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Speed and Agility Ladder Exercises

Agility work using a ladder is highly recommended for coordination and speed training and is especially beneficial to sports like soccer/football. As most of you know, an agility ladder is laid horizontally on a flat surface where the ladder segments can be stepped, jumped or run over.

Footwork

Footwork drills using a speed or agility ladder will include stepping into each section of the ladder with both feet. But with only one foot in a section at a time. Not two feet together in a section. A basic quick right and left foot exercise with a mid-foot push off continually moving towards the end of the ladder is an easy drill to get you started if you are unfamiliar with this type of training kit.

The important point to emphasise to new users is they must use the mid-foot when striking the ground and when pushing off. A heel strike will probably result in hitting the ladder as will stepping too low. The mid-foot push off is used for sprinting which will soon become apparent to the newbies.

Hopping

Most kids play hop-scotch in their younger days, and will find the hopping drills easiest to perform. So this is always a good place to start. Even though this exercise can be challenging, it is also a lot of fun. It starts with two foot push off and a one foot landing followed by a one foot push off and a two foot landing. As with a game of hop-scotch, alternate the the feet for landing.

The technique required for the hopping drill is speed control. Hopping between the rungs of the ladder is an excellent agility drill as both feet must land within each ladder segment, and balance becomes crucial as you move along the length of the speed/agility ladder.

Speed Work

Correct footwork is soon established as you run through the ladder because one foot has to go right in front of the other foot in order to remain inside the ladder segments. Feet have to be raised quickly to allow this positioning to happen, and this exercise has huge benefits on leg turnover. To progress from this basic speed exercise try missing out a segment which will stretch your run with a longer stride.

Proper Form

It is surprising how much soccer speed can be increased by adopting the correct posture or body form for running, and the speed/agility ladder is an excellent tool to make the necessary modifications to the individual's running style. Shoulders and arms should be relaxed as you stand tall, and your head should be a still as possible looking ahead and not down at the ladder. Initially you glance down at the ladder as you begin these agility exercises to see where your feet are going, but these glances will become less frequent with time and exposure to the speed ladder.

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