Things To Focus On
No matter what drill you are completing, it is important that you maintain speed throughout the drill. You should always try to complete exercises as quickly as possible if you are wanting to improve your speed and agility. Once you get the rhythm of the exercise, try to move even faster. There are a few simple things that you can do to increase your speed. The most important is keeping a great center of balance. As you see in the video the athlete is moving back-and-forth over the hurdles. If you let your weight slide out over your outer foot it will be much more difficult for you to change direction and move back where you came from. Leaving your center of gravity slightly inside your outside leg will give you the ability to change direction on command.
Another reference to focus on is knee height. Drive your knee up to at least a parallel position while doing this exercise. The more you can mimic great stride range of motion, the faster you will be able to run. Raise your knee through the resistance of Kbands as you move from side to side. You will not only build leg strength in your hip flexors to help you run down the football field, but you will build glute strength for more agility moving laterally.
Youth Athletes Versus Mature Athletes
Youth athletes should incorporate less resistance during this drill. Kbands have four levels of resistance. Make sure that you are using the proper amount of resistance to maintain full range of motion and speed. Youth athletes should also move the cones or hurdles closer together so that they can complete the drill properly. If the objects are too far apart then there will be too much lateral movement to maintain quick steps.
Mature athletes, on the other hand, will want to stretch the distance is far enough to where speed can be maintained while gaining ground from side to side. Mature athletes also must focus on arm action. Younger athletes struggle sometimes to move quickly in a side to side motion and have proper arms. As a mature athlete working for explosive power, you will want to focus on arm action as well to increase your output.
Each group should complete 6 to 8 sets of 15 to 20 second rounds. If you find yourself slowing down then make the sets shorter. You should be moving as fast as possible from the beginning of the exercise.