The Simplest Way to Get Faster

When Stuart McMillan talks about speed, you listen. In a recent podcast, this USA track and field sprints coach who has coached over 70 olympians said the best way to make a 14 year old athlete faaster:

“The best way to get a 14-year-old kid faster is to get them stronger. Just improve their force-producing capacity and they will get faster. It’s pretty simple.”

That word force is the key. Every action in sport—sprinting, jumping, changing direction, throwing, hitting—depends on your ability to produce high levels of force quickly. If you can’t create force, you can’t move well.

So, how do we improve force production? Strength training. And not just any strength training, but the kind that combines fundamental strength training with high-velocity movements. Think Olympic lifts, plyometrics, sprints, and throws. These train the body to not only create more force, but to do it fast. That’s the magic formula for speed.

It’s tempting to overcomplicate this process, especially with younger athletes. Folks sometimes chase well intentioned agility drills or other low force production activities. But the truth is simpler: build a foundation of strength, then layer in explosive work. A stronger athlete is a faster athlete, and a faster athlete has more opportunities to succeed in any sport.

So, if you want to see a 14-year-old sprint harder, cut sharper, or jump higher—get them under the bar, get them moving explosively, and watch what happens.

Best of luck with your training today!