Bl o w by t h e c o m p etiti o n wit h a dvic e fro m t h e worl d’s l e a di n g orga niz ati o n i n t h e fi el d of s p ort c o n diti o ni n g, t h e N ati o n al Stre n gt h a n d Co n diti o ni n g Ass oci ati o n ( N S C A). I n D ev el o pi n g A gility a n d Q ui ck n ess, S e c o n d E diti o n , t h e N S C A’s l e a di n g ex p erts provi d e evi d e nc e- b as e d ass ess m e nt to ols, exercis es, drills, a n d tr ai ni n g re gi m e ns to ac hi eve t h e r a pi d w h ol e- b o dy m ove m e nts n e e d e d to exc el i n s p ort: • M ore t ha n 130 drills e n ha nce at hletes’ a bility t o ra pi dly accelerate or decelerate i n t hree di me nsi o ns. • T welve a gility a n d q uick ness tests pr ovi de ga u ges of prese nt a bilities a n d met h o ds t o meas ure pr o gress. • G ui deli nes f or tail ori n g trai ni n g t o s pecific nee ds prese nt a bl ue pri nt f or i ncreasi n g c ha n ge of directi o n s pee d a n d ex pl osive m ove me nt. • Ne w c ha pters o n war m- u p met h o ds a n d a ge a n d sex c o nsi derati o ns pre pare at hletes t o get t he m ost fr o m t heir trai ni n g. • S p ort-s pecific trai ni n g pla ns f oster peak perf or ma nce f or at hletes i n 15 s p orts, i ncl u di n g base ball, basket ball, f o ot ball, s occer, a n d lacr osse. D ev el o pi n g A gility a n d Q ui ck n ess is a n ess e nti al trai ni n g g ui d e for at hl etes a n d c o ac h es s e eki n g to exc el i n to d ay’s fast- acti o n s p orts. T h e drills a n d training progra ms in this resource will keep you a step ahead of the co mpetition, N w h et h er yo u’re o n t h e c o urt or o n t h e t urf. S C A H u m a n Ki n eti c s U S $24.95 D E V E L O PI N G A GI LI T Y A N D Q UI C K N E S S S E C O N D E DI TI O N N ati o n al Str e n gt h a n d C o n diti o ni n g Ass oci ati o n J a y D a w es E DIT O R Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Na mes: Da wes, Jay. | National Strength & Conditioning Association ( U.S.) Title: Developing agility and quickness / National Strength and Conditioning Association, Jay Da wes, editor. Description: Second Edition. | Cha mpaign, Illinois : Hu man Kinetics, [2019] | Series: Sport perfor mance series | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: L C C N 2018035096 (print) | L C C N 2018053323 (ebook) | IS B N 9781492586913 (epub) | IS B N 9781492569527 (P DF) | IS B N 9781492569510 (print) Subjects: L CS H: Sports sciences. | Sports--Physiological aspects. | Motor ability. | Motor learning. Classification: L C C G V558 (ebook) | L C C G V558 . D45 2018 (print) | D D C 613.71--dc23 L C record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018035096 IS B N: 978-1-4925-6951-0 (print) Copyright © 2019, 2012 by National Strength and Conditioning Association All rights reserved. Except for use in a revie w, the reproduction or utilization of this work in any for m or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, no w kno wn or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying, and recording, and in any infor mation storage and retrieval syste m, is forbidden without the written per mission of the publisher. The web addresses cited in this text were current as of October 2018, unless other wise noted. Senior Acquisitions Editor: Roger W. Earle; Managing Editors: Julie Marx Goodreau, Anna Lan Sea man, and Do minique J. Moore; Copyeditor: Rodelinde Albrecht; Proofreader: Lisa Hi mes; Indexer: May Hasso; Per missions Manager: Martha Gullo; Senior Graphic Designer: Nancy Ras mus; Cover Designer: Keri Evans; Cover Design Associate: Susan Rother mel Allen; Photograph (cover): Joe Robbins/ Getty I mages; Photographs (interior): © Hu man Kinetics, unless other wise noted. Photos in chapter 3 on pages 51, 52, 55, 56, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63, and 65 courtesy of Jay Da wes; Photo Asset Manager: Laura Fitch; Photo Production Coordinator: A my M. Rose; Photo Production Manager: Jason Allen; Senior Art Manager: Kelly Hendren; Illustrations: © Hu man Kinetics, unless other wise noted; Printer: Sheridan Books We thank Urbana High