“They already have sport”: Do young athletes really need extra strength training?

Neven Antic • July 9, 2026

A common line from Adelaide parents:

“They already train twice a week and play on weekends. Isn’t that enough?”

Sometimes it is. Often, it isn’t.

Sport teaches skills, not always strength

Strength is the "engine" behind their skills

With better kids strength training in Adelaide and movement, kids:

Accelerate faster
Change direction more cleanly
Handle contact better
Get fewer silly overload niggles

We build this in JuniorGym Academy with small groups and structured youth strength training in Adelaide.

Volume vs quality

We’re not adding mindless load on top of a busy schedule.

We look at:

How many trainings and games they already have
Where they’re sore or struggling
What their goals are

Then we layer in 1–2 quality strength and movement sessions per week, not 5.

When extra strength makes sense

It’s most helpful if your child:

Is on the edge of higher squads
Gets pushed off the ball easily
Looks uncoordinated despite lots of sport
Is picking up repeat niggles

Want to know if your child actually needs extra training?

If you’re unsure whether more strength is right or “too much”:

Book a JuniorGym Assessment.

We’ll look at their movement, current schedule and goals, then give you a clear yes/no on whether JuniorGym is appropriate now.

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