The Science Behind Athletic Development
Every parent wants to see their child excel in their sport — to play with confidence, move effortlessly, and perform at their best when it matters most. But when it comes to building athleticism, natural talent isn’t everything. The best athletes are developed through innovative, science-based training that progressively builds strength, speed, power, agility, and coordination over time.
If your child wants to get faster, jump higher, and stay injury-free, here’s what you need to know about the pillars of athletic development, and how to support them the right way.
1. Strength: The Foundation of Every Athlete
Strength is the foundation of athletic performance. It’s what enables an athlete to sprint faster, jump higher, change direction efficiently, and reduce the risk of injury. According to the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), early exposure to strength training in a properly supervised setting improves coordination, muscle control, and athletic confidence without stunting growth or harming development.
Why it matters:
Strength training increases force production, which directly translates into improved power and speed. For example:
A stronger soccer player can shield the ball and sprint explosively.
A stronger basketball player can jump higher and maintain body control when landing from a jump.
A stronger volleyball player can jump higher and swing harder.
Examples of age-appropriate strength exercises:
Bodyweight squats → Goblet squats
Push-ups → Dumbbell bench press
Planks → Copenhagen planks
Step-ups and lunges → Loaded split squats
Pro tip for parents: Strength work doesn’t mean lifting like a powerlifter. It’s about mastering movement patterns — squat, hinge, push, pull, and carry — and gradually adding resistance with good form.
2. Plyometrics: Turning Strength Into Explosive Power
Plyometric training teaches the body to apply force quickly. This is what separates fast, powerful athletes from the rest. It enhances the stretch-shortening cycle, the natural reflex that lets muscles store and release elastic energy.
Research insight: Studies have shown that youth athletes who participate in structured plyometric programs experience improvements in vertical jump, sprint speed, and reactive agility (Haff & Triplett, 2016).
Sport-specific examples:
Basketball: Box jumps, depth jumps, and single-leg hops to improve vertical power and landing mechanics.
Soccer: Lateral bounds, pogo jumps, and broad jumps to increase first-step quickness and sprint acceleration.
Baseball/Softball: Med ball rotational throws to enhance power in the swing and throw.
Tennis: Skater hops and split-step plyos to improve court movement and reaction time.
Pro tip for parents: Plyometrics should emphasize quality over quantity. Focus on soft landings, posture, and rhythm — 3 sets of 5–8 explosive reps are plenty for developing athletes.
3. Power: Where Strength Meets Speed
Power is the ability to exert force rapidly. It’s the reason an athlete can explode off the line, throw farther, or jump higher. Strength training provides the foundation, but power training teaches athletes to apply that strength more efficiently.
Best methods for youth athletes:
Medicine ball throws (rotational, overhead, chest pass)
Olympic lift variations (like hang cleans or jump shrugs, once movement quality is high)
Loaded jumps with light resistance (dumbbells or trap bar jumps)
Sport-specific examples:
Football: Power cleans and resisted sled pushes for acceleration off the line.
Volleyball: Jump squats and med ball slams for vertical and upper-body power.
Basketball: Weighted jumps to improve explosiveness to the rim.
Science Suggests: Training for power 2–3 times per week improves athletic output and neuromuscular coordination (Suchomel et al., Sports Medicine, 2016).
4. Speed: Building Mechanics and Acceleration
Speed isn’t just genetics — it’s trainable. Sprinting faster comes from improving technique, force production, and stride efficiency.
Key components of speed training:
Acceleration mechanics — body lean, shin angle, and aggressive knee drive.
Max velocity work — top-end sprinting to improve stride length and frequency.
Strength and posture — strong hips, hamstrings, and core improve running economy.
Practical drills:
Wall sprints or marching drills for mechanics.
Resisted sprints (sleds, bands) for acceleration.
Flying sprints (gradual build-up to top speed) for mechanics and relaxation at high velocity.
Example:
Soccer & Lacrosse: 10–20 yard resisted sprints mimic game acceleration bursts.
Basketball: Short court sprints and backpedal transitions simulate game movement.
Track: Flying 30s develop top-end speed efficiency.
