How We Got Here
Just a few decades ago, strength and conditioning workouts played a much bigger role in youth athlete’s training routines. They’d hit the weight room with their teams to help them build strength, perform better and deal with the wear and tear their sport placed on their bodies.
Fast forward to today and the scene has changed. These days, most athletes, coaches and, yes, parents put more emphasis on playing club ball or doing skill-specific training than getting in reps in the weight room. Combine that cultural shift with the tendency toward sport specialization and it’s not surprising that strength and conditioning work has become an afterthought.
Strong for Sport’s founder Ashley Gartland started to notice this trend as a coach in Portland’s youth basketball system and a parent in our city’s soccer and lacrosse communities. When she asked players if they were doing any strength and conditioning work, they’d tell her no, they just didn’t have time. Parents and coaches confirmed the same thing, saying their kids were busy with practices and games or that they didn’t know where to start.
Today, youth athletes play their sport year round and put in hours of skill-specific training because that’s what their peers are doing or because someone told them it would help them excel. But by solely focusing on their sport, they’ve overlooking the importance of strength and conditioning work and the many ways it can elevate their play.
Not only is strength and conditioning a crucial component to success and longevity in a sport — it can also be the thing that helps youth athletes perform better and stand out.
Supporting a Stronger, More Resilient Athlete
Strong for Sport offers a solution to this problem, and gives youth athletes an opportunity to train differently. Through personalized strength and conditioning programs, we help youth athletes get stronger, improve their performance and increase their resilience — all at an age- and skill-appropriate level.
We focus on mobility, strength training, plyometrics and functional core work to help athletes reach their goals and prepare their body for the undeniable stress of their sport or sports. And we help them see just how much strength and conditioning can change their outcomes and impact their success.
Meet Ashley
Ashley Gartland grew up in the Pacific Northwest and has been an athlete her entire life. She played soccer, tennis, softball and basketball and was on her high school track and cross country teams. She got into strength training in high school and continues to focus on it today.
As a certified personal trainer and the founder of Strong for Sport, Ashley helps youth athletes get stronger, faster and more resilient and prepare for the stress of their sport. She also trains adults who want to get in shape, age well and build strength for life.
In her spare time, Ashley enjoys coaching her daughters' basketball teams, and spectating at their many sports.