School in Urbana, Illinois, and the Mettler Center in Cha mpaign, Illi- nois, for assistance in providing the locations for the photo shoot for this book. Hu man Kinetics books are available at special discounts for bulk purchase. Special editions or book excerpts can also be created to specification. For details, contact the Special Sales Man- ager at Hu man Kinetics. Printed in the United States of A merica 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The paper in this book is certified under a sustainable forestry progra m. Hu man Kinetics P. O. Box 5076 Cha mpaign, IL 61825-5076 Website: w w w. Hu man Kinetics.co m In the United States, e mail info @hkusa.co m or call 800-747-4457. In Canada, e mail info @hkcanada.co m. In the United Kingdo m/Europe, e mail hk @hkeurope.co m. For infor mation about Hu man Kinetics’ coverage in other areas of the world, please visit our website: w w w. Hu man Kinetics.co m E7354 D E V E L O PI N G A GI LI T Y A N D Q UI C K N E S S S E C O N D E DI TI O N C o nt e nts I ntr o d ucti o n vii Key t o Dia gra ms xi 1 D ev el o pi n g C h a n g e of Dir ecti o n S p e e d . . . . . 1 2 Fact ors D et er mi ni n g Q uic k n ess . . . . . . . . . . 2 9 3 War m- U p M et h o ds a n d Tec h ni q u es f or A gility Tr ai ni n g. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5 4 A g e a n d S ex C o nsi d er ati o ns . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 7 5 Testi n g, Ass ess m e nt, a n d M o nit ori n g of A gility a n d Q uic k n ess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 7 6 C h a n g e of Dir ecti o n S p e e d Drills . . . . . . . . . 9 9 7 Q uic k n ess Drills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 3 iv 8 A gility a n d Q uic k n ess Pr o gr a m D esi g n . . . 15 3 9 S p ort-S p ecific A gility a n d Q uic k n ess Tr ai ni n g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 3 Base ball a n d S oft ball 165 Basket ball 172 C o m bat S p orts 179 Cricket 182 Fiel d H ockey 189 F o ot ball ( A merica n or Gri dir o n) 194 Ice H ockey 198 Lacr osse 201 Net ball 203 R u g by 211 S occer 217 Te n nis 223 Volley ball 225 Wrestli n g 227 Refere nces 231 I n dex 259 A b o ut t he NS C A 265 A b o ut t he E dit or 267 A b o ut t he C o ntri b ut ors 269 C o ntri b ut ors t o t he Previ o us E diti o n 275 v This page intentionally left blank. I ntr o d u c ti o n Speed is an essential ele ment in most sports. Speed is ty pically defined as the a mount of ti me it takes to move bet ween t wo points, but in sports these t wo points are often not in a straight line. For this reason, the ability to change direction quickly is often the difference bet ween success and failure in many athletic endeavors. Therefore, many coaches and athletes are interested in finding effective ways to i mprove agility and quickness. The pur pose of this book is to assist sports coaches, athletes, and strength and conditioning professionals in acco mplishing this goal. Agility and quickness are co mplex sporting skills that include both physical and cog nitive co mponents. According to Young, Ja mes, and Montgo mery (1), the physical co mponents of agility include those ai med at i mproving change of direction ( C O D) speed (i.e., technique, straight line speed, leg muscle qual- ities, and anthropo metric variables), whereas the quickness-related factors are a function of perceptual and decision- making skills (i.e., visual scanning patter ns, anticipation, patter n recog nition, and kno wledge of the situation). A n exa mple is a kick or punt retur ner in A merican football waiting patiently to receive a ball, who, upon catching it, must i m mediately decide which way to maneuver through the defense to gain yardage. Or i magine a point g uard who dribbles do w n the lane and must deter mine whether to continue drib - bling to make for ward progression, pass the ball, or shoot. These are pri me exa mples of ho w athletes must move and think fast to achieve success on the field or court. Thus, to maxi mize perfor mance, athletic training progra ms must address both the