The negative saying “Haste Makes Waste” generally implies making quick decisions without careful consideration. But in sports, quick thinking combined with speed and quickness afoot give athletes an advantage over their opponents. No matter what sport you play, these positive skills will give you an extra edge, especially when the game is on the line. Train to be the player your teammates count on in the final seconds with the following quickness drills in your summer sports conditioning program.

Five Speed Drills for That Extra Edge

Always begin with a dynamic warm-up and make sure you are well hydrated. It’s a good practice to stop and drink water after every two or three exercises.

1. Push-Ups and Sprints

A great exercise for improving your ability to get up quickly when you’re on the ground and must get down the field.

• Start with five push-ups followed by a 40-yard diagonal sprint.
• Backpedal to start, do four push-ups, then sprint straight 10 yards, backpedal and rest 30 seconds.
• After resting, perform three push-ups, sprint diagonally 20 yards, backpedal again and do two push-ups followed by a 30-yard lateral sprint, finishing up with a backpedal to start.

2. Burpees and Cariocas

Another series of functional movements that train you to recover fast after hitting the ground.

• Do three burpees, then carioca 10 yards.
• Drop and do two burpees followed by a 20-yard carioca.
• Combine two burpees with a 30-yard carioca.

3. Multidirectional Squat Jumps

• Assume athletic stance.
• Squat and jump as high as you can, changing direction in mid-air 90 degrees to the right.
• Rest three seconds then squat and jump, again changing direction in mid-air back to initial start position.
• Rest two seconds and jump 180 degrees in mid-air.
• Rest another two second, jump and turn back to start position 180 degrees.

4. Suicides (Shuttle Runs)

• Set up five cones in a ‘T’ formation 10-yards apart.
• Sprint from first cone and touch middle cone two.
• Back pedal to first cone, then sprint and touch third cone (in the center of crossed T).
• Laterally sprint 10 yards and touch cone four.
• Sprint 20 yards laterally and touch cone five, then laterally sprint and touch cone three
• Backpedal to touch cone two and backpedal to touch cone one.
• Rest 30 seconds and repeat twice more. Try to complete each round as fast as possible.

5. Box Jumps and Multidirectional Sprints

• Set up cones 10 yards apart in a zigzag pattern
• Place a two-foot box 10 yards behind the first cone.
• Jump on and off the box and sprint and touch each cone and backpedal to the box.
• Repeat twice more without rest.