Ladder drills are a staple in many athletic development programs, often marketed as tools to improve speed and agility. But as a performance coach and once a young athlete eager to get faster, I’ve come to believe that ladder drills are widely misunderstood and, in many cases, misapplied.
The claim that they “build speed” or “improve agility” demands closer scrutiny. Speed, in sport-specific terms, involves the ability to accelerate, maintain velocity, and apply force in a given direction. Agility is even more complex; defined not just as the ability to move quickly and easily, but also the ability to react and adapt to unpredictable stimuli.
Let’s break this down.
Agility: A Multi-Faceted Skill, Not Just Quick Feet
Most definitions of agility include both physical and cognitive components:
- Physical agility: the ability to accelerate, decelerate, and change direction efficiently while maintaining balance.
- Cognitive agility: the ability to perceive, process, and react to stimuli with speed and accuracy.
Research supports this dual model. A 2006 study by Sheppard & Young proposed that true agility is a combination of change of direction speed (CODS) and perceptual decision-making, meaning that reactive agility—not just rehearsed movement—is key to on-field performance.
So when we ask, “Do ladder drills make athletes more agile?” we must clarify: are we training movement patterns, or are we training sport-specific reactivity?
Where Ladder Drills Fit
Ladder drills can be useful for developing rhythm, coordination, and foot patterning, especially in youth populations. They help younger athletes build neuromuscular connections, improve motor control, and lay the groundwork for more complex athletic tasks.
But here’s the catch: being good at the drill is not the goal. Movement on a field or court is rarely pre-planned. In sport, athletes react to ever-changing stimuli and opponent, a ball, a play. Ladder drills don’t simulate these variables. No NFL cornerback flips his hips or breaks on a ball because he’s done hours of icky shuffle drills. He does so because he’s trained reactively and understands the demands of his position.
From Rehearsed to Reactive: Progressing Athletic Skill
In early athletic development, ladder drills can introduce coordination. But as athletes mature, their training must evolve. We must transition from pre-planned drills to reactive environments—scenarios that challenge their visual processing, spatial awareness, and decision-making under pressure.
Want to improve agility? Focus on drills that:
- Integrate unanticipated stimuli.
- Mimic sport-specific footwork patterns (e.g., DBs reacting to receivers, midfielders adjusting to ball movement).
- Build acceleration, deceleration, and change of direction under real constraints.
Add layers of constraint-led coaching and reaction-based tasks—think mirrors, partner chases, or random cues—to build real-world movement capacity.
The Role of the Coach: Context Is King
I’m not saying to throw out the ladder. I’m saying to put it in its proper place.
Good coaching requires context. If your athlete needs basic coordination or is rehabbing an injury, a ladder might help. But if you’re claiming it builds speed or agility in sport, ask yourself: Is this drill replicating the cognitive and physical demands of their position?
Coaches often say, “He’s always in the right place at the right time.” That’s not ladder speed—it’s game intelligence. It’s mental agility. It’s pattern recognition, decision-making, anticipation.
Train that.
Final Thought
True speed and agility come from systems that emphasize reactivity, context, and movement intelligence. Before pulling out the ladder, study the demands of your athlete’s sport and position. Build the bridge from coordination to cognition. From isolated movement to game-ready reaction.Because performance isn’t about doing drills well—it’s about doing the right things at the right time, under pressure.
“Speed is about applying force in the right direction. Ladder drills emphasize foot turnover without teaching how to apply power efficiently.”
— Mike Boyle, Strength Coach
