You know the saying, “speed kills”. In modern sports, it’s not just “nice-to-have”, it’s a competitive separator. Coaches at every level know that a faster athlete can create space, close gaps, recover from mistakes, and make plays others simply can’t. My oldest plays quarterback and even then he worked on strengthening his legs to improve his agility, quickness, and overall speed.
In this post, I will share some of the tools (and videos!) featuring the exercises my husband used to help him achieve his goal of earning a full athletic scholarship to play football at the Division 1 level. No matter what sport your athlete competes in; football, basketball, soccer or anything else. These workouts are an excellent starting point to improve agility, quickness, and overall speed. If you’re committed and consistent, these exercises can help you get closer to your athletic goals.
The tools he relied on were simple (and affordable!!) but extremely effective; bungee cords, mini hurdles, and an agility ladder. He also made the most of any free workouts he could find, whether it was throwing sessions or footwork drills. Whenever an opportunity came up to train, he took it.
Bungee cords, they build resistance and reactive speed by forcing you to work against a pull, which strengthens muscles for power and explosiveness, and improves quickness for reactive movements.
Mini hurdles, they improve athletic performance by focusing on speed, agility, and proper sprint mechanics. They help develop a faster stride rate, improve foot speed and ground contact time, and encourage better posture and body awareness.
Agility ladders, they improve speed, agility, and quickness by enhancing foot speed and coordination. They also increase balance, body control, and overall athletic performance, while strengthening the body and improving mental concentration.
If you’re interested in purchasing any of these items, simply click on the images above or visit My Amazon Storefront under Gift Ideas for Athletes.
A combination of these tools and exercises helped my son become quicker and faster across every sport he played; football, basketball, and even track and field. All that work paid off when he ran a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash at combines, which definitely strengthened his chances in the recruiting process.
While in college, he unfortunately ended up needing labrum surgery on his throwing arm. Enhancing his agility, quickness, and speed became even more valuable during his recovery, because it allowed him to stay dynamic and contribute in another position besides quarterback. He not only returned to QB but also earned playing time at wide receiver, showing just how far that versatility and athletic training could take him.
Below are a couple of videos showcasing the exercises he did in high school to strengthen his legs and improve his chances of becoming a collegiate athlete.
I hope you found this post helpful! Be on the lookout for more videos on my YouTube channel!
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