High school athletes are facing greater demands than ever. Between packed game schedules, travel teams, and college dreams, the path to success has never been more competitive. Talent alone isn’t enough—athletes need a performance foundation that sets them apart.
At Harper Strength and Speed, we focus on developing three essential pillars of athletic performance: strength, speed, and conditioning.
Each pillar plays a critical role in helping athletes compete, stay healthy, and reach their potential. Here’s how they work—and why balancing all three matters.
🏋️♂️ Strength: The Foundation of Performance
Strength is the ability to produce force—and in sports, force is everything. Whether it’s driving through a defender, jumping for a rebound, or sprinting downfield, strong athletes move with more power, stability, and control.
But strength isn’t just about lifting heavy weights. It also plays a major role in:
- Reducing injury risk
- Improving joint health (especially knees, hips, and shoulders)
- Enhancing balance and body control
At Harper, we use age-appropriate strength training to teach athletes how to move well, lift safely, and build the durability their sport demands. If you want to see how we structure our strength work, send us a message with the word “Strength” and we’ll send over our free off-season strength program.
⚡ Speed: The Game-Changer
Speed separates good athletes from great ones. But it’s not just about being “naturally fast.” Speed is a trainable skill—especially when it comes to sprint mechanics, acceleration, and change of direction.
We help athletes improve their speed by:
- Teaching efficient sprinting technique
- Using resisted sprint tools (sleds, bands)
- Training explosiveness through plyometrics and strength
Faster athletes win more plays, cover more ground, and stand out on the field. When paired with strength, speed becomes even more powerful (We’ll have more speed clinics coming soon so stay tuned).
🔋 Conditioning: The Engine That Keeps Athletes Going
A strong and fast athlete still needs the endurance to perform consistently. That’s where conditioning comes in.
Good conditioning allows athletes to:
- Maintain intensity deep into the game
- Recover quickly between plays or reps
- Avoid fatigue-related injuries
We train both aerobic capacity (for long-lasting effort) and anaerobic power (for short bursts and repeatability). This well-rounded approach helps athletes go hard when it matters most—without running out of gas. If you want to see how we structure our conditioning work, send us a message with the word “Conditioning” and we’ll send over our free off-season conditioning program.
🔁 Why All Three Pillars Matter
Here’s the secret: these qualities don’t exist in isolation. They support and enhance one another.
- Strength improves speed by increasing the force an athlete can apply to the ground
- Speed improves conditioning by making each effort more efficient
- Conditioning improves recovery, allowing for better training quality across the week
If one pillar is missing, athletes can hit a performance ceiling—or worse, get injured. But when all three are trained properly, athletes become more complete, confident, and resilient.
🗓️ What a Balanced Training Day Looks Like
At Harper Strength and Speed, we take a concurrent approach—meaning every session includes elements of strength, speed, and conditioning. That’s how athletes get the most out of their time while still recovering well between sessions and sport practices.
Here’s what a typical session might include:
| Training Block | Focus |
|---|---|
| Prep + Warm-Up | Mobility, activation, and movement prep to prime the body for speed and strength work |
| Speed + Power | Sprint mechanics, acceleration drills, plyometrics, change of direction |
| Strength Training | Foundational lifts (squat, hinge, push/pull), bodyweight and loaded variations |
| Conditioning | Aerobic or anaerobic work depending on phase—intervals, tempo runs, shuttles |
This kind of structure ensures athletes improve across all performance qualities—without having to overtrain or cram extra workouts into a busy schedule.
By touching all three pillars in one session, we create well-rounded, resilient athletes who can move, perform, and recover at a high level.
👊 Build the Complete Athlete
If you’re a parent or coach looking to help your athlete get stronger, faster, and better conditioned—we can help.
At Harper Strength and Speed, we build programs around the three pillars that matter most. No fluff, no wasted time—just results.
📩 Ready to learn more? DM us the word Strength or Conditioning and I’ll send you an ebook with a program to help you reach your goals
Let’s build the complete athlete—one pillar at a time.
Harper Strength & Speed 
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