When it comes to agility and change of direction, I like to use a bottom up approach.
Change of direction involves inversion/eversion of the ankle as well as adduction/abduction of the hip. If the athlete is lacking in either of these areas, he risks getting injured.
The goal of this advanced warm up is to elevate these characteristics before moving on to an advanced COD or agility drill like a pro shuttle.
Below, I’m going to share the inversion/eversion of the ankle portion of the advanced agility warm up.
Again the goal here is to isolate weak components,
Elevate them,
Then recruit them in a full intensity change of direction or agility drill…
So that you will have the strength to perform these movements without the risk of injury….
And, so you can perform this movements more effectively.
Here are the movements:
1. Lateral Pogos
2. Lateral Line Hops
3. SL Lateral Line Hop
4. Low Hurdle Hop
5. SL Low Hurdle Hop
And again, these are to build a strong foundation of inversion/eversion of the ankle that will prevent injury and increase your ability to change directions rapidly.
But, these are not the end all be all.
These are the basics, and as your ability level improves, the complexity of the drills you perform should raise as well.
Once you’ve graduated from these movements,
You should move on to more advanced change of direction movements like cone hops,
And you should sprinkle in a reaction component as well!