Why Athletes Need Strength Training Before Speed Work

Posted on October 13, 2025

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Every coach wants faster athletes. Parents want to see their kids blow past defenders. And athletes themselves dream about being the quickest player on the field. So when it comes time to train, the instinct is to focus on speed — more sprints, more agility drills, more conditioning. It makes sense on the surface. If you want to get faster, you run fast, right?

Not exactly. Speed is the result of force production, and force production comes from strength. An athlete who jumps straight into speed work without a solid strength foundation is building a sports car on a weak frame. It might look fast for a while, but it won't hold up under pressure, and it definitely won't reach its potential. Strength training isn't a detour on the way to speed. It's the only road that gets you there safely and effectively.

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The Foundation Problem: Why Skipping Strength Leads to Breakdown

Speed work is demanding. Sprinting, cutting, jumping, and changing direction all require the body to produce and absorb high levels of force in fractions of a second. When an athlete doesn't have the strength to handle those forces, two things happen. First, performance suffers because the muscles, tendons, and joints can't generate enough power to move efficiently. Second, injury risk skyrockets because the body isn't equipped to stabilize and control movement under load.

Think about a young lacrosse player who spends all off-season running cone drills and doing ladder work but never touches a barbell. When the season starts and they're sprinting full speed, planting hard to change direction, and taking contact from opponents, their body isn't prepared for the stress. Hamstrings pull. Ankles roll. Knees give out. It's not bad luck or poor genetics. It's a lack of foundational strength that would have allowed their muscles and connective tissue to handle the demands of the game.

Strength training builds that foundation. It teaches the body how to produce force through a full range of motion, stabilize joints under load, and control movement patterns that translate directly to sport. A stronger athlete can generate more power with each stride, decelerate more effectively when cutting or stopping, and absorb contact without breaking down. Speed drills refine mechanics and improve coordination, but they can't create the raw force production that makes an athlete truly fast. That only comes from getting stronger.

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What Strength Training Actually Builds

Strength training isn't just about lifting heavy weights or building bigger muscles, though both of those things matter. It's about teaching the nervous system to recruit muscle fibers efficiently, improving tendon stiffness so energy transfers better during movement, and creating structural resilience that keeps athletes healthy through long seasons and intense competition.

When an athlete squats, deadlifts, or presses, they're not just working isolated muscles. They're training their body to produce force from the ground up, stabilize through the core, and move as a coordinated unit. These are the same mechanics required for sprinting, jumping, and cutting. A strong posterior chain means more powerful hip extension, which directly translates to faster acceleration. Strong glutes and hamstrings mean better deceleration and change of direction without compensating through the knees or lower back. A solid core means better force transfer between the lower and upper body, which matters in every sport that involves throwing, swinging, or rotating.

Tendon adaptation is another critical piece that gets overlooked. Tendons connect muscle to bone and store elastic energy during movement. Stiffer, more resilient tendons allow athletes to use that stored energy more effectively, which improves speed and power output. But tendons adapt slowly, and they only get stronger through progressive loading over time. An athlete who skips strength work and goes straight to high-intensity plyometrics or sprint training is asking their tendons to handle forces they're not prepared for. That's when Achilles tendinopathy, patellar tendinitis, and other overuse injuries start showing up.

Strength training also builds positional awareness and movement quality. Learning how to hinge properly, brace the core, and maintain alignment under load carries over into every athletic movement. A baseball player who can deadlift with good technique has a better chance of staying injury-free when they rotate explosively to swing a bat. A soccer player who can squat deeply with control will move better when they plant and cut on the field. These aren't separate skills. They're the same patterns applied in different contexts.

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How Strength Translates to Speed on the Field

Speed isn't just about moving your legs fast. It's about applying force into the ground efficiently, accelerating quickly from a standstill, maintaining top speed, and decelerating or changing direction without losing momentum. Every one of those actions depends on strength.

Acceleration is where strength shows up most obviously. The first few steps of a sprint require maximum force production in a short amount of time. A stronger athlete generates more force with each push-off, which means faster acceleration and a quicker first step. That matters in every sport. The defensive back who explodes out of their stance a tenth of a second faster gets to the ball carrier before the blocker can react. The midfielder who accelerates past a defender in the first three steps creates separation that changes the play.

Top speed is also a product of force production, not just stride frequency. Yes, moving your legs quickly matters, but only if you're putting enough force into the ground with each step to propel yourself forward. A stronger athlete generates more force per stride, which means higher speeds without having to increase cadence to unsustainable levels. That's why you see elite sprinters with powerful, muscular builds. They're not just running fast. They're driving force into the track with every step.

Change of direction is where strength becomes a safety issue as much as a performance factor. Cutting, stopping, and redirecting requires the ability to decelerate rapidly and then re-accelerate in a new direction. That process generates forces several times an athlete's body weight, and if they don't have the strength to control that load, something gives. Strong glutes, hamstrings, and quads allow an athlete to absorb and redirect force without compensating through vulnerable joints like the knee or ankle. That's the difference between a clean cut and a torn ACL.

Even in sports that rely heavily on skill and finesse, strength provides the base that makes everything else work. A lacrosse player with better hip and core strength shoots harder and more accurately because they can generate and transfer more force through their stick. A soccer player with stronger legs kicks the ball farther and with more precision because they have better control over their mechanics under fatigue. Skill work sharpens technique, but strength gives athletes the physical capacity to execute those skills at game speed.

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Build Strength First, Then Add Speed

The order matters. Athletes who build a solid strength foundation first can handle the demands of speed work without breaking down. Their bodies are prepared to produce force, absorb impact, and recover between sessions. When speed work gets layered on top of that foundation, it refines mechanics and pushes performance to the next level. But speed work without strength is like putting a high-performance engine in a car with a weak suspension. It might go fast for a minute, but it's not going to last.

Strength training doesn't mean spending hours in the gym every day or lifting like a powerlifter. It means consistent, progressive loading that builds capacity over time. For young athletes, that might start with bodyweight movements and progress to goblet squats, trap bar deadlifts, and basic pressing. For older or more experienced athletes, it means continuing to prioritize strength work even during the season when speed and skill training take center stage. Maintenance matters as much as the initial build.

If you're an athlete, parent, or coach trying to figure out where to start, the answer is simple. Build strength first. Get the foundation in place. Teach the body how to move well under load, develop resilience in muscles and tendons, and create the raw force production that makes speed possible. Then add speed work on top of that base and watch how much faster the progress comes. You'll move better, perform better, and stay healthier through the process.

Want to build a real foundation? We work with athletes at every level to develop strength that translates to the field. Reach out via email and let' s talk about what you need.