The ability to change direction quickly and efficiently is vital to sports performance. The 5-10-5 or pro agility drill is one of the most common change of direction tests in use. The drill tests how quickly an athlete can change directions between three cones, covering a total distance of 20 yards. Setting up is simple and only requires three cones placed in a row, 5 yards apart.
Starting at the middle cone in a 3 point stance, accelerate 5 yards to the right, touch the cone or line, accelerate 10 yards to the left, touch the cone or line and run back through the middle start cone or line. Below is a video of one of our college athletes, Nick, performing a 5-10-5 drill. We run the drill in both directions to compare times.
Setting Up:
-Take a hip width stance
-Slightly stagger the right foot back
-Place the right hand on the centerline
-Place the left hand at the side of the hip
-Head down
-Weight on the mid/forefoot
Accelerating 5 Yards Out:
Accelerate hard out of the 3-point starting stance and try to reach the far cone in 2.5-3.5 steps.
Changing Direction: Stopping
-Get low like a racecar
-1-2 step stop
-Hand down
-Head around
Try focusing on stopping in 1-2 steps, stay low as you approach the cone or line, touch the cone or line with your outside hand inline with the foot. We tell our athletes to have their hand inline with their big toe.
Changing direction: Accelerating
When reaching for the cone or line keep your weight on your inside foot, in the direction you want accelerate in. We explain to our athletes that they should feel like a spring when urging the change of direction. Repeat the drill focusing on just the change of direction. Don’t forget to perform the drill in both directions and train the slower side for more reps. We teach our athletes on their non dominant side first.
Building your brakes and increasing speed:
There are two band exercises we use to teach springing out of the change of direction, reaching for the cone, and foot placement. The first two videos use a band to pull the athlete into the cone, increasing the drills breaking demands as well as resisting the acceleration phase. The second two videos assist the change of direction, encouraging the athlete to spring out.