CrossFit Games Journey to 4th in the World: Christina Livaditakis
Christina Livaditakis shares her journey to 4th in the world at the CrossFit Games, reflecting on teamwork, resilience, discipline and personal growth.
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Female Athletes
Building Strong Female Athletes: Why Strength & Conditioning Matters
Helping young female athletes perform with confidence, reduce injury risk and enjoy sport for years to come.
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Whether it’s football, netball, basketball, athletics or rugby, more young girls than ever are participating in organised sport. Alongside developing sport-specific skills, one of the most valuable investments a young athlete can make is building a strong foundation through strength and conditioning training. Strength and conditioning is much more than lifting weights. It is about teaching athletes how to move well, develop strength, improve balance, land safely and build confidence in their bodies. When introduced appropriately and supervised correctly, it can play an important role in both athletic performance and long-term injury prevention.
For young female athletes, these physical qualities become especially important during adolescence. As girls grow taller, become stronger and experience changes in their bodies, learning how to control movement efficiently can help them adapt to the demands of training and competition.
Why is Strength and Conditioning so Important?
A well-designed program helps young athletes become stronger, more coordinated and more confident during the movements they perform every day in sport. Sprinting, changing direction, jumping, tackling, landing and accelerating all require the body to produce force while maintaining good control. Strength and conditioning is also about building physical resilience.
Rather than waiting until an athlete develops pain or suffers an injury, developing strength and movement skills early can help prepare the body for the repeated demands of training and competition. Current evidence supports targeted exercise programs that include strength, balance and movement control as effective strategies for reducing the risk of many lower limb injuries in female athletes.
Important Areas to Train for Female Athletes
Although every sport has unique demands, there are several physical qualities that are particularly valuable for young female athletes to develop.
Single-leg strength
Most sports involve spending significant time on one leg. Running, kicking, stepping, jumping and changing direction all require each leg to work independently. Developing single-leg strength helps athletes create more power and improves control during everyday sporting movements.
Single-leg balance and stability
Balance is much more than standing on one foot. It is the ability to maintain control while the body is moving. Improving balance and stability can help athletes react quickly when landing, changing direction or being challenged by an opponent.
Jumping and landing technique
Jumping high is only half the skill – landing well is equally important. Learning how to absorb force through the hips, knees and ankles while maintaining good body control can improve confidence and efficiency during sport. Coaches and physiotherapists often incorporate jumping and landing drills into training because these skills are highly relevant across many field and court sports.
Core strength and control
The core is much more than having strong abdominal muscles. It helps transfer force between the upper and lower body and provides stability during running, throwing, kicking and lifting. A strong and well-controlled core allows athletes to move efficiently while maintaining good posture and body awareness.
Together, these qualities create a strong physical foundation that supports athletic development across many different sports rather than focusing on just one skill.
How Can Physiotherapy Help Young Female Athletes?
Physiotherapy is often associated with treating injuries, but it also plays an important role in helping athletes stay healthy and perform at their best before injuries occur. A physiotherapist can assess how an athlete moves during activities such as squatting, running, jumping and landing. This helps identify areas where an athlete may benefit from improving strength, balance or coordination. For young athletes, physiotherapy can assist with developing individualised exercise programs that are appropriate for their age, sporting goals and stage of development.
Programs may include bodyweight exercises, resistance training, balance activities, jumping drills and running preparation, all progressed gradually as confidence and ability improve. Physiotherapists also work closely with coaches and parents to help manage training loads, return athletes to sport following injury and provide education around recovery, strength development and healthy participation in sport. This collaborative approach is strongly supported by international youth athletic development recommendations, which encourage coaches, health professionals and families to work together to support young athletes.
Building Confidence Through Movement
One of the greatest benefits of strength and conditioning is often overlooked – it builds confidence! Learning fundamental movement skills gives athletes confidence in what their bodies are capable of achieving.
Rather than fearing jumping, sprinting or changing direction after an injury, athletes who regularly practise these movements in a controlled environment often develop greater trust in their body and their ability to perform. This confidence can positively influence enjoyment, participation and long-term involvement in physical activity. Strength and conditioning should therefore be viewed as an investment in both athletic performance and lifelong physical health, not simply an injury prevention strategy.
PEAK Exercise-Led Prevention Classes
At PEAK Sports & Spine Centre, we believe prevention is just as important as rehabilitation. Our Exercise-Led Prevention Classes are designed to help athletes build strength, improve movement quality, develop balance and enhance confidence in a supportive, professionally supervised environment. These classes are ideal for young athletes wanting to complement their regular sports training with structured strength and injury prevention exercise. If you’re a parent, coach or athlete wanting to learn more, you can explore our classes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What age should girls start strength and conditioning?
There is no single “perfect” age to start strength and conditioning. In fact, pre-puberty and early adolescence can be an ideal time to begin developing strength and movement skills, particularly because this is an important period for building healthy bones.
Weight-bearing and strength-based exercise during childhood and adolescence can help support bone development and contribute to achieving healthy peak bone mass later in life. This is particularly important for female athletes, as the teenage years provide an important opportunity to establish strong bones for the future. (ACSM)
However, it is never too late to start. Whether an athlete is 10, 14, 17 or older, introducing appropriately supervised strength and conditioning can provide valuable benefits for strength, coordination, confidence, sporting performance and bone health.
How many times per week should a young athlete complete strength training?
This depends on the athlete’s age, sport and overall training schedule. A qualified physiotherapist or strength coach can help determine an appropriate balance between sport training, strength work and recovery so that exercise complements rather than overwhelms their weekly routine.
Will strength training improve sporting performance?
Strength and conditioning can improve important physical qualities such as strength, power, balance and movement efficiency, which all contribute to athletic performance. The greatest benefits are usually seen when strength training is combined with regular sport-specific practice and appropriate coaching.
Does my daughter need physiotherapy if she isn't injured?
Physiotherapy isn’t just about treating injuries. For young female athletes, physiotherapy can play an important role in prevention, performance development and building a strong physical foundation before problems arise.
A physiotherapist can assess how an athlete moves, identify areas where they could develop greater strength, balance or control, and then design an exercise program specifically for their needs and sport. This proactive approach means we don’t have to wait for an athlete to become injured before addressing areas that could be improved.
Physiotherapy can also be particularly valuable during periods of rapid growth and development. As young athletes get taller, stronger and more physically capable, their bodies are constantly adapting to new demands. A physiotherapist can help them safely progress their training and ensure their exercise program continues to challenge them appropriately.
At PEAK Sports & Spine Centre, our goal is to help young athletes build capacity before they need it – so they are stronger, more confident and better prepared for the demands of their sport.
A Final Message for Parents and Athletes
The goal of youth sport should always be to help young people enjoy being active, develop confidence and reach their potential in a healthy way. For young female athletes, strength and conditioning provides an opportunity to build the physical foundations needed for running, jumping, landing, changing direction and performing confidently in sport. When combined with good coaching, appropriate recovery and individualised guidance from qualified health professionals, it can become an incredibly valuable part of an athlete’s development. If your daughter is passionate about sport and you’d like to support her long-term athletic journey, incorporating regular strength and movement training may be one of the best investments you can make in her sporting future.
Further Reading
For parents, coaches and athletes wanting to learn more about evidence-based injury prevention for women and girls in sport, the Australian Sports Commission provides an excellent resource: Australian Sports Commission – Injury Prevention for Women in Sport.
From Prevention to Performance. Start Today!