Parents ask us all the time how to make their athlete faster.

Usually they aren't talking about a forty-yard dash. They mean something more practical: getting to the ball first, closing space faster, beating a defender to a spot, stealing a base, or reacting quickly enough that the athlete looks one step ahead instead of one step behind.

That kind of speed is more complicated than moving your feet quickly through an agility ladder.

Ladders can be useful for coordination and warm-ups. They are not a complete speed program.

First-step quickness starts with force

Acceleration is the ability to increase speed quickly. During the first few steps, an athlete needs to apply a lot of force into the ground in the right direction.

That is why strength matters.

An athlete who gets stronger has more potential to produce force. Strength alone will not automatically create great sprint technique, but it gives the athlete more physical capacity to work with. Research in youth athletes consistently shows that resistance training can improve strength and several measures of physical performance.

A major systematic review and meta-analysis found moderate effects of resistance training on strength and vertical jump performance in youth athletes, along with smaller improvements in sprint and agility measures. More recent work in female adolescent team-sport athletes also supports both strength and plyometric training for improving jumping, sprinting and change-of-direction performance.

That is a very different picture from “just make their feet move faster.”

Athletes need to practice accelerating

Strength gives us potential. Sprinting teaches the athlete how to use it.

If the goal is to improve the first three to five steps, then some training should actually involve high-quality accelerations. The athlete needs to learn how to project the body forward, push the ground behind them and gradually rise as speed builds.

Resisted sprinting can be one tool.

A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis found that resisted sprint training improved sprint performance and change-of-direction ability. Compared with unresisted sprinting, resisted sprint training showed particularly useful effects for early acceleration over roughly the first ten meters and in youth athletes.

That does not mean every young athlete should drag a heavy sled every session. It means resistance can be used to help teach and overload the positions and force demands of acceleration when it is programmed appropriately.

Change of direction is not the same as running around cones

Sport speed rarely happens in a straight line.

A soccer player has to stop and redirect. A basketball player has to react to an opponent. A baseball player has to explode out of a stance and change paths. A lacrosse player may have to accelerate, decelerate and reaccelerate several times in a few seconds.

Good change-of-direction training needs both movement skill and physical capacity.

The athlete has to be strong enough to absorb force when slowing down. They need enough control to keep useful body positions. Then they have to produce force again to leave the cut.

Recent meta-analytic research found that resisted training can improve change-of-direction ability, with adolescents showing meaningful benefits. Other evidence suggests combinations of plyometric, sprint and change-of-direction work can improve acceleration and planned change-of-direction performance in youth athletes.

Again, the point is not that one drill is best. The point is that speed is trainable through several connected qualities.

Rest is part of speed training

This one is easy to miss.

If we want athletes to become faster, they have to practice moving fast.

That means they need enough rest between sprint efforts to produce high-quality repetitions. If every “speed” session becomes ten straight minutes of cones with no rest, it quickly turns into conditioning.

Conditioning has a place. It is just not the same thing as speed development.

At BFP, we would rather see six really good accelerations with proper rest than twenty sloppy ones performed while the athlete is exhausted. Fatigue changes mechanics and reduces output. That may be useful when training conditioning, but it is not how we want to teach first-step speed.

The plan should fit the athlete and sport

A 12-year-old baseball player does not need the exact same speed program as a 17-year-old soccer player.

Training age matters. Maturity matters. Sport demands matter. Previous injuries matter.

Some athletes need more basic strength. Some need better sprint mechanics. Some are fast in a straight line but struggle to decelerate. Others have plenty of strength but have never learned to use it quickly.

That is why our youth program is coached rather than simply running everyone through the same circuit.

The Tuesday and Thursday 6:15 PM youth sessions allow us to work on strength and athletic development during the school year, but the exact training dose still needs to account for practices, games and recovery.

If your athlete wants to get faster to the ball, do not look for one magic drill.

Build strength. Sprint. Jump. Learn to slow down. Practice changing direction. Give enough rest for speed work to actually be fast.

Quick feet may look impressive on social media. Useful speed is the ability to put force into the ground and get somewhere before the other athlete does.

That is what we are trying to train.

Works Cited

• Lesinski, Melanie, Olaf Prieske, and Urs Granacher. “Effects and Dose-Response Relationships of Resistance Training on Physical Performance in Youth Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” British Journal of Sports Medicine, vol. 50, no. 13, 2016, pp. 781–795. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2015-095497. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26851290/.

• Li, Chengcheng, Lunxin Chen, and Qin Zhang. “Effects of Resisted Sprint Training on Sprint, Jump, and Change-of-Direction Performance in Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Frontiers in Physiology, vol. 16, 2025, article 1711992. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2025.1711992. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41384249/.

• Luo, Hua, et al. “Effects of Strength and Plyometric Training on Vertical Jump, Linear Sprint, and Change-of-Direction Speed in Female Adolescent Team Sport Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, vol. 24, no. 2, 2025, pp. 406–452. https://doi.org/10.52082/jssm.2025.406. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40469857/.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do agility ladders make youth athletes faster?

Agility ladders can be useful for coordination and warm-ups, but they are not a complete speed-development program. First-step quickness also depends on acceleration mechanics, strength, force production, sprint practice, deceleration, and the ability to change direction.

What helps a young athlete improve first-step quickness?

A good program usually combines strength training, high-quality sprinting, acceleration drills, and change-of-direction work. The exact mix should reflect the athlete's sport, age, training experience, and current weaknesses.

Can strength training make a youth athlete faster?

Strength training can support sprint and change-of-direction performance by improving the athlete's ability to produce force. It works best when combined with actual sprinting and sport-appropriate speed training rather than being treated as a replacement for running fast.

How often should young athletes train speed?

Quality matters more than simply adding more sessions. Speed work is most useful when athletes are relatively fresh, can move at high intent, and have enough recovery between repetitions. The weekly amount depends on practices, games, and other training.

Does BFP train youth athletes for speed in Hampstead and Surf City?

Yes. BFP's youth program combines age-appropriate strength and athletic development rather than relying only on conditioning or ladder drills. Tuesday and Thursday 6:15 PM sessions are available for youth athletes after completing the required Foundations sessions.