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Lionel Messi's Speed and Agility1 of 7

Fast As The Flea

By John Dorsey

In a game built on speed and agility, there are few soccer players faster or more agile than Argentina's Lionel Messi. Whether representing his country at the World Cup or playing for FCBarcelona, The Flea's extraordinary quickness on the pitch, amazing ball handling skills and lethal left foot make him one of the most exciting and explosive players in soccer today and arguablythe game's best athlete.

"The best in the world right now is Lionel Messi," says Craig Friedman, performance innovation team director at Athletes' Performance, a company specializing in the enhancement of athleticperformance. "He's faster with the ball at his feet than the defenders are without the ball."

But where does this extraordinary quickness come from? According to Friedman, who designs and implements performance training systems for pro and elite athletes and served as a performancespecialist for the German National Soccer Team during their third-place finish at the 2006 World Cup, speed and agility on the field relies on three basic elements.

"First you have to be explosive and powerful," Friedman says. "Then, you have to be stable enough through your ankles, hips and torso to be able to deliver that power efficiently into the ground.And finally, you have to deliver the power into the ground in the right direction, and that's where technique comes in." Needless to say, the 5-foot-6 Messi excels in all three areas.

"He's a small guy," Friedman says, "but his rate of force development is very high and his power-to-weight ratio is just ridiculous."

So, what does this all mean for us mortal, local league warriors who dream of possessing Messi-like speed and agility? Well, the bad news is that we'll never be as fast as The Flea. The good newsis that, for most of us, there is plenty of room for improvement. Friedman has developed a program for ESPN.com that will help you improve your quickness on the pitch.

The Workouts

Friedman's program consists of two separate workouts, one focusing on linear speed and one on multidirectional speed. Each workout is divided into three sections: movement preparation,plyometrics and movement skills. Friedman suggests alternating between Workout 1 and Workout 2, doing each on different days.

WORKOUT 1 — LINEAR SPEED

Movement Sets RepsMovement Preparation Pillar bridge - front 2 30 seconds Knee hug lunge 1 4 each side Inverted hamstring stretch 1 4 each side Pillar skip - linear 1 15 yards Rapid response 2-foot - linear 2 5 secondsPlyometrics Hurdle hop 2-3 5 hurdles each Split squat jump 2-3 4 each side

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Movement Sets RepsMovement Skills Acceleration wall drill - marching 2 5 each side Acceleration wall drill - single exchange 2 5 each side Acceleration wall drill - triple exchange 2 5 each side Acceleration - split stance 3-5 10 yards Acceleration to base 3-5 10 yards

WORKOUT 2 — MULTIDIRECTIONAL SPEED

Movement Sets RepsMovement Preparation Pillar bridge - lateral 2 30 seconds Lateral lunge 1 4 each side Rotational lunge stretch 1 4 each side Pillar skip - lateral 1 10 yards each side Rapid response 1-foot lateral base 2 5 secondsPlyometrics Hurdle hop - lateral 2-3 5 hurdles each Lateral bound 2-3 4 each sideMovement Skills Lateral shuffle to cut 2-3 4 each side 3-hurdle drill - stabilization 2 3 3-hurdle drill - continuous 2 3 3-hurdle drill to dropstep 2 3 each side Mirror drill 3-4 5-10 seconds

Lionel Messi's speed &agility

Workout 1LINEAR SPEEDMovement Preparation

Workout 1LINEAR SPEEDPlyometrics

Workout 1LINEAR SPEEDMovement Skills

Workout 2MULTIDIRECTIONALSPEEDMovement Preparation

Workout 2MULTIDIRECTIONALSPEEDPlyometrics

Workout 2MULTIDIRECTIONALSPEEDMovement Skills


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