The Top Testing Exercises for High School Athletes

Building a strong athletic foundation starts early. High school is when athletes develop the physical tools that will carry them through the rest of their athletic careers. To help them reach their full potential, coaches need more than just practice drills and general conditioning sessions—they need data that shows where each athlete stands.

That’s where performance testing comes in. By assessing strength, power, and speed, coaches can track and calculate progress, identify weaknesses, and design training that makes a real impact. It’s not just about putting up big numbers on a board. It’s about creating a roadmap that builds stronger, faster, and more resilient athletes for the long term.

Our team at Peak Strength is going to break down the top exercises for testing high school athletes.

Why Strength Testing Matters for High School Athletes

High school athletes are in a unique phase of development. They’re growing rapidly, their hormones are changing, and their bodies are primed to adapt to training. This is the perfect window to build a foundation of strength, power, and speed—qualities that will serve them for years to come.

Strength testing gives coaches a clear snapshot of an athlete’s abilities. It helps establish baselines, measure improvements, and spot areas that need more attention. Even more importantly, testing provides athletes with tangible proof that their hard work is paying off. Seeing their numbers improve fuels motivation and buy-in, which is crucial for long-term development.

Testing also helps build a culture of accountability. When athletes know they’re being measured, they train with more purpose and intensity. For coaches, it’s an invaluable tool for guiding programming decisions and ensuring training actually translates to better on-field performance.

What Physical Attributes Should Coaches Test For? 

Within the Garage Strength Sport Depth classification system, the same system developed for Peak Strength to create training plans, there are four primary physical attributes that are tested among athletes. 

1. Explosiveness - Explosiveness training orbits around developing twitchy, elastic muscle qualities that make for quick movements that have a spring and a pop. 

2. Strength - Strength training focuses on building lean muscle mass, larger muscles, denser muscles, and the ability to co-contract muscles at higher rates of force production to stabilize the body and produce massive amounts of force. 

3. Speed - Speed training focuses on enhancing an athlete’s abilities around acceleration, top end speed, and change of direction. 

4. Endurance - Endurance training provides the engine to maintain performance throughout the allotted time of competitive play and training at a high level tailored to sporting needs. 

These physical attributes are trained at a different level of emphasis across different sports. So it is important to keep in mind that some tests will hold more weight than others for athletes of a specific sport. 

An example is that strength tests like bench and squat will be more important for a shot put athlete over a 1 mile or 5K run which is more of an endurance test.

Strength Testing Exercises for High School Athletes

Being strong will always be advantageous to athletes. Strength allows athletes to hold positions, enforce their will physically, and train the body to uphold the wear and tear brought about through competition. Also, stronger muscles allow athletes to be faster and more explosive. These are the standard strength testing exercises we use for high school athletes.

Back Squat

The back squat is one of the most fundamental tests for lower body strength. It targets the quads, hamstrings, glutes, and lower back while demanding coordination and core stability.

Strong legs translate to faster sprinting, higher jumping, and better overall athletic performance. Testing a 1-rep max (1RM) or a safer 3–5RM provides clear data while ensuring safety, especially for younger athletes. Proper technique—maintaining depth, upright posture, and controlled movement—must always be prioritized over chasing heavy loads.

Back squat should be used as one of the primary tests for athletes in sport depths 1, 4, and 5. 

For example, if you test a soccer player’s back squat and see an improvement over an 8 week time frame, the athlete will also show improvements in relative strength and body control. The coach might notice the athlete can decelerate more quickly to break down a defensive play and accelerate more quickly transition into a counterattack. 

Single-Leg Squat

The single-leg squat is an underrated test that challenges balance, coordination, and unilateral strength. Many athletes have a dominant side that masks weaknesses on the other, which can increase injury risk.

Testing single-leg squats exposes those imbalances. It also develops knee stability, hip control, and proprioception—qualities that help prevent lower-body injuries. Look for smooth, controlled movement and proper alignment throughout the range of motion.

Single-leg squats should be used as a test for athletes in sport depths 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. 

Basketball players, for example, can benefit from a single leg squat test since full squat depth can be challenging for taller athletes. The SL squat also has the best transfer to jumping ability.

