Agility training for soccer players

Agility is very important for soccer players. The footballer being agile will help in the playing of football.

In today’s blog post, we will discuss Agility training for soccer players. Before we get down to the training, let’s get to know what Agility is all about.

According to Wikipedia, Agility is when someone is able to change the position of the body fast and this requires the integration of isolated movement skills using a mix of balance, coordination, speed, reflexes, strength, as well as endurance.

Let’s talk about the different agility training for footballers.

Agility training for soccer players

Here is the agility training for football players

1. Shuttle Runs: For the shuttle runs the equipment you will need is Cones.

How to carry out the Shuttle Runs

• Start with setting up three cones in a line that is five yards apart.
• Begin at the first cone and then run to the center cone.
• You have to plant your foot at the center cone and pivot back to the first cone.
• Finally, you have to run to the end of the cone. You can run back to the first cone if you want more challenges.

You can reset and repeat the process. The shuttle run builds explosive power, agility, as well as endurance which are all important for soccer players.

2. Tuck jumps: In carrying out the tuck jumps, you don’t need any equipment.

How to carry out Tuck jumps

• Begin by standing shoulder-width apart.
• Get positioned for a squat.
• Jump up by tucking your knees up into your chest.
• Land on the balls of your feet in a squat position.

You can then reset and repeat the process. Tuck jumps are a great workout for you to improve explosive speed and power.

3. Slalom: For the Slalom agility training, the equipment you need is Cones or poles.

How to carry out Slalom

• Begin by setting your poles in a line that is three feet apart from each other.
• While dribbling the ball, ensure to weave through the poles as fast as you can.
• Run back to the starting point in a straight line when you reach the last pole.

You can set it up again and repeat. If the drill is too challenging, you can run the drill without a ball. The slalom training focuses on improving your dribbling skills as well as your soccer agility and speed.

4. Ladder shuffle: For this agility training you need equipment like a ladder or cones

Instructions on how to carry out Ladder shuffle

• Place the ladder on the ground. Remember you can use cones if there is no available ladder.
• Shuffle in a zig-zag diagonal pattern between each ladder square.
• Keep one foot in each square space every time.
• You can go through the ladder as many times as you can.

The ladder shuffle is a great agility training for soccer players and it improves fast footwork as well as agile feet. 

5. Box drill: For the Box drill, the equipment you need is Cones.

Instructions on how to carry out Box drill

• You are to set up setting up four cones in a large square about 10 feet apart.
• Start at the top right cone.
• Backpedal to the bottom right cone.
• Shuffle sideways to the third cone.
• Run forward to the fourth cone, and shuffle sideways back to the starting cone.

You can set it up again and repeat. The box drill assists in strengthening your multi-directional speed as well as agility for soccer.

6. Ladder series: For these agility trainings the equipment required is a ladder or cones.

Single-Leg Hops

• Begin in a shoulder-width stance.
• Raise one of your legs to your chest.
• Quickly hop through each square making use of your planted leg.
• At this point, you have to go through each square and do the same movement on your opposite leg.

Two-Leg Hops

• Begin in a shoulder-width stance.
• Hop with both feet shoulder-width apart into each ladder square.
• Land on the balls of your feet and stay agile.
• You can set up again and repeat after you hop through the ladder.

Quick Feet

• Begin in a shoulder-width stance.
• Sprint through the ladder, Tap quick one foot into each box.
• You can set up again and repeat after your run through the ladder.

The ladder series training is a fantastic way for you to practice fast footwork as well as precise foot placement.

6 Reasons Why Agility training is important for Soccer Players

The reason why agility training is very important for soccer players is because it gives a great advantage during one-on-one encounters. It is also needed for many soccer tricks as well as moves involving an instant change in a player’s direction.

Here are the 6 reasons why agility training is important.

1. Agility is important for you to become better at dribbling: For you to dribble so well as a footballer, you need agility. Dribbling is when a footballer tries to surpass a number of the opponent’s players on their own.

For you to actually dribble so many opponent players, it requires the ability for you to instantly change your direction as well as having full control over your body and over the ball while dribbling, if you don’t have control over your body and over the ball, you will lose the ball to an opponent.

2. Goalkeepers need agility: Goalkeepers as well need to be agile because they need to react so fast to save the ball when their opponent attempts to score a goal.

The goalkeeper may need to sometimes change position just to jump to where the ball is going so the ball can be stopped from entering the net.

Sometimes, a goalkeeper can be running in a different direction from where the opponent will kick the ball. If this happens, it will require the agility of the goalkeeper for the ball to be saved from entering the net because he will need to quickly move to the other side of the post to get that done.

3. Many soccer moves need the soccer player to be agile for them to be done rightly: Many of the moves made by soccer players in order to score a goal or dribble their opponents need agility to be done correctly. and tricks require agility to work properly.

At times, soccer players trick their opponents into believing they will kick the ball in the direction of the goalpost, but then move the ball in a different direction in order to get enough space.

For this kind of kick to work, the player needs to be agile because it will involve their change of body moves and ability to surpass the defender before the defender can take the action of getting the ball from the player. Same with so many other tricks soccer players use while playing football, the tricks require agility to be more effective.

4. Agility is required during corner kicks and indirect free kicks: During a corner kick or an indirect free kick, many of the players gather inside or close to the penalty area of the defending team.

While the players from the offensive team will be making an attempt to score a goal which might require their player heading the ball to the direction of the net, the players from the defensive team will be making attempts to stop the ball from entering their net.

As a result of the number of players in that area of the field at that point, for the offensive team players to score they will need to quickly change direction of their movement to score when the freekick or penalty taker kicks the ball towards the post.

And for the defensive team players to prevent the ball from entering the net, they also need to quickly change direction to kick it off the goal post direction.

Any player from either of the teams that changes direction first and takes the right action may either result in a goal or a save. From this, you now understand why agility is needed during corner kicks as well as indirect free kicks.

5. Agility is also important when players don’t have the ball: Even when players don’t have the ball, agility is still important because being a good soccer player is not just for you to know what to do when you are in possession of the ball, even when you are not in possession of the ball you are to know what to do.

As a forward player, having the knowledge of where to stand and moves to take when not in possession of the ball will make it easier for the other team members to kick the ball to you and this will put you in the right position to score a goal.

6. Agility is important for defenders: If a forward player is agile, the ability of the defender to prevent the player from scoring a goal is dependent on the defender’s agility.

The agility of a defender will help the defender to be able to counter the agility of the opponent’s team players and stop goals from going into their net.

Top soccer defenders are the defenders who have the ability to cope with their opponent’s change of direction as well as react fast by stopping them from advancing with the ball.

Conclusion

It is very important for soccer players to be very agile so they can be able to take the right actions fast and when necessary.

As a soccer player, ensure you engage in agility training because this will help you perform better while playing on the field. As you have read about here, many of the actions you need to take in the field as a player requires you to be agile.

You may not feel like training sometimes but always remember that on the other side of discomfort is growth and success.

Ensure you are continuously putting in the work for the improvement of your speed and agility skills so you can get the required result that will help you perform better as a soccer player.

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