5. Agility: The Art of Changing Direction with Control
Agility combines balance, coordination, and reactive ability. It’s what helps athletes move smoothly, adjust to opponents, and stay injury-free during chaotic play.
Training principles:
Develop deceleration ability (learn to stop efficiently before cutting).
Include planned agility drills (cones, ladders) to improve mechanics.
Progress to reactive agility (responding to a visual cue or opponent).
Examples:
Basketball: Mirror drills, 5-10-5 shuttle runs.
Football: Cone drills, T-drills, or live reaction cuts.
Tennis: Random directional sprints to a coach’s call.
Softball/Baseball: Drop-step and first-step reaction drills.
Research-backed tip:
Training agility with reactive components improves on-field performance more than pre-planned drills.
The Complete Athlete: How All Components Work Together
While it’s easy to focus on one area, such as getting faster or jumping higher, actual athletic performance stems from how all the physical qualities work together. Strength, power, speed, agility, and plyometrics are not separate skills; they are interrelated. They’re pieces of a larger system that feed into and depend on one another.
Think of it like building a house:
Strength is the foundation — without it, everything else crumbles.
Power is the ability to utilize that strength effectively and quickly.
Speed is the expression of power through efficient movement.
Agility is the ability to control speed and react in real-time.
Plyometrics act as the bridge, teaching the body to connect strength and speed explosively.
When one piece improves, the others have the potential to improve, but only if training is balanced and progressive.
How It Works in Practice
1. Strength → Power → Speed
A soccer player who builds leg strength through squats and lunges can produce more force into the ground. That strength then becomes power when converted into explosive jumps and sprints. Over time, this leads to greater speed — the athlete can accelerate faster and sustain it longer.
2. Strength + Agility → Stability and Control
In basketball, a strong lower body and core help players maintain their balance when cutting or landing. Without adequate strength, agility work can lead to sloppy mechanics or even injuries. With it, athletes can stop, start, and pivot fluidly.
3. Plyometrics + Strength → Elastic Power
Plyometric drills train the muscles and tendons to absorb and reapply force quickly. But for those elastic qualities to shine, the athlete needs a foundation of strength to control the movement and prevent overload.
4. Speed + Agility → Game Readiness
Speed is only as useful as an athlete’s ability to change direction and react. Agility adds that reactive component — turning linear speed into game speed, where movement is unpredictable, reactive, and dynamic.
The Science of Integration
Research consistently shows that multifaceted training programs, combining resistance, plyometric, and sprint/agility work, lead to greater improvements in performance than training any single quality alone.
A meta-analysis by Ramirez-Campillo et al. (2020) found that integrating strength and plyometric training produced greater gains in sprint and jump performance in youth athletes than isolated methods.
Another study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (Suchomel et al., 2016) showed that combining heavy resistance training with power and speed work improved overall force output, acceleration, and coordination.
In short, each component reinforces the others. Strength provides the base, power refines the output, speed expresses it, agility controls it, and plyometrics bridge the gap.
For Parents: Why This Matters
When parents understand that athletic development is a system, not a collection of random drills, they can help their kids train smarter, not just harder.
If your child only runs sprints but doesn’t strength train, they’ll hit a plateau.
If they only lift weights but never move explosively, they’ll be strong but slow.
If they skip agility and balance work, they’ll lack control under pressure.
The key is balance — building a body that’s strong, fast, powerful, and reactive all at once.
The Takeaway
Athletic performance is built on interdependence. Strength fuels power. Power fuels speed. Agility and plyometrics fine-tune control and explosiveness. When these elements are trained together with intention and proper progression, athletes unlock their full potential, becoming not just good in one aspect but complete, adaptable, and resilient on the court or field.
Final Thoughts for Parents
Supporting your child’s athletic journey means focusing on long-term development, not short-term wins.
Encourage consistency, proper technique, rest, and recovery. Remember, the goal is to build an athlete for life, not just for the following season.
The best thing you can do is connect them with a coach who understands youth development and can progressively build these qualities safely and effectively.
At Graves Athletics, our programs are built on the science of sports performance, helping athletes move better, get stronger, and play with confidence on any court or field. Click the link below to learn more.
