Ladder Training: Develop Rhythm, Speed and Agility

　　Ever wondered how Michael Jordan could perform his signature shot perfectly? Does he think about every step in order to perform flawlessly? When interviewed and asking him what he thinks during a perfectly executed lay up, he just responded with, “I don’t know, I just do it.” With this, we could say that routines and actions executed during a game are deeply ingrained into athletes to the extent they do not have to consciously think about their every move. However, this skill is honed and perfected through different drills and training, and one of the ways used for improving speed and agility is ladder training.

　　Basic Ladders

　　Agility and movements are the two top components that ladders develop. Below are two basic ladder drills that are helpful in developing speed and agility skills. The first drill focuses on quickness and endurance by using constant rhythm. The second drill focuses on burst speed, the ability to turn rapidly, and the reaction on the speed of the lower leg. There are so many possible ways of using the ladder for these types of drills, but here we will share two common and very useful drills.

　　1. Using Rhythm

　　Quickness and endurance can be developed through this drill with one foot in each step. Place the ladder on the floor, use the space between the steps and place one foot after the other, just like walking or running, but do this at the highest speed you can, making sure to lift your feet quickly and not touch the floor for very long. Other variations are using two feet together or lateral running.

　　2. Elastic Response

　　This should be incorporated so that response time does not only rely on rhythm alone, but also agility and coordination. The progress of this drill is based on the difficulty of each process. The most common drill is the Linear Response Drill where it has a similarity with rhythmic drills using both feet together. The first part of the drill is where the athlete hops on each space of the step. The second drill is where they skip a space, and the third is using either left or right foot while hopping Lastly, still using one foot, the athlete skips a space.