physical and the cog nitive co mponents of agility and quickness. Only then will athletes be able to tr uly bridge the gap bet ween practice and co mpetition. This second edition of Developing Agility and Quickness provides coaches and athletes with a resource to better understand the intricacies of develop- ing a safe and effective training progra m to opti mize perfor mance. Using the latest research and advice fro m experienced coaches, the book provides the reader with a unique blend of science and practical application that can be i m mediately used to enhance athletic perfor mance. vii viii ■ Introduction Chapter 1 discusses factors that influence C O D speed, proper technique, body position, and the physical attributes needed for athletes to achieve high- level perfor mance. This chapter also provides reco m mendations for other ty pes of co mple mentary training modalities that can be used to aug ment C O D speed. Chapter 2 explores perceptual and decision- making skills (i.e., quickness factors), such as infor mation processing, kno wledge of situations, anticipation, and arousal and anxiety levels. Athletes with high-level agility perfor mance are better at recog nizing and capitalizing on task- and ga me-relevant cues that give the m a co mpetitive advantage over their opponents. In many cases, these skills separate elite perfor mers fro m everyone else. Chapters 3 and 4 are ne w to this edition. Chapter 3 focuses on the i mpor - tance of using the dy na mic war m-up not only to prepare the athlete for more vigorous activity but also to develop specific skills necessary to i mprove move ment efficiency. Chapter 4 discusses the need for the sequential devel - op ment of skills based on sex- and age-related factors. These are i mportant considerations when atte mpting to develop agility and quickness progra ms for specific populations and are the foundation for future athletic success. Chapter 5 focuses on testing procedures and protocols to help evaluate an athlete’s current strengths and weaknesses, and serve as a baseline for measuring progress over ti me. Once an athlete’s strengths and weaknesses are identified, the coach can select drills to help the athlete continue to make i mprove ments. Chapters 6 and 7 present a wide variety of drills to i mprove agility and quickness. Many of these drills develop general motor progra ms and i mprove funda mental move ment skills for future athletic success. These chapters also include suggestions and specific training drills that incor porate cog nitive decision- making tasks into athletes’ training progra ms once the athlete has mastered funda mental techniques. These unplanned, or open , drills require athletes to process infor mation fro m the environ ment and to respond quickly with accuracy and precision. The drills included in these chapters provide a solid base of infor mation to assist in the develop ment of athlete-specific and sport-specific training progra ms. Chapter 8 explores the basic foundations of desig ning agility and quick - ness progra ms by using a scientific approach to training. In chapter 9, the foundational concepts discussed in chapter 8 are put into context for specific sports. In this chapter, so me of the world’s leading experts and profession- als fro m a variety of sports share their personal philosophies on agility and quickness training and their favorite drills for i mproving sport perfor mance at a variety of skill levels. Introduction ■ ix This book serves as a basic g uide and resource for the safe and effective develop ment of co mprehensive training progra ms for agility and quickness. It is loaded with valuable training tips and infor mation that the experts in this book have taken a lifeti me to develop. The NS C A hopes that readers will gain an appreciation for and a better understanding of what it takes to i mprove agility and quickness. Excellence does not occur by accident! It takes deliberate and focused effort. This book is an absolute must-have resource for coaches and athletes who are serious about taking perfor mance to the next level.