How do you maximize the natural speed on the pitch to outsmart your markers without losing balance and coordination? The answer(s) to that question and many more are included in this article under agility drills.
Despite failing to make it to the professional level in soccer, I have little knowledge about soccer agility drills. Before I go on, I assume you’re familiar with soccer and that you are here to learn about its agility drills.
In the following sections, you will be learning about six of the best and most essential soccer agility drills you need to master!
Why Are Soccer Agility Drills Important?
In plain terms, agility has to do with how quickly you change directions without affecting your balance.
Soccer is a sport that involves a lot of running around and there’s no way you can catch up without the right agility, hence, its importance.
The soccer agility drills will enhance your speed and agility, improve coordination and balance, injury prevention, and many more.
With that in mind, we can now go into the six essential soccer agility drills that we have.
6 Essential Soccer Agility Drills
Here are the six essential soccer agility drills.
Shuttle Runs
Everyone does shuttle runs. Whether a beginner or a professional at soccer, you must have done it before. It is one of the foremost drills that helps increase speed, agility, and fitness in order to improve performance.
So, completing a shuttle run involves running back and forth between cones placed on the ground as markers.
Basically, the idea of the shuttle run is for you to run solidly at a consistent pace, pushing your body to maintain one speed as you test yourself to the limit.
Tuck Jumps
Tuck jump, as the name suggests, is a type of coordinated jump that focuses on explosive movement with just a hint of cardio. Doing tuck jumps the right way is very important so as not to injure yourself while landing.
To complete this agility drill, you need to stand up straight with your feet wide, lower your body and bend your knees, jump as high as you can, and then land on your feet. You can then repeat on multiple occasions, but it is important to start slow and build gradually.
If you perform this drill well, you will have worked on your legs, quads, core, and glutes. In summary, it is a total package that increases your speed, strength, and endurance.
Slalom
To perform the Slalom agility drill, you need cones or poles to be set at three feet from each other.
You weave through the poles or cones as fast as you can while dribbling the ball, and when you get to the last cone or pole, you sprint back to the starting point.
Meanwhile, you can do this drill without a ball if you find it challenging. Ultimately, the slalom drill enhances your dribbling skills and your soccer agility and speed.
Ladder Shuffle
Judging by the name, you need a ladder or improvise with the cones to carry out this drill. You will have the ladder placed on the ground, or you will use the flat cones.
You will then move in a zig-zag diagonal pattern between each ladder square, and as you go, you must keep one foot in each square space at all times.
You can do multiple sets, but make sure you move at a consistent pace. This particular drill is to improve your footwork and agility.
Box Drill
“Box Drills” here just means a box movement. You need just four cones for this particular drill. To perform this drill, the four cones will be arranged in a large square about 10 feet apart. You will begin your movement from the top right cone, back-pedaling to the bottom right cone.
After which, you will now shuffle sideways to the third cone before sprinting forward to the fourth cone and then shuffle sideways back to the starting cone.
The box drill helps to strengthen multi-directional speed and agility for soccer.
Ladder Series
The Ladder series is different from the Ladder shuffle we discussed earlier. This particular drill, as you have probably figured out, will be carried out using the ladder or cones. This particular drill has different types and we will be discussing them separately.
- Single-leg Hops: You will have to begin in a shoulder-width stance. You will then lift one of your legs to your chest, while you use the other planted leg to quickly hop through each square. After that, you will now do the same movement on your opposite leg to complete the set.
- Two-leg Hops: Just like the one above, the only difference is that you have to hop with both feet into each ladder square. It is important to land on the balls of your feet and stay agile. After you hop through the ladder, you can reset and start again.
- Quick feet: Just like the other two under this category of soccer agility drills, you will have to start in a shoulder-width stance. Instead of hopping through, you will have to run through the ladder, quickly tapping one foot into each box.
This ladder series drill is one of the soccer agility drills that is fully focused on how to improve your footwork and precise foot placement.
Final Thoughts
And there you have it – the six essential soccer agility drills! The good thing about all these drills is that you can do them on your own. They are good and will improve your agility as a soccer player.
However, it is advisable to have a coach or someone leading you to test yourself to the limits.
These drills might look easy to the eyes, but they are quite important and necessary in your agility development. They will help to improve your movements, strength, stamina, and coordination on the soccer pitch.
