Dr. Michael A. VishionClinic DirectorCenter for Performance Medicine & Rehabilitation

Speed & Agility For Football Players

Coaches & fans alike love physically powerful athletes with:

• Physical Size• Strength• Vertical and Lateral Power• Body Composition

But whether you have these or not, you can still improve your speed and agility.

More Than Natural Ability

• Speed & agility development for a specific sport are often neglected or only focused upon for a short duration of time during the preseason.

• In reality, it takes athletes weeks and sometimes months to see improvements in speed and agility.

• Speed & agility should be an important component of the annual training regimen.

3 Truths About Training For Speed & Agility

• Rate at which someone is able to move

• Rapidity of movement or action

What Is Speed?

• Stride Length - distance between back to back placements of the same foot

• Stride Frequency - rate at which you can move your legs when running

2 Components For Improving Speed

• Stride Length - power skips, running uphill, and bounding drills

• Stride Frequency - fast leg drills, resisted sprints, wall lean/toe taps, leg swings, and lateral swings

How Can I Improve?

Leading with your right leg, skip as high as you possibly can raising your right knee to hip height and simultaneously extending your right straight arm behind you. Your left leg should remain straight and your left elbow should be slightly bent at your side. Land on the ball of your left foot. Repeat the skipping motion with your opposite arm and leg.  .

Works hip flexors, glutes, quads, and calves

Power Skips

What great football player always ran uphill as part of his training regimen?

Pop Quiz

Walter Payton!!

• Bounding - magnifying the running stride by launching off your front foot/leg while driving the opposite knee forward up to waist level.

• The leg you bounded off of is kept straight as it trails behind.

• As you bound into the air, you try to achieve at least one second of “hang time” before landing as softly as you can on the ball of your foot.

• When your foot hits the ground in front of you, then the process is repeated on the other side.

Bounding Drills

• As you are performing your bounding exercise, the arm that is opposite of your lead leg should swing forward for added momentum.

• Do two 30-meter reps, then progress to 50-meter reps as you build strength and coordination.

• For a greater challenge, do the bounding exercise on a hill.

Bounding Drills

• Fast Leg Drills

• Resisted Sprints

• Wall Lean/Toe Tap

• Leg Swing

• Lateral Leg Swing

Stride Frequency Drills Overview

• Walk around a track, making every fourth step the fast leg drill.

• Lift your big toe while picking up a foot.

• Then, slide foot behind you until it reaches your hip, keeping your lower leg tight to your upper leg and hip.

• Drive your foot back to the ground using your hip.

• Concentrate on performing the Fast Leg Drill as quickly as possible.

Sets/Duration: 2-3 per leg x 10-20 yards

Fast Leg Drill

• Use a sled, parachute, bands, or a belt.

• Use enough load to create resistance, but not so much that it changes your sprint technique.

• Test your resistance load by first doing a timed 20 yards with no resistance, then do a resisted sprint for 20 yards. If your time for the resisted sprint is slower by 10% or more, then reduce the load.  

Resisted Sprints Drill

• Lean facing a wall with arms extended and palms touching the wall.

• Maintain the toe up and knee up position, tap the floor as fast as possible, and return to start position.

Sets/Duration: 15 reps each leg; 2-3 sets per leg

Wall Lean/Toe Tap Drill

• Stand tall with your feet flat on the floor and your hands by your side.

• Lift one leg up straight and swing it straight forward, then backward, in a controlled pendulum-like fashion. Return to the starting position.

• Avoid hyperextending your lower back when swinging your leg backward. Keep your core engaged to reduce the risk of injury.

Sets/Duration: 10-15 reps per leg

Forward/Back Leg Swing Drill

• Start by facing a wall. Place both of your palms on the wall, and lift your right foot slightly off the floor.

• Swing your leg across your body to the left. Then, swing your leg to the right.

• Repeat the back-and-forth motion 10 or 15 times before doing the exercise with your left leg.

Lateral Leg Swing Drill

• Agility is the ability to maintain or control body position while quickly changing direction during a series of movements.

• By enhancing balance and control of body position during movement, agility can theoretically be improved.

What Is Agility?

• Many different drills

• Among the most effective: ladder drills and cone drills

How Can You Improve Agility?

• Single-leg forward hops between ladder spaces

• Lateral jumps in/out of ladder spaces

• Horizontal jumps between ladder spaces

• Two vertical jumps in each ladder space: jump as high as possible two times in each ladder space and continue until the end

Ladder Drill

• X-Drill

• L- Drill

• Agility Shuttle

Cone Drills

• Place 4 cones 5 yard by 5 yard square box.

• Start with a square stands.

• Run across diagonally from one cone to opposite cone.

• Shuffle laterally to the opposite cone.

• Cross over back to the diagonal cone.

• Turn and sprint to the cone to the starting cone.

X-Drill

• Cones should be set up in a L shape 5 yards apart.• Start in a three point stands starting at the middle

cone (1)• Come out of your stance sprinting low for 5yards

from the middle cone (1) to the (2) cone• Then go around the (2) cone shuffling back to the

middle cone (1).• Turn and run backward from the middle cone (1)

to (3) cone.• Shuffle around the (3) cone and sprint 5 yards

toward middle cone (1).

L-Drill

• Set up 3 cone 5 yards apart for a total of 10 yards.

• Start in a three point stands starting at the middle cone (A).

• Come out of your stance with an explosive first step and drive laterally to the (B) cone.

• Touch the ground with the same hand as the direction you ran - ex. If you ran to the left, touch the ground with your left hand. (Continue to next slide)

Agility Shuttle/5-10-5 Drill

• Then sprint 10 yards to (C) cone and touch the ground.

• Turn around and sprint to the middle (A) cone.• Repeat in the other direction and do even sets

in both direction.

Agility Shuttle/5-10-5 Drill

• Agility and Speed can be improve regardless of physical attributes.

• It takes athletes weeks - and even months - to see improvements in speed and agility.

• Speed and agility should be trained as an important component of the annual training regiment.

Let's Review

• Speed can be changed by increasing stride length and stride frequency.

• Speed Training tools: power skips, running uphill, bound drills, fast leg drills, resisted sprints, wall lean/toe taps, leg swings and lateral swings.

• Agility can be improved by cone and ladder drills.

• Agility Training drills: X-Drill, L- Drill, agility shuttle (5-10-5), single-leg forward hops between ladder spaces, lateral jumps in/out of ladder spaces, horizontal jumps between ladder spaces, and two vertical jumps in each ladder space.

Let's Review

For more information, contact:

Dr. Michael VishionClinic Director

Center for Performance Medicine & Rehabilitation636-778-3028

DrVishion@GetHealthySTL.com