The Importance of Agility Training and Youth

Recently I have had the opportunity of the last month and a half to train a plethora of youth during the speed programs that I am operating both male and female ranging from ages 5 years to 15 years of age.

Today we're going to talk about the importance of agility training in speed programs for youth athletes.

'Agility' is defined as quality of being agile; the power of moving the limbs quickly and easily; nimbleness; activity; quickness of motion; as, strength and agility of body. Agility is one of those words that when asked, has a lot of different responses to what it is. When people talk about agility, most often they are talking about an athlete's ability to make cuts and change directions quickly. In my opinion, the primary components to improved agility are through the development of BALANCE, COORDINATION, and TIMING WITH RHYTHM.

What is balance? Balance is the ability to maintain equilibrium when stationary or moving (i.e. not to fall over) through the coordinated actions of our sensory functions (eyes, ears and the proprioceptive organs in our joints). There are two different types or categories of balance:
1. Static Balance - ability to retain the centre of mass above the base of support in a stationary position
2. Dynamic Balance - ability to maintain balance under changing conditions of body movement. Dynamic balance is what most of the parents and athletes that are reading this article are interested in with their speed training.

Agility rhythm is the coordination of balance and body control. Every agility drill and exercise has its own timing and rhythm. Timing and rhythm helps develop what is needed in improving special athletic skills. Sports specific training with athletic gain requires that agility of the movement be practiced to make the movement of the exercise be as close as possible to the actual sport's movement.

Before you introduce any complicated drills that have athletes going in multiple directions over the course of a time period, one must take a step back and address the athletes' level of coordination, balance, and rhythmical patterns.

In my experience, even the best athletes have problems in these areas.

The thing about agility is this:

The earlier this issue is addressed, the better the long-term results. If your athletes don't begin developing their balance, coordination, and rhythm until their mid-teens, they will be limited in the amount of development they can make.

That's why I train kids as early as possible, preferably before pre adolescence.
I'm not saying a 18 year old senior can't improve their agility to a significant degree, but then if they had started when they were 5, they'd be much better off. See the video!



Just something to think about for those coaches who work with youth at an early age.

OK, here is what to do...

STEP 1: Improve balance, rhythm, and coordination

My favorite way to both expose an athlete's lack of balance and coordination and also develop it is through the use of an agility ladder.

You can do an infinite number of drills that focus on single leg movement, double leg, linear, lateral, backward movement, change of direction - The list goes on and on.

All of these movements are sport specific because it trains their body to imitate the movements that they will go through during their competition.

As we get those down, we implement the traditional cone drills that allow for more instruction on movement patterns that are more applicable to game situations.

I always preach to my athletes that technique comes before speed when doing any agility ladder drill. The emphasis should not be placed solely on how fast someone completes the drill, but if their technique is sound and they are able to perform the skill correctly.

Transfer of sport

As stated earlier in this article, I use agility work with all my athletes no matter what type of sport they participate in field or court. Transfer of the timing and rhythm is necessary for improvement. The separation of the good athlete from the great athlete lies in developing the creative characteristics of timing and rhythms in agility. Each sport and each athlete of that sport has a synchronized timing and rhythm which defines their relationship to each other. The more specific the agility drill is to the actual sport's task, the more benefit will come from the drill and exercise. From the practice field, court, mat, or diamond, the physical and mental rehearsal is the trigger to accomplishing the most difficult movements.

Repetition of the Agility Drills

By practicing repetition of agility drills and exercises, the athlete is better able to:
• Limit wasted motion;
• Limit wasted movement;
• Develop a natural flow and athletic grace;
• Become more competent in agility of speed and strength;
• Become more efficient in movement - eliminate incorrect arm action, etc.

RAQ-Reaction, AGility, Quickness Speed Training in Charlotte, NC