• About CQ
  • Why Train With Us
  • Benefits
  • History
  • Guarantee
  • Testimonials
  • CQ Team
  • More Info
  • Careers
• Sports
  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Crew
  • Cross Country
  • Diving
  • Football
  • Golf
  • Hockey
  • Lacrosse
  • Soccer
  • Softball
  • Swimming
  • Tennis
  • Track & Field
  • Volleyball
  • Water Polo
  • Wrestling
  • Other Sports
• Programs
  • Athlete Academy
  • Team Training
• Camps & Clinics
  • Camps
  • Clinics
• Athletes
  • Class Schedule
  • Weekly Challenge
  • Athlete Bios
  • Hall of Fame
  • Videos
  • LINKS
• Trial Options

Agility: Out move the competition!

“I feel quicker, stronger, and just overall faster in all my movements.” - 14y.o. football player - Los Alamitos, CA

Dynamic Quick Movements Can Level the Playing Field

Most sports involve dynamic multi-directional quick movement known as agility. In a mere fraction of a second the outcome of a game can change when an athlete uses his or her agility to outperform or outsmart an opponent. Agility is so important that for many athletes who lack the height, size, speed, or strength agility is their competitive advantage.  The demands of high performance agility sports require that athletes instantaneously fuse together an endless combination of complex and dynamic physical and mental activities. Adding to its importance, proper agility training can help prevent injury by enhancing the body’s ability to effectively control eccentric forces in all planes of motion. 

By definition, agility is the ability to change the body's position in space, and requires a combination of quickness, coordination, balance, speed, strength, and mental focus. Accordingly, a systematic and multi factored approach is required to increase athletic agility. At Champion’s Quest we increase an athlete’s agility by enhancing eccentric neuromuscular control, body control, proprioception, functional core strength, dynamic flexibility, and reaction time.  Our motor learning science based agility training includes:

The Science of Agility – Increasing Open Motor Movement

The scientific agility development methodology created by Champion’s Quest starts with an understanding of learned motor movement.  All learned motor movement is classified as either closed or open. Each type of movement involves distinct functions of the central nervous system and requires unique interpretations of neuromuscular stimuli, receptor information, memory recall capabilities, and efficient response mechanisms. Much of the information needed is provided by proprioceptors. 

Proprioceptors are mechanisms in joints and muscles that feed the central nervous system the information needed for the correct movement while that movement is in progress.  In closed motor movement, proprioceptors play a minor role and in open motor movement they play a major role. Closed movements occur in a fixed or highly predictable pattern that includes clearly defined beginning and ending points. 

In sports, structured race events such as the 100-meter dash in track or the 4x100 medley in swimming involve closed motor movement. For closed motor movement, few corrections from the muscle's proprioceptors are required since most of the information needed to perform the event is known in advance.  

Open motor movement is considerably more dynamic. Open skills take place under ever-changing conditions. Instantaneous feedback is essential in the decision making process since adjustments are critical to the successful execution of the movement. Proprioceptors provide the information required to generate the appropriate adjustments. 

In addition to proprioceptive response, visual and auditory cues contribute to complete the full spectrum of information needed to execute the extremely complex split-second precision open motor movements.  Add to all of this the mental pressure to make instantaneous decisions under competitive duress and it becomes obvious that open skills require a higher level of learning and specific training.  The Peak Performance Programs at Champion’s Quest incorporate multiple physical stimuli and mental toughness into a comprehensive agility development program specifically created for young athletes.

Assessment – The Benchmark of Agility Ability

Each Champion’s Quest athlete has improvement goals and, depending on the sport and position played, he or she will focus on the specific components of agility required to attain those goals.  To obtain an objective benchmark, athletic agility is analyzed using a series of tests.  The test results are combined with information regarding the athlete’s sport and improvement goals to create a fully customized agility training program based on the Champion’s Quest comprehensive agility development methodology.

Quickness – Split Second Reaction

Quickness is the ability to react and change body position with the desired force production in any plane of motion or body position. Quickness is measured in reaction time. Reaction is the response to a stimulus to initiate movement.  An athlete’s reaction can be initiated from auditory (sound), visual (sight) or kinesthetic (movement) signals.  Quickness is a conscious act that can be improved through training. Champion’s Quest athletes are taught the proper reaction techniques needed to increase quickness.

Coordination – Coupling Visual and Physical

At the Champion’s Quest Athlete Academy we focus on developing an athlete’s foot-eye, hand-eye and functional strength coordination. Coordination is the act of making different body parts work together in an adopted pattern. Our athletes see optimal results in our athletes due to challenging their coordination on a daily basis. This is because of the fact that the more an athlete has control over what his or her body is doing in space, the more elevated their athleticism will be.

Balance – The Center of Movement

In order to achieve a high level of agility optimal balance must be learned. Balance is an ability to maintain one’s center of gravity within the base of support with minimal unwanted movement. Every time an athlete changes direction in any plane of motion there is a moment that his or her body actually is completely stopped and the greater the athlete’s ability to balance is, the more explosive the movement will be. Even speed requires efficient balance because it is an execution of consecutive one-legged hops. At Champion’s Quest every athlete must develop optimal body control and balance prior to initiating any intense agility-training program.