Football agility drills to improve speed

As the old Nike saying says, “Speed Kills.” And that is certainly true, especially in football. The faster and quicker a player is, the more he has to offer on the field. To improve speed and quickness, football agility training is essential.    At Warren Academy, we work with many athletes of all sports on improving their speed and agility. Our programs are designed to help make our athletes stronger, faster and overall a well rounded athlete and player. Here are some good football agility training drills that will help any athlete improve their speed and agility.    Circle around the cone This drill only really requires one cone, and can be done right from your home! You want to begin on either the left or right of the cone. You will start by shuffling in front of the cone, and then backpedaling around it until you make a circle. Once you circle around the cone, you will then accelerate out of your break and sprint 5 to 10 yards. You want to try to be as quick and precise as possible, meaning, the closer your feet stay to the cone the more beneficial the drill will be! Here is a video that demonstrates how this drill should be done!  The better you can control your body, the more speed and explosiveness you will have. This drill works on staying balanced and controlling your center of gravity, while also exploding out of a break.    Pro Agility Shuttle The pro agility drill, which is sometimes called 5-10-5, is one of the most popular agility drills that is used during the NFL combine. For football specifically, this drill is very useful. It requires three cones that are all spread 5 yards apart from each other, making a vertical line.  You will want to start at the center cone and begin by sprinting to your left or right. Once you reach the cone on whichever side you chose, you will then cut, touch the cone and then sprint out of your break towards the other direction. You will do the same thing as you approach the last cone, and finish through by sprinting past the starting cone in the middle. Here is a video that demonstrates how to properly perform this drill!    Speed Ladder There are many different drills you can do using a speed ladder, which focuses on quick feet. In football, it does not matter what position you play; having quick feet is so important. Doing ladder drills will help you run better routes, be able to change direction quickly, and be quick at all times.  A lot of athletes at the professional level use speed ladders to focus on changing direction. To practice this, you want to start by laying your speed ladder down on leveled ground. Then, you will begin either backpedaling or stepping laterally through the ladder following the 2 feet in, 2 feet out pattern. Once you get through the ladder, you will then turn and accelerate 10 yards. Here’s a video that demonstrates how to do this.  The focus of this drill should be quick feet, however, you also want to be making sure you are doing the drill correctly. Start slow, and gradually speed things up once you get the hang of it. It’s also very important to keep your hips low during this drill, staying in an athletic stance as long as possible.    Football agility training will not only improve your speed and agility but will improve your overall athleticism and make a huge difference on the field. The three drills above are great to start with, but there are so many other drills that are beneficial as well. Be sure you are really focusing on quick feet, accelerating out of your breaks and most importantly giving it 100 percent effort.  At Warren Academy, we offer youth football training programs for players of all skill levels and positions. To learn more about our Football program, or any of our sports performance programs, visit our website today!