First we have to ask ourselves what “Agility” means.

“Agility” or nimbleness is the ability to change one’s body position efficiently, quickly and gracefully. This skill is very important in sports where players need to constantly change positions in different directions.
Agility ladder is a coaching aid that allows fast footsteps and knee lifts which will boost the cardio system and at the same time incorporates balance and coordination. It offers fun exercises for athletes and does not need a wide space for use.

Foot drills on agility ladder can starts with simple walking between rungs to complex footsteps, jumping and also sideway shuffles. It is best to begin by mastering a few basic drills before going into more complex ones. For basketballers in Malaysia, other than foot drills, we recommend hand drills too. Nowadays, video clips teaching us how to improve our agility using the agility ladder is easily available in YouTube and many more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8hNoruV0kc

Agility ladder is commonly used in all types of sports in other countries. But in Malaysia, it is used mainly by football coaches but it is becoming more popular with basketball coaches too. The first time I saw the agility ladder was way back in the year 2000 where I went and observed a group of Filipino coaches running a basketball clinic, I was very excited because I could see the potential of this simple aid in helping our basketballers improve their agility and hence their performance. I checked and found it was not available in Sports shops in Malaysia.
I did an internet search and found it to be very costly. I started to draw the square ladder at the free space outside the court as a replacement for the agility ladder. I found that this was not good as it was not possible to gauge whether the players were stepping within the square or not. Later I started to use bamboos/flat wooden sticks with strings/wires instead. It served the desired purpose and I started to introduce this aid to players and coaches during my coaching clinics and camps. I tried to impart the knowledge of making this aid to the coaches I encountered but was told that they did not have the time to make it themselves.

As a result of this, I have now come up with a much improved version of the agility ladder which is made of plastic and joined together by nylon bands. It is more attractive, lighter and more durable and can be easily folded and stored (as shown in the second diagram). Now I am offering it for SALE at my Facebook page (STH Sports Product) at a very reasonable price. Please contact me if you are interested in this PRODUCT.

Writer: Mr Sue Tech Hua