I have worked with hundreds of youth, high school, college, and professional athletes over the years.
The longer I coach, the more convinced I become that youth training does not need to be nearly as complicated as people make it.
Open social media for more than five minutes and you will see kids doing drills that look like they belong in the NFL Combine. They are attached to resistance bands, jumping over ten different objects, running through agility ladders, and catching a tennis ball at the same time.
It looks impressive.
It gets views.
But is it actually making that athlete better?
Sometimes, yes. Most of the time, probably not.
A lot of youth fitness has become more focused on looking advanced than developing athletes. Coaches feel like every workout needs to be entertaining enough for social media, while parents understandably want to see their child working hard.
The problem is that working hard and training effectively are not always the same thing.
Here are some of the biggest problems I see in youth fitness—and what we should be doing instead.
Problem #1: We Are Making Training Too Complicated
Youth athletes do not need a circus act disguised as a workout.
They need to learn how to move.
When an athlete first comes into our facility, we are not immediately worried about how much weight they can lift or how difficult we can make their workout. We want to see how well they can control their body.
Can they squat?
Can they hinge?
Can they lunge without losing their balance?
Can they skip, march, sprint, jump, and land?
Can they coordinate their arms and legs?
These things may sound simple, but simple does not mean unimportant.
In fact, the basics are usually the most important part.
Before we add resistance bands, complicated reaction drills, heavy weights, or advanced plyometrics, the athlete needs to show that they can perform the basic movement correctly.
You have to program the athlete for where they are currently—not where you want them to be six months from now.
There is nothing wrong with advanced training when an athlete is ready for it. The problem comes when we skip the developmental process because a more complicated drill looks better on Instagram.
The Solution
Keep the training focused.
Pick one or two major qualities that you want to improve during the session. That could be acceleration mechanics, landing technique, strength, coordination, or conditioning.
Teach those qualities well.
Give the athlete enough repetitions to learn them.
Then progress the exercise when they have earned the progression.
Training does not need to look complicated to be effective.
Problem #2: Kids Are Missing Basic Movement Skills
I was born in the 80s.
When I was growing up, kids spent a lot more time outside. We ran, jumped, climbed, wrestled, played tag, rode bikes, and found creative ways to get ourselves into trouble.
Most of us were developing athletic qualities without realizing we were training.
Today, a lot of kids do not get that same amount of unstructured physical activity. Sports practices may be the only consistent physical activity they receive during the week.
Because of that, we are seeing athletes who may be skilled at their sport but lack general coordination, balance, strength, and body control.
They might be able to dribble a basketball or swing a baseball bat, but ask them to skip correctly or land from a jump and things start to fall apart.
That is not the athlete’s fault.
It simply means we need to spend more time developing the qualities they are missing.
The Solution
Youth training should include a healthy amount of:
- Balance
- Coordination
- Crawling and marching patterns
- Jumping and landing
- Sprinting mechanics
- Deceleration
- Core stability
- General strength
- Body awareness
These qualities create the foundation for almost everything the athlete will do later.
An athlete who can control their body will be in a much better position to lift weights, sprint faster, change direction, absorb contact, and reduce unnecessary movement on the field or court.
You cannot build a great athlete on top of poor movement.
The foundation has to come first.
Problem #3: Youth Athletes Are Not Strength Training Enough
There is still a misconception that strength training is dangerous for kids.
Strength training is not automatically dangerous.
Poor coaching is dangerous.
Poor exercise selection is dangerous.
Loading an athlete beyond what they can control is dangerous.
But a properly designed and supervised strength program can be one of the best things a youth athlete can do for their development.
Strength training also does not mean putting a young athlete under a heavily loaded barbell on their first day.
Strength can be developed through:
- Bodyweight exercises
- Sleds
- Medicine balls
- Resistance bands
- Dumbbells
- Kettlebells
- Barbells
- Carries
- Crawling variations
- Controlled jumping and landing exercises
The equipment is not the most important part.
