Just because you’re injured, doesn’t mean you’re out of the game. Ready to see how you can turn the tables? Learn the step by step process to build your agility

Agility is one of the key determinants in sports. You always remember that person who brilliantly evaded the opponent, generating that ‘OOOOOOHHHHH’ noise from the sidelines. When you’re injured, the fear that you won’t ever be the same is real. The doubt creeps in – ‘Can I still be that guy? Will I ever be the same?

 Most of my clients have a similar mindset; they not only want to return to their previous performance level but also aim to excel and truly dominate on the field. My philosophy revolves around how we can prepare individuals for their sport. How can we equip them to excel and dominate? I believe that laying the groundwork for key movements as early as possible is essential for recovery and performance

Static Drills

These are drills that enable you to practice holding relevant shapes. They strengthen the body, teach you correct postures, and begin to build your confidence in holding positions that are key for your sport.

Dynamic Stationary Drills

These are drills that begin to load dynamic positions. The purpose of these drills is two-fold: firstly, they load the body as you incorporate movement. Secondly, they allow for the development of coordination, enabling athletes to find key shapes and positions in a dynamic and safe manner

Low-Intensity Movements

These are movements, such as shuffling, backpedalling, or single-step drills, performed in multiple directions at a slow pace. These movements escalate the intensity of drills, thereby exposing and strengthening the key muscles necessary for their sport. Additionally, there’s an increase in complexity, which enhances an individual’s skill and ability to perform these movements, commonly seen within the sport

High Intensity Movments

This introduces movements such as decelerations and cutting. The concept here is evolving from slow to fast, simple to complex, and finally, extensive to intensive. How this would look is to utilize distance, repetitions, effort, and complexity. An example of how this could be progressed is as follows: a 5m acceleration into stopping, performed at 80% effort, for 10 reps. This allows you to practice this key movement, enhancing your skill and fitness. Eventually, this would progress to a 10m sprint with a 180-degree turn, into a 5m sprint with a 45-degree cut and stop

Reactive Drills

Incorporating a reactive element is a crucial step in returning to play. Agility requires an individual to process information quickly and then execute an action. At this stage, you start simply and safely, calling out actions, or pointing in a direction. As you progress, you may add complexity to it with random occurrences that the athlete is unprepared for. Building up in this manner is key to returning to sport, as the addition of a reactive element means you can’t predict what’s going to happen, which heightens the complexity of the task.

Reactive to an Opponent

The final stage involves adding opponents, forcing individuals to make decisions. This process begins gradually, starting with one person, with rules in place to allow the individual undergoing rehab to feel confident and safe. For instance, the person in rehab has to beat the defender, but the defender can only move side to side and has to tag the rehabber. This approach is very safe and allows the individual to build their confidence in chaotic situations. Over time, this process becomes more complex, until eventually, the individual is integrated back into full training

Take Aways

If you can take anything away from this, it’s that you shouldn’t jump straight back into full training. Instead, easing in is key. Start with holding positions to build strength and confidence, then add in low-intensity movements. Gradually increase the speed and complexity before finally adding that reactive element. Following these stages allows you to gain confidence in what you’re doing, and eventually return to being that player who makes the crowd go ‘OHHHHHHHH’