Soccer Drills & Agility Training

Agility training is an important part of any soccer player's regimen because it replicates the various motions players will experience during the run of play. Soccer is a game full of direction and speed changes with and without the ball, and agility training helps players become more nimble and improves coordination.

  1. Defining Agility

    • For soccer players, agility means everything from explosiveness and balance to strength and coordination. Building and enhancing these aspects of a soccer player's athletic abilities can be the difference in beating an opponent to the ball, successfully defending a crafty attacker and breaking down the other team's defense.

    Drills Without the Ball

    • As much as players always want to have a ball at their feet, some agility training should be done without one. One example is the opposite cone drill, which can be found at Elite Soccer Conditioning (Resources). Using eight cones arranged in a circle around a central cone, players start in the middle, run to any cone they want, knock it over and return to the middle cone. Players then touch the middle cone and run to another cone that isn't next to the one they just knocked down. This drill needs to done quickly and requires players to think as they act.

    Drills With the Ball

    • Including the ball in agility sessions helps soccer players with two important training aspects: improving agility and technical ability. A good example of an agility drill with the ball is to get into a small group of no more than four players who begin just a few feet apart. One player has the ball in his/her hands and serves the ball to another player, who plays it back to them with their feet or head, quickly backpedals around a cone and repeats. Players then switch positions. A good visual demonstration of this drill can also be found at Elite Soccer Conditioning.

    Goalkeeper

    • Soccer goalkeepers need specialized agility drills to meet the demands of the position, such as the ability to move laterally and explode into the air to make big saves. One example, as described on Junior Soccer Coach, is to have the keeper lie face down with their arms extended in front of them with a partner a few feet away. The partner varies bouncing the ball to the left, right, and straight at the goalkeeper as they dive toward it and try to catch and hold, returning to the starting position between each serve.

    Off-Season Work

    • Agility training is just as important outside of the competitive season as it is during it. In fact, competitive players in the midst of their league seasons are expected to already be fit and ready to play. That doesn't mean agility training doesn't factor into regular-season training, but in-season training often focuses on tactical team training and preparing for the next match. Players need to work on improving their agility in season, during team preseason activities and around the year as part of their individual fitness plans.