What is the ability to start stop and move the body quickly and in a different direction?

For other uses, see Agility (disambiguation).

Agility or nimbleness is an ability to change the body's position efficiently and requires the integration of isolated movement skills using a combination of balance, coordination, speed, reflexes, strength and endurance. More specifically, it is dependent on:

• Balance – The ability to maintain equilibrium when stationary or moving (i.e. not to fall over) through the coordinated actions of our sensory functions (eyes, ears and the proprioceptive organs in our joints);
• Static balance – The ability to retain the centre of mass above the base of support in a stationary position;
• Dynamic balance – The ability to maintain balance with body movement;
• Speed - The ability to move all or part of the body quickly;
• Strength - The ability of a muscle or muscle group to overcome a resistance; and lastly,
• Coordination – The ability to control the movement of the body in co-operation with the body's sensory functions (e.g., in catching a ball [ball, hand, and eye coordination]).

Material to exercise the balance agility for children

In sports, agility is often defined in terms of an individual sport, due to it being an integration of many components each used differently (specific to all of sorts of different sports). Sheppard and Young (2006) defined agility as a "rapid whole body movement with change of velocity or direction in response to a stimulus".[1]

Agility is also an important attribute in many role playing games, both video games such as Pokémon, and tabletop games such as Dungeons & Dragons. Agility may affect the character's ability to evade an enemy's attack or land their own, or pickpocket and pick locks.

In modern-day psychology, author, psychologist, and executive coach Susan David introduces a concept that she terms “emotional agility,” defined as: “being flexible with your thoughts and feelings so that you can respond optimally to everyday situations.”[2][3]

The concept has also been applied to higher education management and leadership, where it was used to accelerate slower traditional and deliberative processes and to replace them with corporate decision making.[4]

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Agility is the ability to move and change the direction and position of the body quickly and effectively while under control. It requires quick reflexes, coordination, balance, speed, and correct response to the changing situation.

When you are agile, it means you are moving to the best position to take the next action, such as catching a ball or making a tackle. Agility ensures that your body and sports equipment are in the right position to take the next action effectively.

Agility is one of the key components of fitness and is valuable in many sports and physical activities. Think of the sports where you have to use agility. In team sports such as football, soccer, basketball, hockey, volleyball, and rugby you must quickly respond to movements of the other players and of the ball.

In tennis, handball, squash, table tennis, and similar individual sports, you have to quickly respond to the position of the ball. In surfing, skiing, and snowboarding, you must be agile to respond to the changing conditions of the surface of the water and snow.

Shuttle runs—where markers are set up and you sprint from one marker to the other, do a quick turn, and sprint back—are often done as an agility test as well as a drill to build sports agility. For example, the U.S. Military Academy uses a shuttle run test.

The following agility tests are widely used in various professional sports and other training settings:

• The 5-10-5 shuttle run, also known as the Short Shuttle Run or the Pro Agility Drill, is used by the National Football League (NFL). It is an advanced shuttle run test to build agility and power in players that incorporates lateral movements in the drill.
• The Illinois Agility Run Test is often used by schools and law enforcement as a test of agility. It uses a running course and involves not only a shuttle run, but also weaving between four cones. Because it has been used for many years, there are norms and a grading system that can be applied.
• The SPARQ rating combines testing for speed, power, agility, reaction, and quickness. It is sport-specific as well as a test for general athleticism. The general assessment tests include the agility shuttle 5-10-5 to measure agility.

For sport-specific agility, they use a lane agility drill for basketball, a shuttle cross pick-up for hockey, and the arrowhead drill for soccer. The SPARQ rating is used by many sports training companies and certified SPARQ trainers.

There are also a variety of agility drills that can be used in different sports to develop speed and coordination, including:

• Dot drills: These use an X-shaped pattern to jump from dot to dot with both feet at the same time; it is used for field and racket sports as well as skiing and basketball.
• Forward-backward sprints: Sprint forward to a cone, then jog backward to the start.
• Lateral plyometric jumps: Jump from side to side.
• Shuttle runs: Sprint from marker to marker with frequent changes in direction.
• Speed ladder agility drills: Using a piece of equipment that looks like a ladder, run forward with high knees to improve foot speed for field sports, or run laterally to improve agility for court sports.
• Tuck jumps: Jump straight up from a squat position and remain tucked at the top of the jump before extending your legs to land.

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1. Paul DJ, Gabbett TJ, Nassis GP. Agility in team sports: Testing, training and factors affecting performance. Sports Med. 2016;46(3):421-42. doi:10.1007/s40279-015-0428-2

2. Tomkinson GR, Lang JJ, Blanchard J, Léger LA, Tremblay MS. The 20-m shuttle run: Assessment and interpretation of data in relation to youth aerobic fitness and health. Pediatr Exerc Sci. 2019;31(2):152-163. doi:10.1123/pes.2018-0179

3. Mackenzie B. Illinois Agility Run Test. 2000.

4. Preedy VR, editor. Handbook of Anthropometry, Physical Measures of Human Form in Health and Disease. New York: Springer Science & Business Media; 2012.

5. Association N-, Dawes J, Roozen M. Developing Agility and Quickness. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; 2011.