Conditioning for soccer: Agility

Joey Macauley
Complete Conditioning for SoccerBy: Greg Gatz

While speed is the rate of which it takes to go from one point to another, agility is the level of efficiency to react to a stimulus. In chapter 8 of Complete Conditioning for Soccer, Greg Gatz focuses on this influential component of soccer and provides drills to pursue further success on the field. Essentially, agility training improves the execution of various coordinated body/muscle movements in space and with the nature of the body’s neuromuscular systems, improvements are quickly noticeable in one's performance after a few training sessions (Gatz 113). Additionally, Gatz further specifies beyond the basic definition of agility as he states, “Along with accelerating, agility involves reaction time, balance, coordination, stopping, and starting.” This leads to his elaboration on how to shape training programs as he introduces the division between the different drills, “Agility drills can be either reactive or nonreactive” (Gatz 114). In essence, non-reactive correlates with being able to anticipate something, and reactive drills challenge an individual’s ability to adjust to stimulus. Both are just as important when trying to dominate on the field and contribute to teams. Some of these drills include... 

(1) Shuttle Agility Drills: Sprinting 10 to 50 yard increments and using cones to incorporate changes of direction with sharp movements. Develops explosive strength, posture, and some balance
(2) Agility Ladder Exercises: Combination of many different patterns to speed up your footwork, coordinate your upper body with your lower body mechanics, and hones general athletic movements
(3) Line/Cutting Drills: Sprinting shorter distances and being able to change direction by isolating the position of your inside/outside foot to enhance explosiveness and balance for more muscle mechanic efficiency. 

Initially, I believed agility was simply being able to move quicker through improvised routes of adjusting to circumstances. However, after reading this chapter, Gatz added to my understanding to the multitude of concepts and mechanics that are involved in this component of soccer, along with how to individually improve it. The evidence that I paraphrased was not only the foundation to my aspiration to begin working on my agility, but also I was able recognize the distinguished movements that are often executed when I'm playing soccer. Then, the quotes I provided helped me form a simple program to isolate particular techniques and motions, which would translate in my performance on the field. Additionally, the evidence were parts of the chapter that influenced my knowledge of agility in order to effectively act on enhancing it. 

How did you perceive the definition and importance of agility in the activities you are involved in and what do you believe is the most important to focus on when conditioning this component?

Work Cited: 

Gatz, Greg. Complete Conditioning for Soccer. Human Kinetics, 2009.