True Agility: Reaction To Stimulus vs. Rehearsal Of Movement

"Hey coach can we do ladder drills?"... proceeds to rush movement, be out of control, and provide zero benefit to their agility development. They go on to practice the movement over and over again until they've reached "proficiency". They can now nail the ladder, go fast, and can seemingly do it with their eyes closed. Inexperienced or let's say yet to be educated trainers, will see this as improvement of agility, and with this the perversion of what true agility is in the eyes of the athlete. Far too many poor coaching choices, fad Instagram workouts, and misinformation has led to this onslaught of improper agility training.

This mentality has further seeped into how many coaches and athletes approach other fundamental skills such as passing, kicking, putting, or shooting. Motions athletes are highly rehearsed in and comfortable with executing due to their lengthy experience with the movements, most of which are what athletes learn from a young age. The result however is digression in skill acuity by developing improper mechanics and execution intention. The longterm impact is an athlete's downfall in ability to further elicit physiological change, keep up with their competition, and / or develop at a rate in which higher level competition requires.

*Execution intention: The athlete's intention when engaging in the skill. To perform as intended. To perform as prescribed. To perform for betterment or for completion.

So, to the point of this article. TRUE AGILITY!

It was important I lay the framework for the idea that combined misinformation, inaccurate coaching, and athlete's improper application of training principles, because it gives you an idea of why there is a difference between traditional agility drills and true-agility drills.

Traditional agility drills include the speed ladder, 5-10-5 drills, fixed cone drills, hopscotch, and/or any drill that involves a set pattern of movement. Let me say that there is nothing wrong with these movements, they certainly all serve a purpose. But ideally they aren't used entirely for agility development.

Ladder drills are great for the purpose of rehearsal, getting athlete's accustomed to moving in a specific pattern that may translate directly to their sport. Like side shuffles and carioca for hockey players, or linear and diagonal cuts for football players. The classic 5-10-5 drill or 3-cone agility drill, as commonly seen in NFL combines provide insight into an athlete's ability to manage their centre of gravity and efficiency in change of direction (COD), but not necessarily their agility. Fixed cone drills and the broader scope of set pattern movements aid in developing sport oriented movements and forces athlete's to manage forces outside of what they typically experience. However, as will be further discussed in the next paragraph, none of these 'traditional agility' drills provide a reaction to a stimulus. The only input is the directions they need to follow, and the efficiency of their output is their ability to adhere to the input.

True agility is dictated by the input. That input being one of three stimuli; visual, auditory, or physical. the output being one to three of the same in response. The athlete's ability to perceive and react in response to the input of the external stimulus is their, let's call it 'agility grade'. Agility grade: An athlete's agility proficiency. In order to improve / drill true-agility, two things need to occur. Firstly, there must be set parameters to best elicit a game like scenario; whether this is in the form of a coned in area, a set playing field, or a set number of reps / time on clock. This dictates the extent of which the drill can take place. Secondly, there must be one of the three inputs; visual, physical, or auditory. This dictates that the athletes involved are being applied an external pressure in which they need to react upon. For example, a partner mirror drill, where two athletes mirror each others movements. Each set lasts 30 seconds, and they can only move forward, backwards, and side to side. Inputs: Visual. Output: Physical. A progression to this would be the following. Every 2nd set the directions change to 'one athlete turns and runs away from the other, the chasing athlete must mimic the front athlete in hopes of catching up and tagging them" Inputs: Visual + Physical. Output: Physical. The third progression would involve the following; Once the two athletes have moved into their second set of progression-two another team mate or coach will intermittently hold up a variety of different coloured cones. The athletes must distinguish the colour and audibly yell it out." Input: Visual + Physical Output: Auditory

To combine all components the final progression would see a series of scatted cones on the playing field. As the athletes progress to progression 3 their response to the raised cone must be an audible reply of the colour AND the physical touching of a matching cone on the ground. Input: Visual + Physical. Output: Auditory + Physical.

This is the basis of agility. The fundamental take-away being the necessity for an external input in which the player needs to react two within the confines of a game-like scenario.

Coaches can play around with these combos and mix'n'match as you see fit. Most importantly we build through a simple to complex progression and involve at least one of the three stimuli.

To re-cap. Traditional agility drills have their purpose and lend a significant hand in athlete development, but should not be mistaken for true agility drills. Use fixed pattern movements for movement rehearsal, introduction to change of direction and agility, and for warm-ups. Agility drills must have set parameters to best elicit a game like scenario and it must include at least one of the three stimuli; auditory, visual, or physical. The options are endless, just apply the information found here to your sport and athlete's and they'll gain a host of new skills.

"Progression is built through consistency and tested by passion"

JB