Exercise of the Week: The Box

Level: Beginner to Advanced

Goal: Improve footwork and ability to change direction quickly

Equipment: None

This week concludes our series on agility training. Remember, agility is the ability to move quickly and change directions while maintaining control of the body. To be effective on the beach an athlete will need speed, balance, power and co-ordination. Agility training plays an integral role in developing these attributes.

Our drill this week is the Box. This is an excellent drill to warm-up the lower body, improve our footwork and enhance our ability to change directions quickly.

Be sure to perform a thorough warm up (click here) before performing the Box drill.


Start in the back left corner, facing the net, and sprint straight ahead to the net.
Immediately transition to a shuffle across the court to the front right corner.
Transition quickly to a back pedal all the way to the back right corner of the court.
Finish the drill by shuffling across to the back left corner of the court where you started.

Repeat 3-5 times with 45-60 seconds of rest in between repetitions.

Key points - When you shuffle stay low in a defensive position and avoid clicking your heels or crossing your feet. Keep the weight on the balls of your feet and not your heels.

Intermediate and advanced players can increase the intensity of the drill by adding an approach jump after the sprint to the net and a block jump after the first shuffle.

For variety you may also want to try the following pattern.


Incorporate agility drills like the Box into your conditioning routine once or twice per week for best results.

Thanks for reading and be sure to check back next week when we'll start our series on shoulder stabilization for injury prevention.

See you on the beach!

Eric Hand, MA, CSCS

Exercise Physiologist and Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Fast Twitch Fitness

"We're all athletes. Some of us are just farther along in our training."

Pictures from http://stacktv.stack.com/

Exercise of the Week: Line Hops

Level: Beginner to Advanced

Goal: Increase ability to change direction quickly, injury prevention

Equipment: None

This week we'll continue our series on agility training. Agility is the ability to move quickly and change directions while maintaining control of the body. To be effective on the beach an athlete will need speed, balance, power and co-ordination. Agility training plays an integral role in developing these attributes.

Our drill this week is the Line Hop. This is an excellent exercise to warm-up the lower body and increase our ability to change directions quickly.

Draw lines, two to three feet long, in the sand to form a + shape.


Facing the net, stand in the lower right corner of the box. It may help to think of this spot as box 1. The box immediately to your left would represent box 2. The box immediately in front of box 2 would represent box 3. The box immediately to the right of box 3 would represent box 4.



Starting in box one perform small, quick hops in a 1-2-3-4 pattern (left, forward, right, back). Repeat this pattern as many times as you can for 15 seconds. Rest for one minute and repeat.

For variety try hopping in different patterns. Some examples would be 1-3-2-4 (diagonal, back, diagonal, back), 1-4-2-3 (forward, diagonal, forward, diagonal), 1-2-4-3 (left, diagonal, right, diagonal).

Perform 2 sets of 2 different patterns.

Advanced athletes can work up to single-leg hops, repeating the pattern for 10 seconds with 30 seconds rest in between sets. Remember to work both legs!

Key points: Think of moving you feet as quickly as possible while staying in control, imagine hot coals underneath your feet! Keep your hips square and land as softly as possible.

Incorporate agility drills like the Line Hop into your conditioning routine once or twice per week for best results.

See you on the beach!

Eric Hand, MA CSCS

Exercise Physiologist and Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Fast Twitch Fitness

"We're all athletes. Some of us are just farther along in our training."

Picture from http://stacktv.stack.com/

Exercise of the Week: The T Drill

Level: Beginner to advanced

Specificity: Acceleration, Deceleration, Lateral Movement

Goal: Improve Agility

Equipment: 4 cones

This week we'll begin our series on agility training. Agility is the ability to move quickly and change directions while maintaining control and balance of the body. The beach game requires players to move in various movement patterns (forward, backward, lateral, at 45 degree angles) within a single rally. To be effective on the beach an athlete will need speed, balance, power and co-ordination. Agility training plays an integral role in developing these attributes.

The first agility drill we'll review is the T drill. The T drill is an effective way to improve agility as it involves acceleration/deceleration, movement forward/backward/lateral as well as quick changes in direction.

Be sure to perform a thorough warm up (click here) before performing the T drill.

To set up the T drill, place two cones 10 yards apart from one another. Place a third cone in the middle of these two cones and a fourth cone ten yards from the third cone to form a T.



Start at the bottom (cone A) of the T and sprint to the middle cone (cone B).
Upon reaching the middle cone, side shuffle to the left cone (cone C).
Upon reaching the left most cone, immediately change directions and shuffle to the right most cone (cone D).
Upon reaching the right cone, change directions and shuffle back to the middle cone (cone B).
Finish the T by backpedaling to the start cone (cone A).

Repeat 2-5 times.

Key points: Keep your hips square, stay low in a defensive position and do not cross your feet as you shuffle.

Incorporate agility drills like this into your conditioning routine once or twice per week for best results.

See you on the beach!

Eric Hand, MA , CSCS
Exercise Physiologist and Strength & Conditioning Specialist
Fast Twitch Fitness

“We’re all athletes. Some of us are just farther along in our training.”

Picture from topendsports.com