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Agility Drills

 

Whistle Training

Group Size: Everyone
Skill Level: All
Improves: Speed, Pack, Pace
Equipment: Whistle
Duration: 10 minutes or a set Number of laps

Everyone forms a pack. On the whistle, everyone sprints, on the next whistle everyone must slow to a pace and reform the pack. Vary the whistle timing for short or long sprints, short or long pack skates.



One-Foot Glide

Group Size: Everyone
Skill Level: All
Improves: Footwork, Form
Equipment: Whistle
Duration: 5 minutes

Start with one foot pointed forward, and the other behind it at a 20-degree angle (3rd position in ballet). Use the back leg to push off and glide as far as possible on that one push. Get as much power from the push as you can. Repeat on the other foot. Push oneself to go farther and faster.

 

Evil Shopping Cart

Group Size: Partners
Skill Level: Intermediate
Improves: Footwork, Pushes, Crossovers, Endurance, Communication/Teamwork, Form, Squatting/Getting Low
Equipment: Timer
Duration: 5-10 minutes

Everyone pairs up. The person in front is the shopping cart and will be pushed by the person behind. The shopping cart will steer but will not propel themselves and must stay in good derby form.  On the straightaway, the shopping cart person will coast on all eight wheels. In the turns, the shopping cart person will coast on the left skate only, with the right leg extended out and back, as if in a stride. Partners will switch positions every thirty seconds. The person pushing will do so with the right hand only on the small of the back of their partner.

Black Widow

Group Size: Everyone
Skill Level: All
Improves: Speed, Footwork, Falls, Stops, General Skills, Crossovers, Cutting, Form, Squatting/Getting Low
Equipment: none
Duration: 20 minutes

Everyone sprints for 1 minute, then perform a skill for 1 minute, switching up different skills, so there should be 10 different skills alternating between 10 one-minute intervals of sprinting. Skills can include: squats on turns and straightaways, steps, one leg glides on straightaways and turns, skating backwards, sticky skate on turns and straightaways, jumps, etc. After the first 10 minutes, turn around and finish in  the other direction.

Rebellion

Group Size: Everyone
Skill Level: All
Improves: Speed, Footwork, Falls, Stops, General Skills, Starts, Form, Control and Slowing Down, Squatting/Getting Low
Equipment: Whistle
Duration: 20-30 minutes

Everyone begins at a moderate pace. On the whistle, everyone squats for a specified time period (hold a squat for 3 laps and slalom or sticky skate). On the next whistle, everyone will perform a fall (one knee fall, etc) and recover and continue skating. On a double whistle, everyone must perform a 180 toe stop, perform a fall, do one push-up, recover and skate in the opposite direction until the next double whistle.

Variation: Substitute any other comparable skill or combination of skills to be performed. Substitute any other exercise to be performed (i.e. 30 sit-ups).

Red Light Green Light

Group Size: Everyone
Skill Level: All
Improves: Falls, Stops, General Skills, Starts, Control and Slowing Down, Squatting/Getting Low
Equipment: Whistle
Duration: 5-10 minutes

Everyone begins skating. On a single whistle, signifying a red light, everyone must come to a stop (plow stop, T-stop) and not fall. On a double whistle, signifying a green light, everyone must begin skating again.

Variation: Can substitute falls (single knee, double knee, etc) for stopping, or any other comparable skill.

Quick Feet

 

Group Size: Everyone
Skill Level: All
Improves: Footwork, Form
Equipment: none
Duration: 5 minute

Everyone will make tiny quick steps to move themselves around. Do one lap in the forward, backward and sideways directions. Lead one lap with one leg, then on the next lap lead with the other leg.

 

O Gee Cuts

Group Size: Everyone
Skill Level: All
Improves: Footwork, Stops, Crossovers, Cutting, Form, Control and Slowing Down
Equipment: Whistle
Duration: 5-10 minutes

Everyone spreads out around the inside line of the track. Begin skating. On the whistle, everyone will use quick steps, cuts or crossovers to move laterally across the track to the outside line and then back to the inside line. Continue cutting across the track until the next whistle when everyone plow stops. Repeat.

Hop-n-Stop

Group Size: Partners
Skill Level: Intermediate
Improves: Footwork, Stops, Jumping, Communication/Teamwork, Control and Slowing Down
Equipment: Cones
Duration: 5 minutes

Everyone pairs up. Place cones on the track or create obstacles to jump over. Partners jump over the cones together being sure to get higher and higher with each obstacle. Call out “stop” to see which person can come to a dead stop first.

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Cat And Mouse

Group Size: Partners
Skill Level: Intermediate
Improves: Footwork, Crossovers, Jamming
Equipment: Whistle, Cones
Duration: 5-10 minutes

Create a small circle with cones. Everyone pairs up. Have 2 people line up opposite each other on the outside of the circle. On the whistle, one person, the cat, has 30 seconds to skate around the outside of the cones doing crossovers trying to catch the other person, the mouse.

​​

Variation: Make the circle tighter for added difficulty. Reverse the direction around the track.

​Toe Stop Walk

Group Size: Everyone
Skill Level: Beginner
Improves: Footwork, General Skills, Starts, Form
Equipment: none
Duration: 3 laps

Everyone walks on their toe stops around the track. This is good for overall balance.

 

Satan’s Mattress Drill

Group Size: Everyone
Skill Level: All
Improves: Falls, Stops, Starts, Control and Slowing Down
Equipment: Whistle
Duration: 5 minutes

Everyone lays flat on their stomach along one side of the track. On the whistle, everyone gets up as fast as possible and sprints to the other side of the track and executes a single knee fall, ending up laying flat on their back. Everyone then does 30 crunches. Everyone gets up and sprints to the other side of the track and executes a double knee fall, then does 20 push- ups. Everyone gets back up and sprints to the other side of the track and plow stops.

Side-step Pass

 

Group Size: Partners
Skill Level: Intermediate
Improves: Footwork, General Skills, Communication/Teamwork, Form
Equipment: Ball
Duration: 5-10 minutes

Everyone pairs up. Partners will side-step (quick step, skip or hop) to the right, while passing a ball back and forth. After a distance, return to the starting point.  Partners will side-step to the left, while passing a ball back and forth.  Partners pass the ball as fast as they can, making sure to control the ball.

 

Flamingos

Group Size: Everyone
Skill Level: Intermediate
Improves: Footwork, General Skills, Form
Equipment: none
Duration: 5 minutes

Everyone skates one lap on one leg. Then switch to the other lag for a second lap. Repeat. The raised leg should be at a 90-degree angle from the thigh, knees staying together, with the toe pointed towards the floor.

Standing Up

Group Size: Everyone
Skill Level: All
Improves: General Skills, Starts, Form
Equipment: Cones
Duration: 5-10 minutes

 

Place a cone at the far end of the practice space. At the opposite end of the practice space, everyone lies down on the floor. Everyone must jump up without using their hands and skate around the cone at the other end of the floor. Have everyone lay down in different positions each time.

 

Zigzags

Group Size: Everyone
Skill Level: All
Improves: Footwork, General Skills, Crossovers, Jumping, Form
Equipment: Cones, Tape
Duration: 10-20 minutes

Place 6 cones (x) in a zigzag pattern along one straightaway on the track. Zigzag cones should be placed about 3 feet apart or wider. Everyone will walk the zigzag line by crossing over. Place 3 tape lines (-) across the other straightaway, spaced out, and everyone must jump over the lines while skating.
    X
               X                                --------------------
    X
               X                                --------------------
    X
               X                                --------------------

Duck Walk Drill

Group Size: Everyone
Skill Level: All
Improves: Footwork, Starts, Form
Equipment: none
Duration: 5-10 minutes

From a standstill, everyone starts with their feet at about a 45-degree angle. Keeping their feet at that angle, begin to run. Move the legs fast; chop, chop, chop. Pick up speed as fast as you can from the dead stop position progress from a walk to a run. Duck walk/run from one end of the practice space to the other.

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