Precision footwork drills will help you to develop speed and reflexes in any sport requiring coordinated foot movement (which is most). Using tape, mark a standard tic-tac-toe grid (3 x 3) on the ground. Note: also mark the outermost edges, as this will keep you within the grid; preventing you from becoming “sloppy.” Each cell should be about 1.5’ x 1.5’ in dimension (making the overall size 4.5’ x 4.5’). This size isn’t too big, yet is big enough to give you the room to move and stretch your muscles between grid cells while improving your reflexes. Mark the cells “1” through “9”, starting with a corner cell. The middle cell should be should “5." To perform the precision reflex drills, stand in the center cell, 5.

Have a friend call out random numbers between 1 and 9. Jump to the cells they call (on one foot or both). Go a few rounds, taking turns with your partner, until you have an intuitive idea of where the cells are. Next, begin timing yourself with a stop-watch. Create different sequences, write them down, and read them off quickly, timing how long it takes for each sequence. Work on improving your reflex times more and more each set, while maintaining precision. Not only is it a great workout for reflexes, but you’ll become incredibly fast at footwork and balance within your “blood zone”; that is, the three foot radius area around you in all directions. When you do not have a partner available, practice your own footwork reflex drills; such as starting with feet spread on the edges, jumping to bring them together in the middle and spreading them again as you jump to the far edge.