Sports are chaotic and unpredictable. You can run the same set play two times in a row with the same players in the same formation and the execution will be different. You can guard the same player for an entire quarter and he will likely use many different strategies to get around you. You can drive the ball on the same defender 6 or 7 times in a row and she will show you a slightly different defensive position you must get around on every possession. The point is, the problems athletes face during competition are varied and unpredictable. The athletes who control the outcome of a particular game are the ones who are able to solve whatever problems they face.

Athletes do not need to master agility ladder drills or cone drills, they need to learn how to become problem solvers.

Agility ladder drills are predictable. These drills might teach an athlete how to shift their weight and efficiently change direction but the athlete already knows where she is stopping and where she is headed next. It is programed and automatic. Is that same efficient technique replicated when she is sprinting after a loose ball and has to decide in an instant how to move around the 2 defensive players who have closed in on her? I doubt it.

Athletes need to be placed into situations where they have to quickly figure out the best movement strategy available to them to solve a problem. This is the type of agility training that will carry over to the field.

This is the first of many posts I am going to put up on this concept as I am just starting to get the feel for it. Currently, my athletes are working on accelerating from different positions and controlling speed based on different context.

Special thanks to Shawn Myszka @MovementMiyagi and Michael Zweifel @BBAPerformance . These great coaches have published some great information on this subject and have changed the way I look at transferable movement skills.