on the playing field.

Significance

Speed is an athlete’s ability to move as fast as possible in one direction, according to the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Agility is the ability to change direction, or start and stop quickly. Speed and quickness aren’t interchangeable terms; quickness refers to an athlete’s ability to react with speed. Football players must move with proper body mechanics before they can speed or agility train through progressive football-specific drills.

Speed Drills

Speed drills are straightforward since pure speed training is about moving as fast as possible in one direction. Players can run simple acceleration drills, going from one end zone to the other as fast as they can. An alternate version of the drill has players accelerating from one end zone into an all-out sprint by the 50 yard line, with the intention of maintaining the sprint to the other end zone. “High knee” running is another way to develop speed; players focus on pushing against the ground with each step while maintaining lightness in their bodies as they move forward.

Agility Drills

On a technical level, athletes with agility skills can properly apply force through movement while preventing their bodies’ absorption of that movement. This ability translates to quick directional changes on the football field. Using a piece of fitness equipment called the ladder--which is much like a ladder laid on the ground--is one way to develop agility as well as coordination. Players practice the “in-out” drill by stepping the left foot into the first square, then the right, followed by stepping the left foot to the left of the second box, and the right foot to the right, and so forth.

Incorporation

Both speed and agility drills are intense and should usually be performed in different training sessions. Either type of training may comprise approximately 15 to 20 minutes of a longer workout. To develop speed, players must train at top speeds, or give 100 percent of their effort. Adequate recovery between sprint drills is important; without it, the subsequent effort is of lesser quality and players are more prone to injury. Likewise, agility drills require full effort and full concentration. The drills are best performed at the start of a workout, when players’ bodies aren’t yet fatigued.

Considerations

As players improve their speed and agility skills, they can begin to practice their drills at the end of longer training sessions, when they’re likely to be fatigued. These conditions help simulate the final quarter or minutes of a game and allow for improvement under stress. Recovery is key to preventing injury, however, and allows players to adapt to the training without entering a phase of diminishing returns.