The Illinois Agility Test This drill is commonly used as the backbone and foundation for testing the agility of athletes in particular sports. Soccer, Basketball, Rugby League, AFL, Gridiron, Netball, and Tennis are all sports that frequently call on this test to gauge where their athletes are at and where they need to improve on in specific key areas. The field is 10m long and 5m wide with four cones marking the square (field) and four cones marking the centre strip (one cone at either end and two cones in the middle: 3.3m apart). There are 3 parts to the test and they all occur without rest. The starting position is from the stomach and when the timer/coach gives the signal the athlete springs to their feet as quickly as possible and sprints to the marker directly ahead of them (10m away). Once the marker is reached the athlete will turn sharply and race back to the starting line (but closer towards the centre of the field). Here is the most difficult stage of the test; the slalom. Sticking as close to the markers as possible, the object is to ‘figure 8’ through the 4 centre markers all the way to the end (of the 10m field) and then loop back around until the participant has returned to the starting line. For the final stage of the test it is just a straight run; up and back (same as the first stage). Once the runner has crossed the starting line on the opposite side to which they started, the clock is stopped and the time is recorded. Agility is obviously a major component/requirement for this test, but just as important are accuracy, coordination, speed, timing, acceleration, power, and technique. Without one of these integral pieces of the puzzle the end result won’t be nearly as prosperous as it should/could be. Be patient with learning this drill and explore different methods or techniques that you can try to improve your performance. I have personally seen many different versions of this same test done every which way. Almost every time I have seen a new coach conduct this test there has been a slight variation to it. As long as the fundamentals are still the same, you’re not a professional athlete (that needs to practice this test exactly as it was originally designed), or you’re not at high risk of injury then you should be fine. Make sure you warm up well before exerting maximal efforts, your footwear is adequate for traction and landing, the surface is comfortable to run and turn on, and - most importantly – make sure you have some fun while doing it. Life is too short to deny such simple and quintessential desires. Enjoy :) youtube/watch?v=u6emyuz76Uk
Posted on: Wed, 28 Aug 2013 06:58:28 +0000
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