What are some good exercises for balance and agility?

[newcool]

What are some good exercises that one can do to improve balance and agility when in awkward positions such as sometimes when you kick the ball, lunge, defend, etc.

Most of these times you are on one leg and it can be hard to remain coordinated. Also, what are some good exercises to improve agility in these situations?

[Dr. Wankler]

My brother used to line up on the goal line and then sprint 18 yards to the edge of the penalty area... hopping on one leg. Then he'd walk back and repeat, hopping on the other leg. The primary purpose of this drill is to increase "explosivity" as his coach used to call it, but it also helped with agility. There was something like a 1.5 second difference in his time with one leg over the other when he started, and after a few months, he'd knocked some serious time off both legs, and got to where he was just as proficient with each leg. You can also do this on sand.

It improved his shot with his left foot, too, by improving his balance on his right leg.

In any case, you don't want to do more than 4 or 5 with each leg every other day, unless you like getting shin splints.

[ALEX408]

What are some good exercises that one can do to improve balance and agility when in awkward positions such as sometimes when you kick the ball, lunge, defend, etc.

Most of these times you are on one leg and it can be hard to remain coordinated. Also, what are some good exercises to improve agility in these situations?

Star Drill (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BGtBEWQVFw) for sure.