Agility drill

Developing agility drills needs to be well researched. There is an established formula for taking an athlete from basic skills through to full-speed game application. This is typically broken down as follows:

• First Derivative - The specified movement performed at game speed
• Second Derivative - The movement is broken into its component parts
• Third Derivative - Basic movements that underlie the skill are isolated
  
  

Agility drills follow this design hierarchy in order to ensure that athletes master new skills under carefully controlled conditions before attempting them in full speed game situations.

Developing agility drills requires work in a number of key areas:

• Balance - this is defined as the ability to maintain equilibrium (i.e. not to fall over) when stationary or moving. These two states are referred to as Static Balance (stationary positions) and Dynamic Balance (changing conditions of body movement).
• Speed - quite simply the ability to move all or part of the body quickly.
• Strength - the effectiveness of a muscle (or muscle group) to overcome a specified resistance.
• Co-ordination - the ability to control the movement of the body (particularly the limbs) in co-operation with the body's senses.