Three weeks ago we started a series on what makes a complete soccer player.
We determined that the best way to describe the complete soccer player was using the acronym FASTEST. This meant that the complete soccer player has the following attributes –
Fitness
Agility
Strength
Team Player
Excellent Ball Control
Shooting Skills
Tactically Sound
Last week we talked about fitness in the context of endurance, or how far and long you can run. This week we’re going to talk about agility. Agility is your ability to start, stop, and change directions quickly.
One of the best examples of agility in professional soccer today is Lionel Messi. Arguably the best player in the world, Messi uses his speed and agility to beat players much larger and stronger than him.
When you watch this video, can you count the number of quick turns and speed changes he uses to beat 5 defenders and a goalkeeper? As you can see, the quickness by which Messi can move himself and the ball, as well as how quickly he can change direction is one of the main reasons that he is such a great player.
Agility is important because it can help you get free from defenders, or if you are a defender, it can help you defend attacking players. It is very difficult to defend a player that is constantly and quickly changing directions. You may not have been born with Messi’s natural talent or quickness. However, just like our endurance, touch on the ball, and all our other skills, you can develop greater speed and agility with training.
We’re going to break agility training into two parts – speed and quickness
First, lets go through some soccer speed drills and exercises. Please note that a couple of these are also strength training drills. We will discuss strength training at length in our next article, but having strong legs is vital to your speed and quickness.
Basic Sprints – these are just like they sound. Start on one end of the field and sprint from one end of the field to the other. Walk or jog back to where you started. If you are doing multiple reps, make sure you give yourself recovery time in between.
Hill Sprints – Like basic sprints, but with a hill. Start at the bottom of a hill and sprint to the top. Walk or jog back down. Don’t sprint back down the hill as you could hurt yourself. These are great for building your leg muscles, and as your leg muscles grow, you will get stronger and faster.
Lunges – Great for building your thigh muscles. Start with two feet together shoulder width apart. Step forward with your right foot, then lower yourself down so your body is creating a ninety degree angle with both your legs. As you lift yourself back up, step forward with your other foot and do the same thing. Do this around the six yard box. If that is not challenging enough, do it around the eighteen. Here is a clip of Steve Kamb from www.nerdfitness.com demonstrating this exercise.
Jump Squat – This drill helps you develop your leg strength. Start with your feet about shoulder width apart. Move your hips back, bend at the knees, while keeping your back straight, and reach down and touch the ground. Once you have touched the ground, jump up in the air, straightening your body out and reaching for the sky. This is a great exercise for developing explosive speed, which you use to change speed quickly. Here is a clip of Steve Kamb from www.nerdfitness.com demonstrating this exercise.
Suicide sprint with ball – not only does your body need to learn to run fast, it also needs to develop the ability to control the ball at high speeds. This is best learned by sprinting with the ball. When you sprint with the ball, you push it out in front of yourself much further than you would normally (probably between 5 and 10 feet), but you still want to keep it as close as possible to stay away from defenders. Start at the goal line and sprint with the ball to the top of the eighteen yard box. Stop the ball as close to the eighteen yard line as possible. Jog back to the goal line (while dribbling). Repeat this process (sprint down, jog back), sprinting to half field, the far 18 box, and the far goal line. Remember, sprint as fast as possible to the line where you are going to turn around, then quickly stop the ball as close to the line as possible. This will help you practice your quick stops with the ball.
Now, here are some good soccer agility drills for developing your quickness.
Shuttle Run – This drill is great for working in your direction changes. Set up 3 cones 10 yards apart from each other in a straight line. Start off at the middle cone. Sprint to one of the outside cones. Touch the ground near the cone, then turn around and sprint to the other outside cone. Touch the ground by this cone, then turn around and sprint past the middle cone. Once you pass the middle cone, you have done one rep.
W-Drill – Set up 5 cones in a W Shape approximately 5-10 yards apart diagonally. Start at cone 1 – sprint forward to the next cone. Once you reach this cone, quickly backpedal to cone three. Sprint forward to cone four. Continue this until you have worked your way all the way through the course. This drill is great for working on your forward to backward quick direction changes, as well as your balance.
Box Drill – Set up four cones in a square about ten yards apart. Start on one corner, run backwards until you pass the next corner. Side shuffle from that corner to the next cone. Run forward to the next cone, then finally, side shuffle back to the point where you started. You should have gone all the way around the square. This drill helps you get used to quickly changing direction and types of movement.
Forward Ladder drill – this can be done with a rope ladder, or just by setting cones up close together. Set up the cones about a foot apart from each other. Run forward, raising your knees up to your chest as you run and moving your arms. Make sure you touch both feet down in the gap between the cones. This drill helps develop your explosive speed and your foot quickness.
Ickey Ladder Drill – Named after American football player “Ickey” Woods, this can also be done with a rope ladder or just with cones. As above, set up the cones about a foot apart. Instead of running forward, shuffle sideways through the cones, touching both feet down in between each cone. This drill helps develop your speed in lateral (side to side) movement.
Cone Hop – Set up 8 cones approximately 1 foot apart. Keeping your feet together, hop forward twice, once over the first cone, then once over the second. Once you have hopped over the second, hop back one cone, then forward two. Do this until you have moved all the way through the line of cones. This drill helps develop your leg strength and your forward and backward changes of direction.
These are just a few of the many exercises that you can do to develop your speed and agility. What are some drills you have done in the past to work on your speed and agility? Tell us below in the comments.
P.S. – In the video, Messi changes the direction he is going with the ball 5 times, and he changes speed quickly 5 times, all in a span of 13 seconds.
