8 Agility Ladder Exercises for Lacrosse Training

Get those fancy feet ready for some fast-paced and high-energy exercises so they can be ready to storm the field and take victory.  If this is your first time doing agility ladder drills for lacrosse, we’ll start with the basics on how to use one and the proper form.

How to Use an Agility Ladder

When doing ladder drills, there are a few things to remember:

• Stay on your toes and pick up your feet immediately after they touch the ground
• If you are having trouble with a pattern, slow down and speed up after you have mastered it
• Once you feel confident in your steps, keep your back straight and don’t stare down.  You won’t be able to do it on the field, so you want to break the habit of doing it here
• Don’t skip any of the squares if you’re not supposed to on the drill
• Try not to step on the ladder

Agility Ladder Drills for Lacrosse Players

Scissors

This Scissors drill works out your calf muscles and is great way to enhance your speed and agility

1. Start with your foot inside the first square
2. Jump and bring your other foot forward, switching your foot inside the square.  If your right foot is in the first square, you then jump and land with your left foot inside that space and your right foot on the outside
3. Repeat until each square has been used

Jumping Jack Feet

Jumping Jack Feet helps improve your coordination, because you have to make your movements precise.

1. Start with both feet inside the square
2. Jump and land with both feet outside the next square with your legs spread  
3. Repeat up the ladder

Icky Shuffle

The Icky shuffle is a great way to improve lower body quickness and agility.

1. Start with your right foot in the first square
2. Put your left foot in the first square and move your right foot outside of the second square
3. Move your left foot to the second square with the right following after.  It will look like this:  left foot in, right foot in, left foot out, right foot in, left foot out.  You will be moving forward and side-by-side

To make this more difficult, add your stick in your hand.  Try to switch hands as many times as possible throughout the duration of the ladder.

5 Hops & Run

5 Hops & Run is a great footwork, quickness, and speed training drill.

1. Quickly hop in the first five squares
2. On the fifth square, land with both of your feet
3. Quickly run through the rest of the agility ladder

Hopscotch Drill

 The Hopscotch drill is another drill to practice using quick feet and helps you as a player be aware of your positioning.

1. Jump and land on your left foot in the first square
2. Jump with your left foot, and land with both feet in the second square
3. Immediately jump and land with your right foot only in the third square 
4. Jump again and land with both feet in the fourth square
5. Repeat for the full length of the ladder

In-in-Out-out (sideways)

In-in-Out-outs work your quads out to help build up your speed and your strength.

1. Stand on the right side of the agility ladder
2. Place your right foot in the first square, then your left foot in the first square, then take your right foot out, and then take your left foot out
3. Repeat this pattern for each square

Medicine Ball Single-Leg Lateral Hops

This single-leg hopping movement improves your balance.  The medicine ball helps get your back and neck muscles prepared for throwing.

1. Hold a med ball over your head and stand next to the ladder
2. Hop with your left foot in and out of the ladder squares all the way to the end
3. Turn and hop in and out of the ladder squares with your right foot back to where you started

Carioca

Carioca works on your hip mobility which increases your ability to change direction.

1. Stand on the left side of the agility ladder
2. Step sideways with your right foot into the first square
3. Cross-step your left foot behind your right foot into the second box
4. Step right foot behind the left into the third box
5. Cross-step left foot into the fourth box in front of your right foot
6. Continue the alternate foot movements laterally across the ladder facing one direction
7. Repeat in the opposite direction

Practicing with an agility ladder can help you improve your lacrosse game!  Get a leg up on your competition by using these agility ladder drills for Lacrosse players!

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