The Ickey Shuffle – Putting the Skill in the Drill

Ty here.  I’m back again to give a few more details about the Ickey Shuffle and how important it is to focus on the skills in drills.

Below are some videos and brief thoughts on different looks of the exercise. Hope these give you a new perspective on how you approach drills…specifically the Ickey Shuffle.

Above is a typical Ickey Shuffle done in a ladder. A lot of coaches will throw out this drill without thought of the skill involved.   As you can see, the athlete is going through the ladder without any purpose.

Now we put an emphasis on the cut portion of the drill. Here we start to focus on a skill versus the drill. You can use changes in pace and intensity to get more out of the exercise. For example…using the gather steps in the ladder to slow your pace down then be aggressive and quick with the plant outside the ladder. This will teach the proper footwork getting into cuts.

You can also use tools like a band to create stiffer, better cuts. Notice the plant angle when using the band. It also forces the athlete to sit into the cut and properly absorb load then produce force to get out of it.

The Ickey Shuffle is a great drill and widely used. The effectiveness of the drill is determined by your attention to detail and ability to teach the skills the drill requires.

Have any questions? Shoot me up in the comments and let me know!