Unlocking Athleticism: How Strength, Power, and Speed Work Together
When parents talk about wanting their athlete to be more athletic, they usually mean something they can see: faster on the field, more explosive off the line, harder to move in competition. What they're describing is the product of three physical qualities working together: strength, power, and speed.
These aren't separate goals. They're a progression, with each one building on the last. Understanding how they connect helps explain why our approach to training at Northside Athletics is structured the way it is, and why that structure produces results that general fitness training typically doesn't.
Strength is the foundation everything else is built on
Strength is the ability to produce force, and it is the starting point for athletic development at every level. This isn't just a training philosophy. The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) has documented in its Long-Term Athletic Development Position Statement that muscular strength is strongly associated with a wide range of physical qualities in young athletes, including speed, power, and injury resilience.
In practical terms, a stronger athlete has more physical potential to work with. A stronger leg produces more force into the ground during a sprint. A stronger hip drives more power into a jump. A stronger core stabilizes movement patterns that would otherwise break down under fatigue or contact.
This is why we don't skip ahead to speed drills or jump training before an athlete has built a real strength base. The return on those tools is directly proportional to the strength foundation underneath them. Research cited in the NSCA's youth resistance training position statement has found that the combination of resistance and plyometric training may actually produce synergistic effects, with outcomes greater than either type of training alone.
Power is strength expressed quickly
If strength is the size of an engine, power is how fast that engine can fire. More precisely, power is the ability to apply force rapidly. In sport, rapid force production is almost always what separates good athletes from great ones.
Most athletic movements occur in less than a third of a second. A vertical jump, a first-step acceleration, a change of direction: each of these demands that an athlete produce large amounts of force faster than conscious thought allows. An athlete who can generate force but cannot generate it quickly will always be a step behind a more explosive competitor. This is why the NSCA distinguishes between strength-speed (moving heavier loads quickly) and speed-strength (moving lighter loads at maximum velocity) as distinct and trainable qualities.
We develop power through tools that bridge strength into explosive movement: medicine ball variations, plyometrics, and Olympic lifting derivatives. These aren't random additions to a workout. They are selected because they train the neuromuscular system to recruit muscle fibers faster and more efficiently. The NSCA notes that both children and adolescents can make meaningful gains in neuromuscular power through appropriately designed resistance training, and that a strong strength base directly increases an athlete's capacity to produce power.
Speed is the result, and it is trainable
Speed is often treated as something athletes either have or don't. That's not accurate. Sprint mechanics, acceleration patterns, and the ability to reach and maintain top-end velocity are all coachable skills. They also respond significantly better to training when an athlete already has a developed strength and power base underneath them.
At this stage in programming, we focus on sprint mechanics, acceleration drills, and resisted running. The goal is to translate the force production athletes have developed in the weight room into efficient, high-velocity movement on the field or court. An athlete who has built real strength and power doesn't just run the drills. They express something in them that an underprepared athlete physically cannot.
The NSCA's position on long-term athletic development supports this sequencing, noting that well-rounded programs incorporating resistance training, motor skill development, speed work, and appropriate rest can reduce the risk of sports-related injury by as much as 50%. That is a benefit that compounds across an athlete's entire career.
Why the sequence matters as much as the training itself
The order of these phases isn't arbitrary. Introducing explosive power training before a strength foundation is in place reduces the return on that training and increases injury risk. Rushing to speed work before power is developed produces athletes who are fast but fragile: capable of short bursts but not of sustaining output through a full game or season.
Periodization is the structured progression through these phases across a training cycle, and it is what converts individual sessions into long-term development. It's the difference between an athlete who gets a good workout and an athlete who becomes measurably more capable over months and years.
This is the framework behind every program we run at Northside Athletics. Strength first. Power next. Speed as the expression of both. The approach is grounded in the same evidence base the NSCA uses to guide professional strength and conditioning practice, applied to athletes right here in Fairbanks.
Resources for parents
• NSCA — Youth Training and Long-Term Athletic Development Position Statement
• NSCA — Youth Performance and Fitness: Strength and Conditioning Information for Parents
• NSCA — Trainability of Neuromuscular Power in Youth
• PMC / Hospital for Special Surgery — Strength and Conditioning in the Young Athlete for Long-Term Athletic Development (2024)
Our Sports Performance program launches June 2026 at Northside Athletics in Fairbanks. Athletes train in a semi-private environment with a maximum of 6 per coach, following structured programming designed around their sport and competitive season.
