Change of Direction Drills and Overview Part 1

As football players progress throughout their careers and move up from one tier to the next, the biggest difference a player must adjust to is the speed of the game. Although in football the 40 yard dash is the universal evaluator of speed, players need to realize that when training for “game speed” there is far more that goes into it then just straight ahead speed. In a game type situation the transition from one straight line to the next can often be the biggest determinant of on field speed and success.

When developing efficient change of direction movement patterns the foundation of the work to be performed is first and foremost in understanding acceleration and deceleration mechanics.

Acceleration refers to increasing speed and it is done so most effectively in a straight line. Because players are always going to be fastest moving forward in a straight line it is important for players to understand that when changing directions the emphasis must be on squaring up to the point of interest as quickly as possible to return to their fastest position.

On field drills used by KING Football to increase the power of our athletes acceleration phase are:

– Bungee Pulls or Sled Pulls

– Stair or Hill Sprints
– Bursts from Various Stating Positions

Here are the coaching cues we emphasize at KING Football when players accelerate and perform these on field drills:

– Stay Low: because every action has an equal and opposite reaction, running with an aggressive forward lean places a player in a more advantageous position to extend their stride behind them in order to drive forward
– Maximize Stride Length: longer strides are more efficient and powerful as they promote the triple extension of the hip, knee and ankle in every stride
– Keep a Low Heel Recovery: feet should stay low to the ground as they drive forward so that they can quickly apply force to the ground once triple extension is achieved in the opposite leg and stride length is maximized. Maximizing traction is key as players are not accelerating unless they are pushing through the ground.

The second and more overlooked aspect of agility training is deceleration which refers to slowing down. When running, just like when driving a car, the greater the angle of the turn about to taken, the more brake one must apply. Furthermore, the faster one is traveling the more brake that will be required to control the change in direction.

On field drills used by KING Football to increase deceleration power are:

– Decel Jumps

– Repeated Forward and Lateral Decel Stops
– 6 Cone Progression

Here are the coaching cues we emphasize at KING Football when players decelerate and perform these on field drills:

– Sink Hips: players need to get low to engage their glutes, their largest energy source, to take in the force of the generated momentum.
– Take in Force as fast as possible: the faster a player can take in force the faster they can begin to accelerate in a new direction.
– Keep Core Tight: if a players bends at the hips when trying to decelerate, he is adding extra force to overcome making the feat more difficult then it already is.

With this base understanding of our change of direction philosophy look for Part 2 on Canada Football Chat as we’ll review how we at KING Football separate our agility drills and provide more examples.

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Joey Kwasniewski MKin, CSCS
President of KING Football
403.607.8510
[email protected]
kingfootball.ca