Presented By: Joe
McCullum, Level 10 Fitness
UBC Thunderbirds
Strength and Conditioning Club
·
What is agility? In laymen’s terms, it’s the
ability to stop and start with some level of control when faced with some sort
or stimulus (visual, verbal, spatial, kinesthetic) or opposing movements in any
direction.
·
Before throwing a bunch of cones on the floor
and telling your athletes to run to them, what are some of the key factors we
should be looking at?
o
Have you taught them the basic body position and
mechanics to change direction as you would sprint mechanics or any other
technique?
o
Base level of strength/stability/balance. This is always a work in progress and does
not mean you can’t do some level of work.
o
Mobility/movement patterning/sequenceàcan your athlete flex,
extend and rotate? If so, where are they
initiating these movements from?
o
Can they create tension correctly? Hip hinge
patterns
o
Can they move laterally and backwards
o
Do they push or pull?
o
Can they stop?
Can they change elevation?
o
Can they start explosively?
o
What happens to their body position after they
start explosively? What do their feet
do?
o
Are you prepared to stop when their technique
starts to fail? Quality of movement is
key for engraining the correct patterning
·
If they are unable to do any of the above does
that mean they do not qualify for agility training?
o
In short, no.
Like everything in strength and conditioning; every movement has ample
progressions and regressions.
·
If an athlete doesn’t have the strength or
ability to change direction at low speeds, what happens when they repeat these
movements at any sort of velocity with poor form?
o
We cannot control what they do on their fields
of play, but if they lack the base strength and mechanics needed, we will be
repeating a negative motor pattern that will be reflected in game and practice
settings. We pay close attention to
technique in the weight room, so why not here?
o
Do they step left to go right or back to go
forward?
·
Can they stand on one leg? Can they do a bodyweight squat? Can they do a
low level shuffle and stick and actually stick it with correct tracking
patterns?
·
Since agility requires a change of elevation at
some level, where do they bend from?
o
Do they
flex at the waist to lower their body position or at the knees and hips?
o
Do they
use their lumbar spine or glutes to extend their hips?
o
What does their torso and head do (lateral
flexion and bobble heads)?
o
Do their
arms help to initiate a torso rotation?
o
Can they stick the landing of a depth drop
(split, single leg, both legs)?
·
Can they do a waiters bow? Are they flexing/hinging at the lumbar spine
or hips? Do they understand what tension is?
·
Agility occurs in all directions, hence the need
to understand the mechanics of lateral, transverse and backward movement
patterns
·
What is more powerful, pushing or pulling? In any direction? Do the base mechanics change depending on
direction?
·
Do they have the basic ability to control their
bodies at a high velocity? How do you
cue or give examples of how to change elevation? What are some issues that may arise with deceleration
training, specifically in untrained women?
·
Do they step back to go forward, left to go
right etc..
·
Once you have trained the above movements, what
do you do with it? It is great if we can
get our athletes to separate themselves in sport or close in on someone, but
what happens if they do this with poor body position?
Basic Cues for all
Movement Sessions (more important for elite athletes that are strong!)
·
If
switching from linear to lateral work (or vice versa), incorporate a few
movement patterns that will replicate what you are moving towards
·
Begin
with these patterns if you are working base lower body power and strength work
(squats, dead lifts, Olympics etc) to avoid potential injury
·
If you are using any of these movement patterns
in the weight room, be weary of your surroundings and the type of flooring
·
Have fun with it and be creative in disguising
your repetition
Base Progressions and
Keys
The following movements should be incorporated into daily
workouts. I utilize all directions in my
workouts but place specific emphasis on certain areas depending on the needs of
the athletes to engrain and repeat the movement patterns. Some degree of these movements should be also
placed into their warm ups for gym sessions, practices and competitions with
slight changes in speed and effort to accommodate the following activity. It is important to note that there is no real
set way to do the following movements.
We need to look at how efficiently the athlete moves and make a decision
as to how much “coaching” we need to clean up.
1.
Multi-directional push and progressions. Work on àbody
positionàpower
position (drive not pull)àupper
body mechanicsàunderstanding
tensionàbuild
a foundation for multi-directional movement
How to “push” (lateral, cross
over, backwards)
a.
Observe your athlete execute a shuffle, cross over
shuffle and back pedal. Note where they
are initiating movement from and what their upper body is doing
b.
Have the athlete load up one leg as if to
jump. Once they are tracking correctly,
have them powerfully “push” themselves laterally (if going backward, push off
both legs), basic lateral hop. Note what
the lead leg does. How much effort is
coming from the push vs. the pull leg
c.
Once the technique of pushing is set, have them
repeat several in a row. As fatigue sets
in, watch for skewed upper body mechanics and excessive reaching with the lead
leg
2.
Shuffle and stick progressions. Work on footworkàaccelerationàdecelerationàtrackingàcorrect power
position/stickàpowerful
countermovement in set directionà
How to Shuffle and Stick: (Lateral, Linear, 45 degree, short
and quick, backward, cross over, long and powerful)
a.
Regardless of direction you choose, the client
should be instructed to drive off the trail leg with minimal pull with the lead
leg. In sport, you will pull with the
lead leg, but if we engrain the importance of the drive phase, the pull will
eventually add to the efficiency of the movement
b.
