Speed and Agility Training in Football
Written By: Gridiron Elite Training
Speed and Agility Training in Football
Written By: Gridiron Elite Training
Speed and agility are two of the most important attributes that football players must have. It enables players to be faster, move quicker, and react better in the field.
Speed and agility training in football is essential to improve these two attributes. Agility training drills are the most effective way to develop these skills. In this blog, we will discuss everything about speed and agility training in football, including the benefits, types of drills, and how to incorporate them into your speed and agility training program.
Benefits of Speed and Agility Training in Football
There are many benefits to speed and agility training in football. It helps players to be faster, more reactive, and more agile on the field. Faster players have a significant advantage in the game, as they can move quickly to the ball and outrun their opponents.
Agility, on the other hand, enables players to change direction quickly, making them harder to tackle.
Speed and agility training also reduce the risk of injury on the field. Players who are agile and fast are less likely to get tackled or collide with other players, reducing the risk of injuries such as sprains and fractures.
If you are looking for more exercises for speed and agility to incorporate into your speed and agility training, you can access our free speed and agility workout series here.
Speed And Agility Training Drills For Football
There are various types of agility training drills that football players can perform to improve their skills. Here are some of the most effective ones below.
Agility Training Drills For Your Next Agility Workout
T Drill
The “T Drill” is one of the top football exercises for speed and agility. This football drill requires four cones, with complete direction changes.
Perform four sets (2 in each direction x 4 cones spaced 5 yards apart).
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Run Shuffle Run
In football, the ability to transition in and out of a lateral shuffle is crucial. The “Run Shuffle Run” football drill works great on reaction and quick speed change by quickly getting out of the run shuffle run position.
Perform four sets x 20 yards (2 in each direction x 4 cones spaced 5 yards apart).
Watch a video demonstration of the Run Shuffle Run Agility Drill below.
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Single Leg Speed Line Jumps
Done quickly, the “Single Leg Speed Line Jumps” is an excellent foot speed drill to increase foot speed, agility, and coordination, and is an excellent drill for football players to improve footwork.
Perform 4 x 10 seconds (2 sets for each leg).
Watch a video demonstration of the Single Leg Speed Line Jumps Agility Drill below.
Flying 40s
This speed training drill is excellent for unlocking and maintaining your maximum speed.
Place a cone at the start, 20-yard, 40-yard, and 60-yard mark. Sprint hard to the first cone and maintain speed until you hit the 40-yard cone, then slowly decelerate for the next 20 yards coming to a complete stop.
When done correctly, the “Flying 40s” is a great football drill to increase max speed and maintain it.
Perform three sets.
Watch a video demonstration of the Flying 40s Drill below.
Mountain Climber to Sprint
Perform mountain climbers into 10 to 20-yard sprints to increase acceleration.
BONUS TIP
Performing “Mountain Climbers to Sprint” with Resistance Bands will help you develop power in the lower body!
Perform 4 x 20-yard sprints
Watch a video demonstration of the Mountain Climber To Sprint Drill below.
Single Leg Bounding
This advanced speed training drill is great for building strength and speed in your lower body.
Perform by jumping off one leg. You want to jump as far as you can off that single leg.
When you land, land on your same foot and drive off that leg as quickly and explosively as possible.
The less time you can spend on the ground and the more power you can create, the better the speed training drill will be for maximum results.
Perform 4 x 20 yards (2 sets each leg)
Watch a video demonstration of the Single Leg Bound Drill below.
Cone Shuffle Sprint With Resistance Band
In football, transitioning in and out of your break is essential. The cone shuffle sprint drill will help teach your body to constantly keep your feet moving and accelerate quickly out of your break.
Perform shuffling around the cone as quickly as possible.
Stay as tight to the cone as possible when shuffling around the cone.
As you approach the last cone, keep your feet moving, and explode into a 10-yard sprint.
This exercise for speed and agility is excellent for developing acceleration, change of direction, and forward and backward movements.
Be sure to use a resistance band for the added challenge.
Perform 4 x 10-yard sprints (2 in each direction).
Watch a video demonstration of the Cone Shuffle Sprint With Resistance Band Drill below.
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How to Incorporate Agility Training Drills into Your Training Program
Agility training drills should be incorporated into your training program to improve your speed and agility on the field. Here are some tips on how to do it:
Start Slowly
Agility training drills can be challenging, especially for beginners. Therefore, it is essential to start slowly and gradually increase the intensity and difficulty level of the drills.
Incorporate Drills into Warm-Up Routine
Agility training drills can be incorporated into your warm-up routine. This can help to prepare your muscles for the intense workout that follows and reduce the risk of injury.
Mix It Up
It is essential to mix up your agility training drills to prevent boredom and keep your muscles challenged. You can incorporate different types of drills into your training program, such as ladder drills, cone drills, and plyometric drills.
Track Your Progress
Tracking your progress can help to keep you motivated and ensure that you are making progress. You can measure your speed and agility using various tools, such as a stopwatch, agility ladder, or cones.
What is Agility?
Agility is the ability to change the direction of the body with a mix of speed, strength, coordination, and balance. Adding football exercises for speed and agility is crucial for all players in the offseason.
An athlete with excellent agility can change their body’s position precisely, along with the combination of isolated movement skills, adopting a combination of speed, balance, coordination, strength, reflexes, and endurance. Agility is a skill that requires the body to change direction in a precise and direct manner.
Adding speed and agility drills to your training will increase your pro agility shuttle time.
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Why Is Agility Training Important For Football?
Football players need to be able to have the ability to change direction fast to take advantage of the game. Let’s say a defensive back is covering a wide receiver man-to-man downfield or being within the open field with a running back; it’s essential to maintain your balance to make a play for your team.
Touchdowns! Scoring a touchdown isn’t simple. Offensive players need to score points for their team, and they need agility to change direction quickly. On the other side of the ball, defensive players need agility to keep up with the movement of the player that is trying to score.
An offensive lineman needs agility to make a pulling block on the defenders. Still, a defensive lineman needs the agility to react to the play to prevent the offensive player from scoring a touchdown. All football players must perform football drills to increase speed and agility.
Why Is Agility Training Important For Football?
Speed and agility training in football is essential to improve performance on the field. Agility training drills are the most effective way to develop these skills. Incorporating these drills into your training program can help to improve your speed, agility, and reaction time, reducing the risk of injury and giving you a significant advantage over your opponents.
Football is played at great speed and agility, so you must train speed and agility to adapt to the game. At those speeds, twists and turns throw you off balance, but agility helps you to regain balance and make it seem like you never lost it. The more football drills to increase speed and agility, the more prepared you will come game day.
If you’re looking for more speed and agility workouts to add to your training, you can read our latest posts on the “Speed and Agility Hurdle Drills” and “ Football Combine Drills.”
Suppose you’re a serious football player looking to play at the next level. You can access our sports performance training programs, football drills, workouts, and the Gridiron Recruiting Center inside “The Gridiron Academy“ to help you with your football recruiting.
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Gridiron Elite Training was started to help educate and provide football players with a community to receive proper training and guidance.
We created “The Gridiron Elite Academy” which is an online football performance network that provides football players of all levels with sports performance workout programs, football position-specific drills, mindset coaching, mental toughness training, recruiting guidance and help, and nutrition programs.
