SPEED and AGILITY

General Guidelines For Speed And Agility Drills

Quality not quantity is the key for successful performance of these speed and agility drills. Keep the individual sprints short and rest completely between sets. Use the pointers below to optimize the training response:

1. Warm up properly. Speed and agility drills should not leave you out of breath.

2. Speed and agility drills should only be performed when the player is fresh, so either on separate days to other training or at the start of a training session after the warm up.

3. A typical session may consist of approximately 3-5 sets of 5 repetitions (each sprint being 1 repetition).

4. The number of sessions per week varies greatly. For most team sports speed and agility drills should be introduced late on in the pre-season phase. Two sessions a week is usually adequate. During the competitive season, one session per week may be enough.

5. The speed and agility drills below are suitable for many sports. To make them more rugby specific adapt them slightly to mirror the movement patterns in rugby.

Speed And Agility Drills

Here are some simple speed and agility drills

1. Basic Sprints Set 2 cones out 10-20 metres apart. Sprint from one cone to the next and  jog back to the start. Vary the start of the sprint to make the drill more sport specific or include a rugby ball. For example…

Face backwards with ball in hand, lie down with ball in front of you so you have to pick it up as you sprint, receive a pass from a team mate as you begin the sprint

2. Rolling Start Exactly the same as above except you jog for 10 metres before sprinting. This drill is specifically designed to enhance acceleration rather than speed off the mark. Try running backwards or side stepping as well. Again to make the sprint more sport specific include a ball when you run.

3. Hill Sprints In competition the first few strides are crucial. Running up a slight hill (about 30 degrees) helps to develop power and acceleration. Keep the distances short (10-15 metres) and allow extra rest between sets and reps.

4. Down Hill Sprints (Over speed training) Down hill speed and agility drills help to develop leg speed and co-ordination. This is sometimes referred to as over-speed training. Keep the distance short (10-15 metres) and make sure the hill is only slight.

5. Hollow Sprints Set 5 cones out in 20 metres intervals. Sprint 20 metres, jog 20 metres, sprint 20 metres and jog 20 metres to the final cone. Walk back to the start and repeat.

6. Cruise And Sprint Mark out a distance of 100 metres. From the start gradually accelerate to reach full speed at about 60 metres. Sprint all out for the final 40 metres.

To summarise  speed sessions need to be undertaken when the player is fresh, you cannot develop speed under fatigue. Always ensure complete recovery between reps.

Speed Endurance Drills For Rugby

Speed endurance training for rugby should is important to develop a solid fitness base.

During the rugby pre season two speed endurance sessions are required. This may be reduced to once a week during the competitive season. Because speed endurance training can be so demanding, keep session duration to 20-30 minutes maximum. Rest intervals should consist of active recovery ideally skill based using the rugby ball works well

 Out and Backs

Mark out 30 metres on training pitch. Place a cone at the start and at 5 metres intervals (7 cones in total).

Sprint from the starting cone to 5 metres cone and back. Turn and sprint to 10 metres cone and back to start. Sprint to 15 metres cone and back to start and so on until you sprint the full 30 metres and back.

Rest for 90 seconds and repeat. Complete a total of 6 sets keeping rest periods to 90 seconds.

Up The Clock/Down the Clock

Pace out 50 metres placing a cone at the start and then at 10 metre intervals (6 cones in total).

Starting at the first cone sprint all out for 10 metres and walk the remaining 40 metres.

Turn and sprint 20 metres and walk for 30 metres.

Turn and sprint 30 metres and walk for 20 metres.

Turn and sprint 40 metres and walk for 10 metres. Finally…

Turn and sprint 50 metres and then turn and sprint 50 meters again back to the start.

This is classed as one set. Rest for 90 seconds and repeat for a total of 4 sets. Rest for a full 3 minutes and repeat.

Cross Drill

Using 4 cones mark a box 30 metres by 30 metres. Place another cone in the center of the box.

Starting at the center cone sprint to each corner and back in a clockwise direction. Once you have completed a circuit rest for 60 seconds.

Perform a total of 6 circuits to complete one set. A session could contain up to 4 sets with a 3 minute rest interval between sets.

30 Second Drill

Mark out 3 distances  80 metres, 35 metres and 20 metres. The challenge is to complete the prescribed distances under 30 seconds.

1)   Run from the start to the 20 metre mark turn straight away and run back to the start point, do this 3 times under the 30 seconds. (A total of 6 runs)

2)   Take a 30 second recovery

3)   Run from the start to the 35 metre mark turn straight away and run back to the start point, do this 2 times under the 30 seconds. (A total of 4 runs)

4)   Take a 30 second rest

5)   Run from the start to the 80 metre mark turn straight away and run back to the start point, do this once (a total of 2 runs)

6)   Try to repeat this 2-3 times based on your levels of fitness.