The athlete’s readiness and the quality of coaching are what matter.
Most younger athletes possess relatively low levels of strength compared to their body weight. That makes strength one of the biggest opportunities we have to improve their overall athletic ability.
If an athlete becomes stronger while maintaining good movement, that increased strength can help them sprint faster, jump higher, change direction more effectively, and tolerate the demands of their sport.
Long story short: stronger athletes have a larger physical toolbox.
The Solution
Start with exercises the athlete can control.
Teach them how to squat, hinge, push, pull, carry, brace, and move on one leg.
Once they demonstrate good technique, gradually add resistance.
Progressive strength training does not mean adding as much weight as possible every week. It means steadily increasing the challenge while maintaining proper positions and execution.
Sometimes the progression is more weight.
Sometimes it is better range of motion.
Sometimes it is improved balance.
Sometimes it is simply performing the same movement with more confidence and control.
The goal is long-term development—not creating a weight-room superstar at 12 years old.
Problem #4: Conditioning Is Often Used Incorrectly
One of the most common questions we receive from parents is whether we can improve their athlete’s conditioning.
We absolutely can.
But conditioning does not always mean running laps, performing endless sprints, or trying to make a kid throw up.
Conditioning should prepare the athlete for the demands of their sport.
A basketball player, soccer player, hockey player, and baseball player do not experience the same energy demands. Their conditioning should not automatically look the same.
We also need to remember that many athletes are already practicing and competing several times per week. Simply adding more running may create additional fatigue without addressing what the athlete actually needs.
More work is not automatically better work.
The Solution
First, look at the athlete’s complete schedule.
How many practices do they have?
How many games are they playing?
Are they currently in-season or off-season?
How are they sleeping?
Are they recovering between sessions?
Once we understand the entire picture, we can prescribe the appropriate amount of conditioning.
Sometimes that means short sprints with complete recovery.
Sometimes it means tempo work.
Sometimes it means sled work, bike intervals, or lower-intensity aerobic training.
Conditioning should have a purpose. It should not be used as punishment because an athlete made a mistake or lost a game.
Problem #5: Kids Are Not Having Enough Fun
We have to remember that these are still kids.
Training should be organized, coached, and taken seriously—but that does not mean every minute needs to feel like military boot camp.
If a young athlete hates every training session, it is unlikely that they are going to develop a lifelong relationship with exercise.
That matters.
Not every youth athlete is going to receive a college scholarship or become a professional athlete. But every athlete can learn how to train, take care of their body, work through challenges, and become more confident.
Those lessons last much longer than their playing career.
The Solution
Create a structured environment without removing all the fun.
Use competitions.
Let athletes race.
Use games that develop coordination, reaction time, acceleration, or conditioning.
Give athletes an opportunity to challenge themselves and interact with their teammates.
Training should still have standards. We are not letting kids run around the facility doing whatever they want.
But we can coach hard, maintain expectations, and still make the process enjoyable.
A good youth program should leave athletes feeling challenged, successful, and excited to return.
The Bigger Picture
Youth athletes do not need to train like professional athletes.
They need to build the physical qualities that may eventually allow them to train like advanced athletes.
That means developing:
- Strength
- Coordination
- Balance
- Speed
- Mobility
- Body control
- Confidence
- Good training habits
There are no shortcuts in athletic development.
The athletes who become strong, fast, resilient, and successful usually build those qualities over years—not during one six-week speed camp.
Our responsibility as coaches is to meet athletes where they are, teach them how to move, progressively challenge them, and help them enjoy the process.
Keep the basics simple.
Coach them extremely well.
Allow kids to develop at their own pace.
And most importantly, remember that kids are still kids.
Help Your Athlete Build the Right Foundation
Youth athletes do not need more random drills. They need a structured training plan that improves strength, movement, speed, coordination, and confidence.
At JDFit, we meet each athlete where they are and build from there.
Schedule a free consultation with JDFit to learn more about our sports performance training and find the right starting point for your athlete.
