Why Most Athletes Lack Explosiveness - Cedar Park Athlete Training
- Jul 6
- 2 min read
There's one quality that all coaches & parents want to see in their athletes - explosiveness.
Athletes who make their opposition look like they're running in quicksand.
Athletes who are always getting to the ball first.
Athletes who make the crowd "oohh" and "aahh"
Here's the truth: genetics play a massive part here. Some athletes are just naturally explosive.
But here's the good news: athletes who aren't naturally explosive can build these qualities if done correctly.
What is "Explosiveness" in an Athlete?
Explosiveness is the ability to produce a large amount of force in a very short amount of time.
In sports, that shows up when an athlete:
Accelerates past a defender
Jumps for a rebound
Explodes out of a stance
Changes direction quickly
Swings, throws, or strikes with more power
Reacts faster to a play
The problem is that many young athletes are practicing their sport constantly without actually training the physical qualities that make them more explosive.
Here are some of the biggest reasons why:
They Aren't Strong Enough Yet
Explosiveness starts with force production.
An athlete cannot express force quickly if they cannot produce much force in the first place.
This is especially common with young athletes who spend hours practicing skills, playing games, or doing conditioning, but have never followed a structured strength training program.
Exercises like squats, split squats, deadlift variations, rows, presses, and pull-ups help athletes build the strength foundation needed for more powerful movement.
Strength training alone does not automatically make someone explosive, but without enough strength, explosive potential will always be limited.
At Barbell Coalition here in Cedar Park, we always see a huge jump in explosiveness when a new athlete begins a structured training program with us.
They're Not Actually Training for Speed
This is one of the most common mistakes in youth sports.
An athlete runs repeated sprints with very little rest, gets exhausted, and everyone calls it speed training.
Usually, this is just conditioning.
True speed and power training require high-quality repetitions and enough recovery to perform them with maximum effort.
When athletes are constantly training while fatigued, they usually become better at maintaining effort while tired. That can be valuable, but it is not the same thing as improving acceleration or explosiveness.
Athletes need both.
They just need to be trained differently.
Their Training Has No Progression
Doing random box jumps and agility ladder drills does not automatically make an athlete explosive.
Training needs progression.
An athlete may start by learning how to jump and land correctly.
Then they can progress to more reactive jumping.
Then higher-speed plyometrics.
Then loaded explosive exercises.
The same concept applies to strength training.
Athletes need a plan that gradually increases difficulty as they improve.
Without progression, athletes often spend months repeating exercises without actually developing new physical abilities.
How Our Training Produces Results for Cedar Park Athletes in Just 30 Days
Our 30-Day Athlete Accelerator program is designed to produce actual, measurable results for athletes in 30 days.
We guarantee we'll make your child a better athlete in 30 days, or we'll train them completely free.
Comments