Agility Training for Soccer Players

Playing soccer is a full-body workout and requires training on many levels. Agility training, which helps players accelerate and shift directions quickly, increases a player's reaction time to changes on the soccer field and helps him to perform at a higher level while reducing the likelihood of injuries.

  1. Definition

    • According to soccerperformance.org, a soccer player who is agile is able to change direction abruptly without losing balance. Agility includes factors such as speed, strength, balance and coordination and is beneficial because it helps a player's ability to get and hold onto the ball.

    Function

    • Agile soccer players can push off and speed up more quickly, they can get to the ball faster and they can stop or make sudden changes in direction more quickly and safely. According to elitesoccerconditioning.com, agility drills should focus on concentric and eccentric strength, power, coordination, core strength, balance and reaction time. Focusing on agility along with soccer skills and endurance can help players' movements become more automatic on the field.

    Agility Tests

    • There are tests like the Illinois Agility Test that players and coaches can find online to determine agility. In this test, players start on their stomachs, then get up when the whistle is blown, then sprint as fast as they can around eight cones without knocking any over. Each player should be tested twice. Other tests should last for 15 seconds or less and include changes in direction, running backward and forward. The tests should be done in the same manner every time, including if there is dew on the grass or other external factors.

    Agility Drills

    • Drills to improve agility should be a combination of speed and strength training and simulate game situations for players. All drills should be carried out at full speed. The strength and power training drills should include eccentric and concentric muscle training. Eccentric muscle training, according to Life Fitness Academy, is when the muscle fibers lengthen to lower a load. Free weights, body weight exercises and non-hydraulic exercise machines are involved. Concentric muscle action is when the muscles contract to lift a weight, such as in a bicep curl.

      Examples of speed drills include shuttle running across small areas of the field. These should not be straight 40-yard sprints; the drills should include abrupt changes of direction to both sides and shifting to running backward. Players can also do pressure drills in which they give and receive passes, all while still moving at a sprint.

      Finally, every soccer practice should include small-side scrimmages that move at a faster pace. These games provide many back and forth movements, change in speed, direction and activity in a competitive situation.

    Strengthening the Core

    • A key part of agility comes from having a strong core. The core is considered the center of the body. Proper core exercises will strengthen, stabilize and provide power to the core, which makes the body more able to react to the environment on a soccer field and make injuries less likely. Working out the core includes a focus on abdominal muscles, lumbar spine muscles and hip muscles.