AGILITY AND COORDINATION 1

AGILITY

Definition
Agility is the ability to change the direction of the body in an efficient and effective
manner and to achieve this you require a combination of:
(a) Balance (the ability to maintain equilibrium when stationary or moving
through the coordinated actions of our sensory functions)
(b) Speed (the ability to move all or part of the body quickly)
(c) Strength (the ability of a muscle or muscle group to overcome a resistance)
(d) Co-ordination (the ability to control the movement of the body in cooperation
with the body's sensory functions)
Benefits
These are the benefits of agility:
1. Agility enhances athletic performance.
2. Agility helps prevent injury.
3. Agility reduces reaction time.
4. Agility is a great form of sport-specific training.
5. Agility improves speed and quickness.

Agility Sports
1. Racket sports such as squash, tennis and badminton
2. Team games like rugby, basketball, football, volleyball and hockey

Exercises to Improve Agility
1. Ladder Drills
2. Hurdle Drills
3. Agility Balls
4. Balloon Drills
5. Cone Drills
6. Medicine Ball Drills

AGILITY AND COORDINATION 2
COORDINATION

Definition
Coordination is the ability to repeatedly execute a sequence of movements smoothly
and accurately. This may involve the senses, muscular contractions and joint
movements.
II. Coordination skills in sport
All sports require the coordination of eyes, hands and/or feet and maybe an implement
and a ball. Racket sports (e.g. tennis and squash) require the coordination of
hand, eyes and racket to connect the racket with the incoming ball as well as
position our body in an appropriate position to return the ball in an efficient and
effective manner.
Hockey requires the coordination of hands, eyes and hockey stick to connect with the
ball, Football primarily requires the coordination of feet, eyes and ball and Rugby
the coordination of hands, eyes and ball.
III. Testing Coordination
The hexagon test is a coordination test for the lower limbs and catching a ball is a
simple hand-eye coordination test.


References
Fitnovativeness. (2014, September 7). 6 Exercises to Improve Agility Ace Fitness. Retrieved
September 7, 2014, from http://www.acefitness.org/blog/3782/6-exercises-to-improve-
agility
Mackenzie, B. (2000) Agility [WWW] Available from: http://www.brianmac.co.uk/ agility.htm
[Accessed 10/9/2014]
Mackenzie, B. (2008) Coordination [WWW] Available from: http://www.brianmac.co.uk
/coord.htm [Accessed 10/9/2014]