How Do You Increase Your Agility?

If you want to pull off fancy moves and fake your opponent like a fool, you are going to need good agility. Agility is the most valuable athletic components for guards. Agility has to do with change of direction, the ability to stop and accelerate very quickly. Speed, on the other hand has two components, stride length and stride frequency.

Absolute speed plays a lesser role in basketball. Why? Well, you don't see Iverson competing in the Olympic 100 meter right? Iverson is so fast because he is able to stop and change direction very quickly, not because he can sprint very quickly in a straight line (though it helps).

Agility requires athletes to regulates shifts in the body's center of gravity while maintaining balance. Most players must decelerate considerably in order to gain control prior to a quick change of direction. With proper training, you can maintain your speed and change direction at the same time.

Minimizing the amount of deceleration before changing direction is a key factor in improving agility. The ability to change direction rapidly also explains why high jumpers can jump so high. The jumper establishes his speed during the approach and then transfers this horizontal speed to vertical leap before take off.

Agility Training

• Sprinting - Notice the body Alignment...

• 20 Yard Agility Run - To setup the 20 yard agility run...

• Agility Ladder - It is perhaps the most wildly...

• High Knee Running - Use this drill as a part method...

• Heel Kicks - After the foot leaves the ground...

• Power Skips - Keep the body alignment...

• Back Sprint - Lean forward slightly at...

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