Joe and Steve are both terrific athletes, in great shape, fast, strong, and flexible. For the purposes of this tale, let's assume that they are club tennis players, even though this story can apply to any sport. Both of them have great tennis strokes, and are top players at their club.

Given this situation, how can it be that Steve consistently beats Joe when they play matches together? The answer comes down to agility during chaotic match play. While both are fast, Steve has practiced "chaos agility drills." He works with his fitness trainer to improve his reaction time to anything an opponent could send his way. This means that he reacts immediately when Joe brings his racket back, and when the ball leaves Joe's racket. Even though he is no faster than Joe, he responds much more quickly to shots and gets to balls that Joe misses. He can immediately move forward to the net to get drop shots, sideways to get short angles, and backwards to hit overhead smashes.

Chaos drills are a crucial training tool for any fitness professional working with athletes. In football, baseball, basketball, volleyball, hockey, and soccer, it is rare to reach top speeds during a play. However, every player has to react immediately to other players' motions and to the ball. The ability to make quick starts and stops, change direction, and react to anything that can come their way can make the difference between winning or losing.

Fitness pros can use chaos drills help athletes develop their reaction time, and thus improve their agility and perceived speed. For instance, in tennis, the fitness pro can hold a tennis ball right in front of the player and quickly throw it in different directions while the player reacts and catches the ball before it bounces twice. In football, the fitness pro can work with a defensive player by moving the football in different directions while the lineman reacts quickly to the ball's motion.

Agility is a highly trainable quality that can make a huge difference in almost any sport. While "chaos drills" are only one piece of improving agility, they can be enormously valuable to your fitness clients - whether they are at the professional or amateur level.

Richard Lansky is the President of the Agility Training Institute. For more information about speed and agility, or to become a Certified Speed and Agility Trainer, visit http://www.agilitytraininginstitute.com.

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