The current definition of agility is “a rapid whole-body movement with change of velocity or direction in response to a stimulus”. Coaches often miss the change of speed element and think the fastest response is always best. This is typically not the case, at The U of Strength we teach our athletes that they need to control their speed. This will allow them to react to the stimulus with an appropriate response and solution. The ability to quickly decelerate and under control is essential for athletic success.

Another important part of agility training that is often overlooked is the connection between the perceptive and cognitive processes. The quality of an athlete’s movement will be directly related to the quality of decisions made. We promote, the athletes who can quickly make effective decisions will likely gain a step on their opponent, even if there’s a difference with physical abilities (speed, strength and power).
 
The cognitive components are organized into 2 different categories:

• General stimulus= Colored Cones
• Specific stimulus= Numbers-down situation (1v2)

 
Here are some progressions we follow to facilitate the ability of being under control and making effective decisions: 
1. Increasing the work space

• The larger work space will potentially create more problems for the athlete solve. The outcome (winning or losing) will determine if the response was effective or ineffective.

2. 1v2

• This is an example of numbers-down situation (specific stimulus) and will promote context-specific (defense vs. offense) decision-making skills. For example, if the defender commits too much speed or uncontrollable movement to one side or opponent compared to the other will result in an ineffective response and therefore a poor outcome.

 3. Reacting to multiple stimuli (opponent & ball)

• It’s important that in order for the agility drills to transfer to sport the training stimuli is specific to the sport. The number one stimulus for team sport athletes is another athlete or opponent. The second will be dependent on the sport, incorporating implements like a ball would be considered a major stimulus. Team sports are random and chaotic where athletes are constantly solving movement and game-based problems. Athletes need practice and exposure to recognizing, interpreting and screening through different cues of an opponent, environment and situations to make the most optimal response.

At the U of Strength our goal isn’t building the strongest or fastest athlete, it’s creating the most resilient athlete. With early specialization and the playing of sport year-round, there’s an extreme amount of stress placed on the athlete’s system. Most young females’ athletes naturally cannot handle that workload. This is why we’re seeing a high rate of non-contact and overuse injuries, like soft tissue tears and stress fractures.

Force Absorption
This is addressed with speed, power & strength movements. Depending on the time of year and training level will determine the emphasis:
▪Deceleration Mechanics (Speed/Change of Direction)
- Closed and Open Skill Drills
▪Landing Technique (Jumps)
- Drop Jumps/ Bounds/ Hops
- Depth Drops/ Altitude Landings
- Single Response Movements w/ Stick
▪Eccentric Phase (Strength Exercises)
- Slow to Moderate Tempo (Descending Phase)

Early on we focus on force absorption, we improve an athlete’s breaks before their engine. If sequenced properly, an athlete will be able to safely absorb and then efficiently re-produce force. This will lead to greater power output potential and decrease in non-contact related injuries.

​Here’s a great look at the vertical jump and the different joint positions.
 
In the video, this athlete has great arm action with an explosive descent and ascent. But as you can see there’s a horizontal displacement with the take-off and landing. Ideally, we like a parallel relationship with the shin and trunk throughout the entire movement.
 
At the beginning of the take-off there’s a shift forward to the toes. This will place more stress on the quads and a disruption with that parallel relationship. The upper half is moving faster vertically than the lower half. This means that the jump will be initiated by the lower back. The lower body will be delayed and therefore causing a limited “push-off” or leg drive. This is an inefficient jumping technique that will negatively affect the athlete’s force production.   

The lower body power movements are organized into jumps, bounds, hops, shock or hybrid.
Terminology

• Jumps= Take off of 2 legs and land on 2 legs
• Bounds= Take off of 1 leg and land on the opposite 1 leg
• Hops= Take off of 1 leg and land on that same 1 leg
• Shock= Dropping from an elevated surface (overload the landing/ eccentric)
• Hybrid= Combination of the 3 & medicine ball throw variations

See below for everything we take into consideration while organizing & selecting the different lower body power exercises for our athletes.
 
Progression process (relative to the athlete’s training level)

• General to specific (to their sporting demands)
• Simple (low skill) to complex (high skill)
• Slow (decrease velocity) to fast (increase velocity)
• Sagittal to multiple planes of motion (sagittal, front & transverse)
• Lower amplitude to greater amplitude
• Single response to multiple response

 
Unilateral (Single Leg)
We will introduce unilateral explosive exercises early on in the training process. The context is most important and we take into consideration the athlete’s sport, time of year and training level. We don’t follow the typical progression of bilateral (2-leg) to unilateral (1-leg) or vice versa. Both 2-leg & 1-leg are used concurrently & follow the above progressions.  
 
In-Season
An in-season athlete will still follow our progression process, but the major difference is that every landing will be on an elevated surface.. The athlete will still get the desired training effect and adaptation, without over-stressing their system (less impact).
 
Force-Velocity Profile
As an athlete reaches the intermediate to advance training level, we get more specific and individualize the power movements with a force (strength) or velocity (speed) emphasis. We determine if the athlete has a force or velocity deficiency. Once this is known we train and attack the weakness or opposite quality.    
 
Additional Implements
We also incorporate additional equipment or change in surface that will complement our progression protocol and appropriate for the individual. For example:

• Elevated surface w/ single response (Box Jump)
• Elevated surface w/ multiple responses (Stair Jumps)
• Over barrier (Hurdle Jump)
• Over barrier & onto elevated surface (Hurdle Jump + Rotational Box Hop)
• Off elevated surface (Depth Jumps)
• Band Resisted (Loaded Horizontal Jump)
• Band Assisted (Accelerated Squat Jump)

 
It’s important to have a systematic approach when planning and organizing all of the different qualities (speed, power, strength, suppleness, capacity, etc…) that need to be addressed in an athlete’s physical preparation process. Proper progressions and exercise sequencing will set the athlete up for long term success. 

If there is one thing I’ve learned from working with athletes from various backgrounds, it’s they all are individually different. These individual differences determine the programing and coaching style that works best for them. No two athletes are alike. One movement or training regime might work well for one individual, where that same exercise or program might be the complete opposite of what the other individual needs.
 
“You can’t fit a square peg in a round whole”. Determine the athlete’s jumping style and train them accordingly.
 
Strength Jumper (Force Dominant)
A strength dominant jumper is naturally stronger, has more muscle mass and thicker joints. The athlete will tend to have a more forceful take off with less “spring” when they jump. They will require more of a knee bend and will spend longer time on the ground. This type of athlete will benefit complementing their strength work with more plyometric and complex/contrast methods.
 
Speed Jumper (Velocity Dominant)
The elastic style jumper will naturally have longer leverages (bones & tendons) and smaller joints. This athlete will have more of an effortless take off with a lot of “spring” when they jump. They will take full advantage of the stretch shortening cycle and will spend less time on the ground. This type of athlete will benefit from complementing their plyometric drills with absolute strength and strength-speed movements. 

Understanding that the cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approach will be detrimental to an athlete's short term and long term development. Individualization and specificity are two of the major principles that our training system is built upon.