Bench Press

While lower-body strength gets much of the attention, upper-body strength is also crucial, especially in contact sports. The bench press tests pushing strength in the chest, shoulders, and triceps—muscles that matter during tackles, blocks, and physical battles for position.

Using a 1RM or 3–5RM test gives coaches insight into an athlete’s upper-body strength balance. As with other lifts, range of motion and proper technique are essential to avoid injury and ensure reliable results.

Bench press should be used as a test for athletes in sport depths 1,2, and 3.

Since the bench press increases shoulder stability and pec strength a discus thrower can generate more force and greater acceleration of the implement especially in the last 25% of throw by improving pressing strength.

Pull Ups

Pull-ups are an excellent test for upper-body strength and muscular endurance, particularly for high school combat athletes such as wrestlers and martial artists. They measure the ability of the back, shoulders, and arms to generate and sustain force, which is critical for grappling, controlling opponents, and executing sport-specific movements. 

Unlike isolated machine exercises, pull-ups require core engagement and full-body stability, giving a more functional assessment of strength. The number of repetitions completed can indicate both maximal strength and muscular endurance, helping coaches track progress, identify weaknesses, and design training programs that improve performance in combat or contact sports.

Pull ups should be used as a test for athletes in sport depth 3. 

Wrestling is a strength endurance sport that requires overhead strength and stability. Improving the number of pullups an athlete can perform both weighted and unweighted can translate to improved mat strength and global neural drive.

Explosiveness Testing Exercises for High School Athletes

Explosiveness training revolves around developing twitchy, elastic muscle qualities that make for rapid movements. This will lead to athletes improving their ability to express a large amount of force in a short amount of time. Explosiveness training incorporates a mix of Olympic lifts, plyometrics, and strength lifts with speed intent. Below are the exercises we recommend for testing explosiveness in high school athletes.

Power Clean

The power clean is a full-body lift that helps measure lower body explosive power and core control. It requires athletes to produce force rapidly through the entire lower body and maintain good posture throughout the lift. The extension and force produced by this exercise is comparable to a vertical jump.

A power clean test reveals how quickly an athlete can generate force, which is vital for success in nearly every sport. This movement is more technical than others, so athletes should only test once their form is solid. Quality execution always outweighs maximum load.

Power cleans should be used as a test for athletes in sport depth 1, 2, and 3.

Football is a sport with one of the highest impulse ratings – the power clean helps athletes produce more force in a designated time frame. Improvements in this test lift can mean a better first step, harder hits, and higher vertical so they can make the catch, block the kick, or intercept the pass.

Vertical Jump

The vertical jump is one of the simplest yet most revealing tests of athletic explosiveness. It directly reflects an athlete’s ability to recruit fast-twitch muscle fibers and produce force rapidly.

Athletes with higher vertical jumps typically display superior speed, agility, and overall power. A Vertec or jump mat makes testing easy, and tracking progress over time provides an immediate confidence boost that drives athletes to keep pushing themselves.

Vertical jump should be used as a test for athletes in sport depth 1, 2, 4, and 5.

Every volleyball athlete knows the power of a great vertical jump - if you jump higher you can block hits, spike harder, and serve with more power.

Broad Jump

The broad jump is an effective, low-cost test for measuring lower-body power and explosiveness in high school athletes. It closely correlates with sprinting ability, acceleration, and overall athletic performance, making it a strong indicator of sport readiness. 

Because it requires minimal equipment and simple technique, it’s ideal for large teams. The jump assesses total-body coordination and lower body strength while allowing coaches to track progress and explosiveness. Overall, it provides clear, actionable insight into an athlete’s power development and serves as a reliable tool for monitoring athletic growth across training cycles.

Broad jump should be used as a test for athletes in sport depth 1 and 3.

Swimmers need to come off the blocks fast and explode off the wall on a turn –improvement in the broad jump can mean time drops and greater efficiency at these critical point of a race.

Speed & Agility Testing Exercises for High School Athletes

Speed is an overriding factor in sport. Fast athletes are able to create opportunities that slower athletes are unable to perceive, let alone conceive. Speed involves getting going, staying going, and the ability to put on the brakes (deceleration). Each avenue serves a purpose that correlates to the other and makes situations for success to materialize. These are the standard speed testing exercises we use for high school athletes.

