Speed and agility training for kids

Agility and Speed in Child Sports

If you have a child who is involved in training a certain sport like basketball, football, baseball and others which involve running and speedy action, you know how agility and speed are important for any success in these physical activities. It takes years to perfect quickly and agile responses during a game, where one's hand and leg coordination has to be flawlessly incorporated with speed and the overall physical stamina and capabilities. Therefore, every child into sports strives towards the development of these capability, boosting the performance in whatever he/she does.

The Training

Each training has to start early and move on gradually since, once you get older, you get a chance for developing different abilities, upgrading those you have already acquired.

Therefore, if a child takes up a sport while being between 5 and 8 years old, he/she has to concentrate upon movement exercises which are performed from a stationary position.

Jumping, combined with arm and leg movements, bettering one's spatial coordination, should be enough for this to work.

Later on, when the child is between 9 and 13 years old, the training should involve skills which are further perfected and boosted when the child is between 13 and 16 years old. Running through a maze of cones, moving in figure “8” patterns and jumping and landing in specific manners are all recommended exercises for this period. So, as the child gets more and more into his/her teenager years, make the exercises more demanding and complex.

Other Exercises for Boosting Agility in Children

Balance improvement is a necessary step towards agility. Thus, you might recommend balancing on a see-saw with a partner, where both children work together in order to keep the board in the midpoint, keeping their legs in the air.

Alternatively, following visual and kinesthetic cues, such as in “pin the donkey's tail” is beneficial for boosting one's agility. Musical chairs or some other games which involve rhythm, hand clapping or quick reaction to cues, all can be great for these purposes.

Why Boost the Child's Agility?

First and foremost, sports are healthy and each child should participate in one or more of them. This develops competitive spirit and fair play in children, making these valuable life lessons as well. Many sports boost one's coordination, speed and agility, as well as their metabolisms, making them less prone to illnesses later.

However, we should not forget that forcing a child to go beyond his/her limits is not advisable. Also, they should not overdo it or advance to a level they are not yet competent at.