Last night's Arizona Cardinals' win over the Las Vegas Raiders demonstrates that big gains can be made within a few seconds. Football is a sport with fundamentals in speed, agility, and hand-eye coordination – three things that require specialized training. Most players focus on sprints, cone drills, and route practice to enhance these skill areas.
The best way to enhance football fundamentals across the board is with FITLIGHT, an innovative tool that incorporates cognitive and vision training with traditional skills training methods.
For any football player looking to excel this season, FITLIGHT® can have a lot to offer. Traditional football skills drills can be great, but pairing them with an innovative speed and cognitive training system can set any athlete apart from the pack.
The Best Football Skills Drills
For football players, a few drills have served as skill-development staples. It's common for players to practice these drills regularly, both at the youth and professional levels. By adding FITLIGHTS®, you can get objective and immediate feedback, providing a baseline for the athletes to improve. Here are a few examples of some of the best football skills drills native in our FITLIGHT® App (click heading to view video).
1. Three (3) Cone Drill (or L drill)
This drill builds body control in a player's short-area footwork and sprint skillset.
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Lights: 3
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Light Position: Position in an inverted "L" shape
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Starting Position: Three-point stance with hand on Light #1
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Instructions: Run to Light #2, run back to Light #1, back to Light #2, then to Light #3, back to Light #2, finish at Light #1
2. Pro-Agility Drill (or 5-10-5 Drill):
This famous lateral movement test measures the athlete's agility, especially body control and 180-degree change of direction. This is used in the NFL combine.
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Focus: Agility, quickness, flexibility, change of direction
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Lights: 3
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Light position: Place the lights 5 yards (5 m) apart from each other in a straight line.
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Starting position: Three-point stance behind center light
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Instructions: Sprint to Light #2, then Light #3, and back to Light #1.
This drill is a lateral movement test that measures the agility of the athlete, especially body control and change of direction.
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Focus: Explosion, body control, change of direction
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Lights: 5
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Light position: Lights are in a "+" sign, each 3M apart from the center light
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Starting position: Three-point stance behind center light
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Instructions: Run from Light #1 to Light #2, back to Light #1, to Light #3, back to Light #1, to Light #4, back to Light #1, to Light #5, back to Light #1, finish at Light #2
It is a test of agility for athletes and includes forward, lateral, and backward running.
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Focus: Explosion, body control, change of direction
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Lights: 3
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Light position: Lights are positioned in a "T," with the outer points of the T positioned 5 yards apart from the center light.
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Starting position: Three-point stance at the bottom of "T."
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Instructions: Run from Light #1 to Light #2, shuffle left to Light #3, shuffle right to Light #4, shuffle to Light #2, then backpedal to Light #1.
5. 40-Yard Dash
This test aims to determine acceleration and is also a reliable indicator of speed, agility, and quickness.
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Focus: Speed over a short distance
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Lights: 4
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Light position: Place on a tripod or agility pole in a straight line, each 10 yards apart from the other for a maximum of 40 yards
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Starting position: Behind Light #1
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Instructions: Sprint past Light #1 to Light #4
These are just a few drills that help players learn speed and the efficiencies and transitions associated with speed and can help players turn on the pace when needed and stop on a dime when the play calls for it. These drills are easily replicated with the FITLIGHTS® (and included in our App), capturing objective feedback and data to measure performance.
Enhanced Football Skill Drills with FITLIGHT®
FITLIGHT® can help players get the most out of their drills. These wireless reaction lights can be paired with traditional drills like the ones mentioned above. By incorporating FITLIGHT® training systems into their drills, athletes can use the power of visual tools to enhance the most critical fundamental football skills. FITLIGHT® is a tool that can enhance:
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Reaction Time: By pairing their traditional drills with a light-based system, players will be triggered by the cognitive response of seeing the light change and, in turn, optimize their reaction times and improve speed off the blocks.
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Visual Stimulation: Instead of only using stationary training aids like cones, integrating active FITLIGHT training lights will help players simulate the game-time visuals they need to get accustomed to.
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Data Feedback: Since they are paired with a mobile app, players can see their results in real-time, helping to fast-track their progress and get ahead of the competition.
More and more sports organizations take advantage of the innovative technology that FITLIGHT® offers the professional sports community, including NFL teams. If you are looking for the best way to improve your skillset and set yourself apart from the crowd this year, consider how FITLIGHT® can streamline your training.
