Before we talk about the best drills out there for agility, let’s look at what agility actually is. Essentially, agility refers to whole-body movement with a change in direction of velocity as a response to some sort of stimulus. The problem with most agility drills is that they are pre-planned. It doesn’t offer you the same effect that you’ll find on the field facing an opponent. While drills with soccer agility poles and ladders can be a great way to work on agility, there are a few others that should be implemented.
Partner Ball Tag
This drill involves 11 players, two of which are taggers. A grid that is 20 yards by 20 yards is set up and a soccer ball is placed. The nine players who are not taggers are tasked with avoiding the taggers. The taggers themselves hold the ball and may toss it back and forth between each other. Each of the other nine players work to avoid being tagged. The drill continues until only two taggers and one other player are left. The final of nine players wins.
Driving Test
For this drill, there’s no need for soccer agility poles, but you will need markers or cones. The coach gives commands which the players must then respond to. These commands might include switching direction, moving faster, slowing down, and more. You can use the same grid as the first drill. However, each player will have a ball and only six will be in a grid. The coach randomly calls out commands for a short period of time.
Modified Cone Drill
You may be familiar with the four-cone drill which involves pre-planned movements. In the modified version, the movements are no longer planned. The coach will call out commands for each player to follow before one-touching the ball back to the coach. This drill needs a grid of only five yards by five yards and each player takes a turn. Some of the potential commands include backpedal, left-side shuffle, spring forward, and right-side shuffle.
Some of these methods might be new to you and you may be unsure how much good they will do. We encourage you to give it a try and see what results come about. If you need some gear to properly carry out these drills, we have everything you could want. Visit us at website.
