Agility Ladder Drill Template

About this timer

Six footwork patterns at twenty seconds each with forty seconds to walk back and reset, three times through. Ladder work is about the quality of the foot contacts, not how tired you get — the long rest is deliberate, because a fatigued athlete practising sloppy footwork is training sloppy footwork. Keep the twenty seconds fast and clean and use the forty to genuinely recover.

Best for

• Field and court sports — football, soccer, basketball, tennis
• Pre-season conditioning and in-season maintenance
• Warming up before a speed or agility session

The six patterns

• Two feet in — both feet in every rung, as fast as you can cycle them
• Lateral shuffle — side-on, two feet in each rung, leading with the same foot down and back
• In-in-out-out — both feet in, both feet out, moving forward one rung at a time
• Icky shuffle — the three-step lateral pattern, in-in-out then repeat leading with the other foot
• Single-leg hops — one rung per hop, one leg down the ladder and the other back
• Carioca — hips open, trail leg crossing in front and behind

Scaling it

Easier

Walk each pattern through slowly before you run it. Two rounds rather than three.

Harder

Add a ball — dribble or carry one through each pattern — or finish each rep with a five-metre sprint.