Agility drills enhance speed, power, coordination, and skills related to a specific sport. They are imperative for any sportsperson, especially those playing soccer, basketball, football, and similar sports.
Visualize a soccer match about to take place. I am sure that if you have seen the pre-match coverage, you would have observed players running sideways on the sidelines, or breaking into a sprint on the pitch. They do that for warming up, and to be ready for the game. What we see there is just a trailer of how much they sweat it out. A part of their training regime includes various agility drills, which help develop agility and speed. Here are some drills.
Doting the Dots
The strength and stability of the ankles and knee is developed by dot drills. This is great for those involved in sports which require quick direction and transition landings. You could either use a dot drill mat or place 'X' marks using a tape on the ground, akin to the pattern of a 5 on a dice.
After a quick warm up, jump from dot to dot with both feet simultaneously. After doing this for a while, try hopping on one foot. If possible, follow a particular pattern of jumping.
Shuttling On
The shuttling drill is very common and inevitable for soccer, hockey, basketball, and tennis players. The coach or the players set up a source using 2 markers, which are around 25 yards apart. The players then sprint from one marker to the other, and back, which comprises a single repetition.
This adds the much-needed high intensity to an exercise program of a sportsperson. Here, the players can either run side to side, or have forward-touch-return runs, as well and some other variations of these shuttles. If you want to develop endurance and stamina, this is the best bet.
Tuck the Jumps
Tuck jumps are perfect to improve one's agility, and are commonly done as part of agility drills for football. Here, a player stands with his feet a shoulder-width apart, with the knees slightly bent. After bending the knees, the player jumps with all his power straight up, and brings his knees towards his chest in mid air.
Then, the player grasps his knees quickly with his arms, and lets go. Finally, after landing, he instantly breaks into the next jump.
Steps Towards Agility
What I am referring to here is speed, and drills using a speed ladder. Speed ladder refers to a simple portable device which is used to perform drills for agility. For starters, players run with the knees high in a forward motion through the ladder. They have to make sure that they touch the space between every step.
They land on the balls of their feet, and then drive forward with their arms. Another thing which can be done with the speed ladder is the side-to-side drill. It is effective for improving ankle and knee stability, which is required in court sports like basketball.
The player has to keep a low center of gravity, and then step side to side through the ladder, one foot at a time. Each rung of the ladder has to be touched in with both feet.
While doing these exercises, it is important to first take an overview of the qualities necessary for a particular sport. See what exercises could help you get better in your chosen sport. For instance, a soccer player needs to be quick on his feet, and should be able to change directions quickly.