Developing & School-Age Athletes
Movement comes first. We coach the foundations of squatting, hinging, pushing, pulling, jumping, landing, accelerating, decelerating, and controlling the body before progressing to heavier or more advanced training.
Bluffton, South Carolina
Athletic Performance Training
Build the Athlete Behind the Skill.
At Goodwin Strength & Stretch, we help developing, adult, collegiate, and professional-level athletes build the physical foundation to perform at a higher level. Our programs develop strength, speed, power, explosiveness, movement quality, and resilience, alongside, not in place of, the coaching athletes receive in their sport.
The Coaching Relationship
Your Coach Builds the Skill.
We Build the Athlete.
Batting mechanics belong with the baseball coach. Volleyball technique belongs with the volleyball coach. Golf instruction belongs with the golf professional.
Our role in athletic performance training is different: we develop the physical tools that help athletes execute those skills. Strength. Speed. Power. Stability. Mobility. Coordination. The ability to produce force and control it.
We want to be part of your performance team, handling strength and conditioning so your sport coaches can focus on what they do best.
Our Methodology
Stronger Is the Foundation.
Power Is How You Use It.
Being strong in the weight room is only part of the equation. Athletes also need to express that strength quickly when they sprint, jump, throw, accelerate, or change direction.
A major method we use is strength-and-power pairing, often described as complex or contrast-style training. We pair a strength-based exercise with an explosive movement that uses a similar movement pattern, selecting the exercises, loading, and recovery around the athlete.
The strength movement develops the capacity to produce force. The explosive movement challenges the athlete to express force quickly. The goal is not simply to build stronger athletes, but to help them use their strength faster.
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01 / STRENGTH TO POWER01 / BUILD FORCE
Squat
02 / EXPRESS IT QUICKLYexplosive jump
Conceptual movement illustration · Individualized exercise pairing
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02 / STRENGTH TO POWER01 / BUILD FORCE
Trap-bar deadlift
02 / EXPRESS IT QUICKLYbroad jump
Conceptual movement illustration · Individualized exercise pairing
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03 / STRENGTH TO POWER01 / BUILD FORCE
Split squat
02 / EXPRESS IT QUICKLYsingle-leg jump or bound
Conceptual movement illustration · Individualized exercise pairing
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04 / STRENGTH TO POWER01 / BUILD FORCE
Bench press
02 / EXPRESS IT QUICKLYmedicine-ball chest throw
Conceptual movement illustration · Individualized exercise pairing
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05 / STRENGTH TO POWER01 / BUILD FORCE
Upper-body press
02 / EXPRESS IT QUICKLYexplosive medicine-ball throw
Conceptual movement illustration · Individualized exercise pairing
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06 / STRENGTH TO POWER01 / BUILD FORCE
Rotational strength exercise
02 / EXPRESS IT QUICKLYrotational medicine-ball throw
Conceptual movement illustration · Individualized exercise pairing
Examples illustrate the approach, not a universal workout. Exercise selection, resistance, progression, and recovery are individualized.
Who We Serve
Different Athletes. Different Starting Points. A Plan Built Around You.
Collegiate & Professional-Level Athletes
Programming can progress to heavier resistance training, plyometrics, sprint work, medicine-ball training, resisted acceleration, unilateral strength, and multidirectional power development, based on the athlete's readiness, position, season, and competition demands.
Adult Athletes
Performance training is not only for school and collegiate teams. Adult athletes also need strength, power, movement control, and conditioning matched to their sport, experience, recovery needs, and goals.
There is no universal athlete workout. Programming considers age, training experience, sport, position, current strength, movement quality, injury history, season, practice and competition schedules, development priorities, and short- and long-term goals.
Purposeful Programming
Every Exercise Has a Job to Do.
The goal is not simply to make an athlete tired. We choose exercises for the physical qualities that athlete needs to develop.
Purposeful Programming / 01
Strength & Force Production
Lower- and upper-body strength, single-leg strength, and core strength for transferring force through the body.
Purposeful Programming / 02
Explosive Power
Vertical and horizontal power, rotational power, upper-body explosiveness, and the ability to produce force rapidly.