Once the drive has been initiated, the athlete
should be instructed to move their feet as fast as possible into the stick
phase (once an athlete stops or starts powerfully in a competitive setting, it
is normally followed up with a reactive quick foot pattern). We would slow this down (for beginners or
regular clients) or use a shorter distance if footwork is a concern
c.
The stick-SLOW IT DOWN!!! The idea of the stick
phase is that the speed of the movement should make it difficult for them to
land after any velocity has occurred. We
want to engrain the correct posture and tracking of the foot, knee and hip so
that they can drive off effectively for the next rep. This may take anywhere from 1 second to 20
seconds. Momentum will either send the
athlete into another step in the direction they are travelling, or back to
their drive leg. We are looking for them
to be able to stabilize themselves before they continue forth. This also forces them to understand the
importance of placing their body in the most efficient position before changing
direction
d.
When they stick-If their hips are not square,
tell them to take their time and balance themselves into the correct position
to engrain the correct patterning (start at the foot and work your way up). Most common position is for the trail leg to
sweep behind the plant leg. Most
athletes will try to move as quickly as possible and neglect the importance of
this. From an efficiency stand point, we
want the trail leg and plant leg to be in a square position to ensure minimal
energy loss (even if they are hockey players)
e.
The “correct position” is to stick with a slight
bend in the knee (basic power or hip hinge pattern). As mentioned, momentum will either take them
in the direction they are moving (in the form of a hop or lateral hip shift) or
back from which they came in the form of putting the other foot down
f.
Mix up the patterns to disguise repetition. They all require the same principles. Try some decoupling work when you are
somewhat confident in the athletes abilities
3.
Ladder drills and progressions. Work on àelevating
heart rateàfootworkàbody position (start
and stops, in and out)àacceleration/decelerationàreactionàdecoupling (for stick,
ball and racquet sports)àto
teach when and why you would use “quick foot” drillsàconditioning
How to use the ladder drills
somewhat effectively:
a.
Once the athlete can do the basic drills within
the ladder, it is nothing more than a warm up tool
b.
Have the athlete go through the ladder with a
set progression as fast as possible. On
your cue (generally near the end of the ladder when body position starts to
change) they must stop within the ladder and get into the most efficient body
position they can before starting again.
This may be used in any direction
c.
Have the athlete sprint, backpedal or shuffle
into the ladder (5-8meters out from it)
d.
Have the athlete sprint, backpedal or shuffle
outside (within 1meter of the ropes) of the ladder and enter it on your cue on
a predetermined pattern
e.
On your command get in or out of the
ladder. Mix it up
f.
Use a ball or med ball, stick, racquet etc and
incorporate some decoupling movements
4.
Cone drills and progressions. Work on àvisual
and verbal reactionàstarting
mechanicsàchange
of elevationàchange
of direction/agilityàmulti-directional
movement
How to use cone drills:
a.
Place 4 cones in either a square pattern or a
consecutive line . Distance between
should be dependent on what your goals for the athlete are. I begin with shorter distances and expand
from there
b.
Use a chalk line as a marker for a neutral
position (the spot where they must stop, start and return to)
c.
Have the athlete run to each cone and back to
neutral in whichever fashion THEY chose.
Tell them there is no set pattern and let them make the decision as to
where they would like to go. It is
completely random, but there will be something to take home from this when you
start to watch numerous athletes in this drill (creativity, confirmation bias)
i.
The beauty of this lies in the ability to
utilize a set space and cover all planes and all different movement styles
while easily disguising repetition
d.
Assign each cone a number or point to each cone
you would like the athlete to go to. Take
note of their transition from each separate stop and start. Did they move “functionally”? Was there wasted energy? Was there frustration? If not, you are probably doing it wrong
e.
Move to more random patterns. Throw a bunch of cones out in any pattern. Incorporate all different types of movement
patterns as the athlete progresses.
Extra Drills to
Enhance Movement:
·
Stab or towel drills
·
Line drills/relays. Work on knee, hip and torso position
o
Staticàreactiveàlow to high reactive
for knee, hip and torso positionàduck
under
·
Large Quadrant drill
·
Chain Tag
Key Points:
·
Making mistakes are ok for both parties
involved. There is no “set”
technique. Determine how the athlete
moves best and work from there. If an
athlete makes a mistake, we want to capitalize on it as a positive. It means they are going at a speed that we
need and part of what we are trying to achieve is seeing how they deal with it.
·
Don’t make examples of your weakest athletes in
group settings. Use someone that is good
at what you are teaching to demo technique.
It is not to shun the rest of the group, but to give motion memory and
visual reps of what it should look like for those that may struggle.
·
Slow down the volume and speed up the quality
reps. Once progressions are set, we need
to operate at high speeds.
·
If you are working with a group of athletes and
they are struggling with technique, try using the “whisper” technique to
empower them.
·
Film as much as you can for instant feedback.
·
Many people will rip on quick foot drills. Remember where their use lies. Fast feet are utilized right before a change
of direction to give the defender a reason to question which direction you will
be going, in confined spaces and to manipulate your body position after or
before a powerful step.
·
Be creative without getting crazy. Disguise repetition so that the athletes can
do the basic movements and do them well.
