The Importance of Agility Training

Good agility is vital if you want to become a successful soccer player. Complex movements on the field such as passing, dribbling, turning etc all require good agility levels.

Agility refers to the ability to change your direction on the field quickly without losing your balance.

Your agility depends on a combination of different factors such as strength, balance, speed and your coordination.

Agility training may include shuttle running across small areas of the field with multiple sharp changes of your direction.

It may also include drills using a ball such as receiving and passing at high speed.

Improved Interaction

The two mentioned ways of training will improve your neuromuscular coordination through a better interaction between your nervous system and your muscles.

When practicing on your agility, the drill should mimic your movements and demands of your position on the field.

For ex, CB’s (central fullbacks) tend to undertake a lot more sideways and backwards sprinting compared to other positions.

Keep in mind also that you should perform these drills at high speed. This is because they are supposed to simulate your game situations.

It is also important to start slowly with your agility training, especially if you are new to soccer. Avoiding injury is one of the top goals that you should always have on your mind.

Avoiding Muscle Injuries

It is pretty easy to get a muscle tear if you are untrained. If you plan to start with agility training I would recommend you to start jogging few weeks before the start of your agility training.

Trust me, your body will thank you for this preparation! This will help you gain some basic fitness ability and you will also reduce the risk of getting injured.

Agility training is a part of soccer that should be practiced at any time of the year. As you may already know, some parts of soccer fitness are best intended for preseason training.

Complete Focus

You need also to keep in mind to take your agility training seriously and don’t cheat while performing the exercises.

I know by experience that soccer players tend to cheat during boring fitness training without the ball.

If you weren’t serious with your soccer training then you probably wouldn’t be reading articles like this…

So, keep in mind to always work hard no matter what type of soccer practice it is.

Summary

I can admit that agility training is not so thrilling but it is something that needs to be done and you must focus on it 100 %. Good luck!