Warren Young on the science of agility

Football is unusual in being a genuinely 360-degree game: the ball can appear from any direction at any time. This makes agility a valuable asset to any player, but what exactly does agility look like on the pitch, and how can this skill be incorporated into training? In this Science Explained session, Dr Warren Young of Australia’s Federation University delves deep into this important multi-directional component of the game. The session is followed by a Q&A, hosted by FIFA’s Dr Paul Bradley.

Define the concept of agility. Describe a three-part agility model encompassing technical, physical and cognitive attributes. Suggest some potential methods for developing agility in team sports, including football.

Agility in football manifests itself in a myriad of different ways, and it is a key part of the competitive interplay between offensive and defensive players. Agile movements always occur in response to a stimulus on the pitch (such as the movement of the ball and the actions of team-mates and opposition players), which is why it is about more than simply changing direction. Accordingly, improving players’ agility means working on their technique, their physical attributes, and their ability to read the game.

It is crucial to ensure that agility training features a football-specific stimulus. Coaches should also consider designing exercises and training regimes that will encourage players to work on their movement technique, their physical strength, and their ability to anticipate their opponents’ movements. A truly agile player will possess all three of these attributes.

Welcome from Dr Paul Bradley

Part 1: Defining agility

Part 2: Training to develop technique

Part 3: Training to develop physical capacity

Part 4: Cognitive training to develop agility

Part 5: Q&A

Part 1: Defining agility
In football, agility manifests itself as part of the competition between defenders and attackers. For the side in possession of the ball, the idea is to outmanoeuvre the defender to create openings, while defenders need agility to close down the space and win the ball back. In both cases, players’ movements are prompted by what their opponents are doing, and this in-game stimulus is what sets agility apart from the ability to change direction.

Part 2: Training to develop technique
Isolated change-of-direction drills can be used to break down complicated movements, making them useful for teaching good movement technique and reducing the risk of injuries. However, there is no evidence to suggest they improve agility in senior players. This may be because change-of-direction drills are pre-planned, whereas agility involves a reaction to an unpredictable outside stimulus. This link between perception and action means agility is a complex skill, and has to be coached accordingly.

Part 3: Training to develop physical capacity
The stronger and more powerful a player is, the easier it will be for them to respond to specific situations on the pitch with explosive movements, thus outmanoeuvring their opposition. This part of the presentation discusses how coaches might go about developing the physical attributes required to promote agility. The legs and trunk are especially important in this regard, because developing these areas helps players withstand the eccentric loads to which they are exposed in games.

Part 4: Cognitive training to develop agility
Particularly in a multi-directional sport like football, explosive physical power is only helpful if you know how to use it. Being able to react quickly is a great asset, but for that reaction to be effective it has to be appropriate as well as fast. In the last part of the presentation, Dr Young explains how top players use their cognitive capacity to anticipate the right response during matches. He then concludes the session by presenting a selection of agility exercises coaches might use to hone their players’ skills on the training ground.

01:30
Could you tell us why your theoretical model now includes three elements, rather than the two it did when you first proposed it in the early 2000s?

03:26
How would you apply attacking and defensive training subsets to specific contexts in training? How enthusiastic are you about the idea of position-specific agility training?

06:06
We know the agility demands of football are very varied. Are there any specific agility tests that practitioners can use to replicate the variability of agility tasks in football?

09:20
You talked about obstacles being used in training exercises. How effective is that approach for developing agility?

11:28
Is it advantageous to use a generic stimulus rather than a football-specific stimulus to encourage direction changes in training?

14:04
We talk a lot about talent development in these sessions. Do you think it’s a good idea to start with change of direction drills before introducing youngsters to reactive, agility-focused drills?

16:24
Do you have any tips for developing adaptability in young players?

18:01
What is the key message you would like practitioners to take away from your presentation?

Warren Young is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor at Federation University in Australia, where he has been teaching and researching the science of strength, speed, power, agility, conditioning and biomechanics for over thirty years. As part of that work, he developed the university’s Master’s programme in strength and conditioning. Outside of academia, Dr Young also spent three years investigating the development of strength and power in athletes at the Australian Institute of Sport. He holds Level 2 coaching accreditation in strength and conditioning and track and field, and has acted as a consultant to several Australian Rules football teams.