For many sports, speed kills. It’s really that simple. Especially for sports played on a court, field, or track, fast individuals possess an advantage. It’s not fair, but it is what it is, and it’s why speed development is one of the most sought after qualities for parents of young athletes.
But another quality that is often overlooked but equally important is agility. Speed and agility training make up very crucial components of youth sports development. At Bass Gym in Corona, CA, we train athletes from across the Inland Empire to master both.
Below I’m going to break down the difference between speed and agility training and the best way to develop both.
Speed Development
First let’s talk about developing speed. For youth athletes, technique is crucial. Learning proper arm action, posture, and leg action is crucial at this level. This is practical and important because it teaches youth athletes how to run correctly at an early age and prevent the development of bad habits.
Make no mistake, learning how to run correctly will help an athlete run faster no matter what age. It’s all about moving efficiently, and correct running maximizes efficiency.
Too often I see youth athletes using tools such as treadmills, sleds, and bungees, with poor running mechanics. Parents need to focus on mastering the basics first, before using tools to further development. This is very important and something we emphasize in every speed training session at Bass Gym.
Agility Training
A simple definition of agility is the ability to decelerate, change direction, and respond fluidly to external stimuli during play. Certain movements are instrumental in this category such as cutting, back pedaling, lateral, multidirectional and circular running.
These are all movements that most athletes will see during play, and should be the foundation of youth agility drills. From my experience, when most parents think of agility they think agility-ladder drills, or quick feet.
The problem here is that it’s questionable how those types of activities translate to real sport movement patterns. Not to mention that learning the aforementioned movements will help protect young athletes from injury by preventing poor movement mechanics. Remember, efficiency is key.
At Bass Gym in Corona, CA, agility training focuses on teaching correct movement patterns that directly apply to in-game performance.
Benefit of Speed & Agility Drills for Kids
Two things that are important to understand here is that:
a) All youth athletes will benefit from speed and agility training. Even those whose sports don’t necessarily require agility. Why? Because parents should be focused on helping their kids become better overall athletes.
At Bass Gym, we believe in the power of variety. Consistently getting kids involved in different types of movements helps prevent overuse injuries, creates better athletes, and honestly is just a lot more fun.
b) The one crucial element that ties everything together is strength. Helping athletes move better is certainly important, but developing strength is a game changer. A strong youth athlete is faster, more coordinated, and durable. Building strength with a young athlete while simultaneously helping them move better is a powerful recipe for athletic development.
We see this every week at our youth performance facility in Corona, CA, where combining speed, agility, and strength training creates real athletic growth.
To sum it all up, both speed and agility are important. The focus should be on foundational movement patterns, and strength training will accentuate them both. – Boostman
Ray Bass
CSCS
Owner, Bass Athletics
Contact Information
📍 Address: 500 Harrington St unit c-1, Corona, CA 92878
📞 Phone: 951-847-1260
🌐 Website: https://bassathletics.com
🕒 Hours: Monday–Friday 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM
