Last Updated on: 11th October 2024, 03:05 pm
In our last blog post, we gave you a few ideas on how to use an agility ladder in your football training. This week we’re doing the same for hurdles. Football training hurdles are a great piece of equipment to get your players match ready. They have multiple uses and benefit key skills that you’ll want to focus on. They offer many of the benefits as the agility ladder but they add the extra element of height. When players raise their feet, they are forced to focus on their footwork.
Pendle Hurdles
At Pendle, we have a variety of football hurdles in our range. They come in different sizes so you can alter the difficulty of your drills. Our hurdles are all great quality and are made with safety in mind. If someone were to crash into one, Pendle hurdles are designed to reduce the risk of injury. Our training hurdles are shatterproof and are designed to roll forwards when hit. Meaning a player is safe if they are to knock into one.
We have a range of hurdle sizes so you can plan drills of different difficulties. Start your players off with our 6-inch hurdles, then move up to the 9 inch and 12 inches. Or get a set of our quick return hurdles, which will right themselves when knocked over. They come in either 8 inch or 14 inches. And you don’t have to worry about carrying all of your new hurdles thanks to our hurdle bag or fastener.
Warm-Up
Hurdles are a great way to warm up your players. Set up a few courses of hurdles as a dynamic way to stretch their muscles. As opposed to static stretching, dynamic stretches get the body moving and prepare your players for the physical activity. Dynamic stretches are beneficial for athletes who will be running or jumping. These warm-ups shouldn’t be focusing on speed but should be warming up the body and stretching the muscles.
Plyometric
Plyometric leg workouts will help your players become quick and powerful when performing explosive movements. Hurdles can be used to enhance these types of workouts by adding a challenge to their movement. You can change the hurdle height depending on the difficulty of your drill. It is important to focus on form throughout. If you players are jumping make sure they are bringing their knees up to the waist.
Plyometric training will help build your power because it strengthens your muscles. Your muscles will stretch when you land from a jump meaning your next movement has more power. It is the combination of stretching and contracting your muscles that gets them strong. This will help on the pitch when you have to make explosive movements. Plyometric training will help when it comes to producing a lot of force in a short time.
Power will aid your players in so many areas. Power is the key to speed and a strong lower body will help with shooting and heading.
Speed Training
A set of football training hurdles can be really useful when it comes to speed training. Use them to focus on acceleration through a fast stride rate. Set up your hurdles and make you players think about their stride. A long stride will mean you cover more ground but overextending yourself will cause you to lose power. Using hurdles can help your players find their stride and perfect it. Ultimately, this will help with their overall speed.
It will also help with their footwork and co-ordination. Running through hurdle drills will get them thinking about how and where they place their feet. As they increase speed, they will need to make sure they are giving themselves enough space to make it through the course without knocking the hurdles. Hurdle drills will get help them improve their heel recovery.
Agility Training
A set of training hurdles is the perfect piece of equipment for increasing agility. They are great for improving balance, coordination, and reflexes. Just like an agility ladder, a set of hurdles can be great for improving lateral movement. Have you players run or hop down a course sideways and you will see improvement in their agility. Add an extra layer by having them cross their legs over each other. This will help with the movement on the pitch.
Depending on how you set up your hurdles, you can work on changing direction and fast footwork. This will prepare your players for situations in a match where they have to think quickly and respond to different situations. The best training drills should aim to replicate on-pitch scenarios so your players are ready for anything.
Hurdle Drill Training Ideas
A set of training hurdles are an incredibly versatile piece of equipment so, really, it just comes down to your imagination. Think about what you are trying to achieve and what your players need to work on. This will depend on how you use the hurdles and which size you want. To give you a few starting points we’ve found a few videos of potential hurdle drills.
- Speed & Agility with Hurdles
- Speed hurdle training – best drills for mini hurdles
- Speed & Explosiveness Drills
- 20 Mini Hurdle Drills for Speed, Quickness, and Agility
- Agility, Plyometrics & Speed
Although, however, you decide to use your hurdles, make sure that you pick the best hurdles for the job. Pendle offers great prices and quality that you can trust. Our training equipment is all designed with clubs in mind and our prices will be great for your budget. Take a look at our range now.
