SPEED AND AGILITY IN CHILDREN

Kids during Tenderville Easter Camp, April 2013

Agility Training is crucial to any child looking to excel in sports. Agility has been defined as the ability to change directions and gain speed without losing motor control. This requires a combination of different attributes such as speed, good balance, coordination skills, muscular power, strength and endurance. Speed has been defined as the ability to travel a short distance in the shortest time. Speed and agility training enhance athleticism and makes your child more likely to perform well in sports. Participation in sports promotes your child’s overall health, promotes an appreciation for health and exercise, a sense of self-worth and interaction in a teamwork setting.

Speed and Agility training in sports would improve your child’s:

• Ability to change direction quickly during a match.
• Ability to weave between players at speed.
• Ability to react quickly either to a command (i.e start gun) or a change in play.

Speed and Agility training would improve your child’s everyday activities such as:

• Rushing to get somewhere.
• Reacting to slipping on an unstable surface.
• Stopping or changing direction quickly to avoid bumping into something or someone.

Before choosing a drill exercise, you must first of all determine what sports your child is interested in and then develop the child’s the skills as would be required to excel in his/her chosen sports.

Types of Speed and Agility drills for Children

Musical Chair: I’m sure this must have made your jaw drop. Yes mum and dad, musical chairs. Musical chairs besides developing agility (in trying to secure a chair), also helps in sharpening the mind by keeping the brain alert. This is achieved by absolute concentration on the music thereby, quickly responding as and when it plays and pauses.

Other drills include, Jump Ropes, Hopscotch, backward running, sprint drills using cones.