Boost to Agility

When it comes to strength and conditioning training, a coach lays emphasis on certain core aspects.  Throughout the training period, his focus remains on improving significant areas such as Strength, Power, Agility, Endurance, and Flexibility. And, to effectively master the training, on needs to have a clear understanding of these core components so that the workouts and exercises can be designed accordingly. Therefore, Sports Science India brings you an overview of these components. This month, the article focuses on Agility and training for enhancing agility.

Defining Agility

Going by the definition, Agility refers to the ability of a person or athlete to move quickly and easily. In terms of strength and conditioning, it can be defined as a ‘rapid whole-body movement with a change in direction or speed/velocity responding to an external stimulus.’ According to Jeremy Sheppard, Health and Athletic Performance Lead (Integrated Support Team Lead) for Canada Snowboard’s High Performance Programs, and Warren B Young, professor at Australian Institute of Sports, Agility has a relationship with trainable physical qualities such as strength, power and technique, as well as cognitive components such as visual-scanning techniques, visual-scanning speed and anticipation.

When it comes to Agility testing, it is generally confined to tests of physical components such as change of direction speed. It also takes into account the cognitive components such as anticipation and pattern recognition.

To put it simply, it means that if you are agile, then you respond to what is going on around you effortlessly and quickly. You can relay information into the body to help maintain balance, control and body position while responding to the changes happening around you. If you are trained well in terms of agility, you will be able to move into the best position to take the next action effectively. These actions could be catching a ball or making a tackle. In surfing, skiing and snowboarding, the sportsperson must be agile to react to the changing conditions of the surface. In tennis, handball, squash and table tennis the players needs to quickly react to the position of the ball and that’s where agility comes into the picture. The reactive component of agility depends upon cognitive functions such as Visual processing, Timing, Reaction time, Perception and Anticipation. These components are considered at the time of tests for agility.

Measuring Agility

An Athlete’s agility can be measured in several ways. Some of the most common methods are as follows:

1. Hexagonal Obstacle Agility Test

This involves quickly jumping in and out of a hexagon. It is similar to the quadrant jump test. Tape measure, chalk or tape for marking ground, stopwatch, and marking sheets are required. A hexagon (with six sides) is made using athletic tape on the floor. The length of each side should be 24 inches (60.5 cm). Each angle should work out to be 120 degrees. The participant is asked to begin with both feet together in the middle of the hexagon facing the front line. They jump ahead across the line, then back over the same line into the middle of the hexagon. Then, continuing to face forward with the feet together, they jump over the next side and back into the hexagon. They continue this pattern for three full revolutions. This test must be performed both clockwise and anti-clockwise.

2. Illinois agility run test

According to experts from, the athlete should lie on his or her front (head to the start line) and keep hands by their shoulders. On the ‘Go’ command the stopwatch is started, and the athlete gets up as quickly as possible and runs forwards 10 meters to run around a cone, then back 10 meters, then runs up and back through a slalom course of four cones. Finally, the athlete runs another 10 meters up and back past the finishing cone, at which the timing is stopped.

3. Lateral Change of Direction test

Flat non-slip surface, Three cones, Stopwatch and Assistant are required for holding the test. The athlete warms up for 10 minutes. The assistant places three cones 5 metres apart on a straight line. The athlete stands by the middle cone (B), facing the assistant. The assistant gives the command “GO” and points in a starting direction, right or left, and starts the stopwatch. The athlete moves to and touches the first cone, returns past the middle cone to the far cone and touches it and then returns to and touches the middle cone

The assistant stops the stopwatch when the athlete touches the middle cone and records the time. The test is conducted four times – two in each starting direction (left & right). The fastest time in each direction is used for accessing the athlete‘s performance

Enhancing Agility

In order to enhance agility, an athlete can take up the following drills. Some of these exercises are specific to certain sports. Most of the exercises can be done either on a field or in a back yard.

• Lateral plyometric jumps
• Tuck jumps
• Shuttle runs
• Forward and backward sprints
• Speed ladder agility drills
• Stair running
• Squats – Front, back, split, single-leg, lateral, jump
• Lunges – Forwards, reverse, cross over, diagonal, explosive
• Deadlifts – Regular, Sumo, SLDL, SL SLDL
• Anti-rotational core control – Paloff presses, planks, etc.
• Rotational strength – BB rotations, wood chops, Med ball side passes
• Olympic lifting – Clean, hang clean
• Plyometrics/ Eccentric – Box drops, SL box drops, lateral jumps, lateral bounds, vertical jumps, broad jumps, SL jumps, SL landings