Purposeful Programming / 03
Speed & Movement
Acceleration, speed, changing direction, deceleration, landing mechanics, coordination, and movement efficiency.
Purposeful Programming / 04
Control & Resilience
Stability, mobility, force absorption, work capacity, and physical preparation for the demands of training and competition.
More Than Muscle. More Than a Hard Workout.
Building strength and lean tissue can be part of athletic development, but performance training goes further. Athletes need to accelerate, decelerate, jump, land, rotate, stabilize, absorb force, and produce it quickly. We combine traditional strength development with athletic movement rather than placing a sports label on a bodybuilding routine.
Sport Applications
Train the Demands of the Sport, Not an Imitation of the Skill.
We identify the physical qualities a sport demands and train those qualities in the gym. The exercises may differ, but the principle stays the same: build strength, develop power, and help athletes express that strength quickly.
Sport Applications / 01
Volleyball
Lower-body strength, vertical power, landing mechanics, shoulder strength, and the capacity to repeat explosive efforts.
Sport Applications / 02
Baseball
Rotational power, acceleration, lower-body force production, shoulder and shoulder-blade strength, and efficient force transfer through the body.
Sport Applications / 03
Football
Acceleration, maximal strength, lower-body explosiveness, change of direction, and position-specific physical development.
Sport Applications / 04
Golf
Rotational power, hip strength and mobility, trunk control, and efficient force transfer. Explore our specialist golf fitness service.
These are examples, not a complete list of sports served.
Available Coaches
Meet Your GSS Team
Available GSS Coach
Jay Goodwin
Owner · Lead Trainer · Therapist
A lifetime athlete with professional coaching experience, Jay develops strength, power, movement quality, and resilience around each athlete's sport.
Read Jay's Full Bio
Available GSS Coach
Heather Goodwin
Owner · Lead Trainer · Nutrition Coach
A former collegiate track and field athlete, Heather brings firsthand performance experience to sustainable strength and conditioning.
Read Heather's Full Bio
Available GSS Coach
Frank Shelton
Certified Master Trainer
Frank applies more than 20 years of training experience to individualized athletic development, strength, conditioning, and resilience.
Read Frank's Full Bio
Available GSS Coach
Jessica Velasco
Trainer · Golf Fitness Specialist
A lifelong athlete who trains in Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai, Jessica brings a practical understanding of movement, discipline, body control, strength, and performance confidence.
Read Jessica's Full BioHow It Works
Your Path Forward
01
Understand the athlete's movement, training background, goals, schedule, and sport demands.
02
Build a progressive strength-and-conditioning plan around their priorities.
03
Coach exercise technique, monitor progress, and adjust as the athlete develops.
Research
The Thinking Behind the Training
Research on combined strength-and-power training has reported improvements in strength, jumping, sprinting, and change-of-direction performance in studied team-sport athletes. Results depend on the athlete and how the program is designed; these findings are not a promise of identical results for every GSS client. Read the Cormier et al. (2020) systematic review and meta-analysis.
Technical explanation
Research distinguishes set-for-set complex pairings from contrast sessions that group strength work before power work; the labels do not have identical definitions in all research.
Researchers also study post-activation performance enhancement, or PAPE, a temporary improvement in subsequent explosive performance that can occur after an appropriately selected conditioning activity and recovery period. It is not automatic and is separate from the longer-term adaptations developed through consistent training. Read Blazevich and Babault (2019).
Common Questions
Answers Before You Start
No. This program develops physical performance while complementing technical sport coaching.
Yes. Developing athletes start with movement fundamentals and progress according to readiness and experience.
No. Adult, collegiate, and professional-level athletes are also served.
No. Programming is individualized around the athlete, their sport, and their schedule.
The program considers practice, competition, and in-season or offseason demands. Discuss the athlete's schedule with GSS.
It combines strength development with power, speed, movement, and conditioning according to performance goals.
Build Strength. Develop Power. Perform Better.
Whether you are building a young athlete's foundation or pursuing your own next level of performance, start with a conversation about what you need. GSS will help you identify the right training approach.
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