The Future of Youth Sports: Building Stronger, Healthier, & More Durable Athletes | Jack Brown

View This Week's Show Notes

Start Your 7-Day Trial to Mobility Coach

Join Our Free Weekly Newsletter: The Ambush

“Strength training will make swimmers slow.”

“Water polo players should stop lifting before big competitions.”

"Young athletes just need more time in the pool.”

These ideas have shaped aquatic sports for decades… but what if they’re actually holding athletes back?

In this episode of The Ready State Podcast, Kelly and Juliet Starrett sit down with strength and conditioning coach Jack Brown, founder of Aqua Strength Performance, to challenge some of the biggest myths in swimming and water polo. Drawing from his own experience as an injured athlete and years spent coaching everyone from middle school beginners to Division I athletes, Jack explains why strength training may be one of the most overlooked tools for improving performance, reducing injuries, and helping athletes stay in the sport longer.

The conversation goes far beyond the weight room. Jack shares why sprinting, jumping, mobility work, sleep, nutrition, and recovery are essential pieces of athletic development—and why many youth athletes are training harder than ever while missing the fundamentals that matter most. Whether you're a swimmer, water polo player, coach, or parent of a young athlete, this episode offers a fresh perspective on what it really takes to build stronger, healthier, and more resilient competitors.

What You'll Learn

• Why strength training doesn't make swimmers and water polo players bulky or slow – but more resilient and powerful
• Why sprinting, jumping, and strength work belong in every athlete's development plan
• How strength and conditioning can reduce injury risk and improve long-term athletic durability
• Why sleep and nutrition may have a bigger impact on performance than adding more training volume
• What parents should look for in a quality youth strength and conditioning program

Key Highlights

(0:00) Common myths about strength training for aquatic athletes

(0:28) Jack Brown’s Story and Finding His Path

(7:20) Building Aqua Strength and identifying a gap in youth sports

(10:33) Why swimming and water polo have resisted strength training

(15:13) What parents should look for in a youth S&C program

(22:01) The importance of sprinting and jumping for athletic development

(26:26) Creating a gym culture athletes enjoy

(34:08) Bone health and loading for aquatic athletes

(35:18) Why strength training prepares athletes for college sports

(43:34) What “strength and conditioning” actually means

(52:44) Red flags in youth sports programs

(56:10) Training volume, overuse, and recovery

(1:01:35) Sleep, screen time, and athlete responsibility

(1:06:21) Myth #1: Strength training makes swimmers slow

(1:07:46) Myth #2: Athletes should stop lifting during a taper

(1:16:00) Myth #3: You need a sport-specific strength coach

(1:22:53) The future of aquatic athlete development

(1:28:16) Infinite Shelf recommendation

Huge thanks to our sponsors, Momentous and LMNT.