40-Yard Dash

The 40-yard dash is a classic test for raw speed. It measures both acceleration and top-end sprinting ability, which are vital across nearly every sport.

This test also reflects how efficiently an athlete applies force into the ground—a skill directly enhanced by strength training. For best results, use electronic timing gates for accuracy and keep conditions consistent every time you test.

40-Yard dash should be used as a test for athletes in sport depth 2, 4, and 5.

As a baseball player it’s critical to evaluate starting speed, acceleration. How quickly can you get to first base, or get into position to make the plays in the outfield. While the distance between the bases distance shy of 40 yards, this test standard can translate to improved performance for base runners and outfielders.

20-Yard Shuttle

The 20-yard shuttle (also called the 5-10-5 drill) is an excellent test for evaluating speed, agility, and change of direction in high school athletes—especially in sports like basketball, football, and soccer. It measures how quickly an athlete can accelerate, decelerate, and re-accelerate in different directions, which directly translates to on-field and court performance. 

These movements mirror real-game situations such as cutting, defending, and reacting to opponents. The test also highlights balance, coordination, and body control under speed. Because it’s simple, repeatable, and requires minimal equipment, it’s a reliable way for coaches to assess athletic quickness and multidirectional movement ability.

The 20-yard shuttle should be used as a test for athletes in sport depth 2, 4, and 5.

Tennis player must move quickly in all directions to return a volley. The 20 yard shuttle is a great standard to evaluate reaction time as well as lateral movement and acceleration.

Endurance Testing Exercises for High School Athletes

Endurance is needed to maintain performance throughout the entirety of competition. An athlete’s ability to perform at max effort is a worthwhile skill to have, but in most sporting competitions athletes are asked to repeat actions over a course of time or attempts. Endurance allows the athlete to maintain a baseline of expected performance. These are the standard endurance testing exercises we use for high school athletes.

Mile Run

The mile run measures aerobic capacity and general conditioning. While not a direct test of strength, it reveals how well an athlete can sustain effort and recover between intense bouts of activity.

A solid aerobic base is essential for enduring long practices and minimizing fatigue-related injuries. Tracking mile times throughout the year shows how well an athlete is building their endurance and overall work capacity.

The mile run should be used as a test for athletes in sport depth 4 and 5.

The mile is a great endurance test for a field hockey player, particularly in the midfield. The mile run requires repeated action at a high tempo. A Triathlete who is competing in much longer races sometimes has speed a weakness. The mile test allows long distance athletes to evaluate turnover and lactic acid threshold.

5K Run

A 5K run is an excellent endurance test for high school athletes. Especially athletes in sport depths 3 and 4 like wrestlers, and soccer players because it challenges both aerobic capacity and mental toughness over an extended duration. 

Unlike a 1-mile run, which primarily measures aerobic power and short-term pace, a 5K assesses sustained endurance, pacing strategy, and the ability to maintain performance under fatigue. It provides a clear picture of an athlete’s cardiovascular fitness, recovery efficiency, and stamina. These are some key endurance key qualities for sports that demand continuous effort and repeated bursts of activity. As a baseline test, the 5K offers valuable data for tracking endurance development throughout a season or training cycle.

The 5K should be used as a test for athletes in sport depth 3.

Marathoners would do 5k to test their pacing during training periods. It helps them set pace goals for longer distances.

T-30

The T30, or 30-minute time trial, is an excellent endurance assessment for athletes across multiple sports, including swimming, running, rowing, and cycling. It measures aerobic capacity, pacing ability, and sustained effort, providing a clear baseline of cardiovascular fitness early in a season. 

The total distance covered allows coaches to calculate average paces for smaller intervals, which can guide training intensity, interval work, and race strategies. Unlike shorter tests, the T30 emphasizes consistency and fatigue management, making it especially useful for athletes in endurance-based sports or those requiring repeated effort over extended periods, such as soccer, wrestling, cross-country, and triathlon.

The T-30 should be used as a test for athletes in sport depth 4 and 5. 

Cyclists might use a T-30 to evaluate their fitness for competition. How long the athlete can handle a high percentage of their threshold pace can improve with repeated tests and greater periods of intensity during training. 

How These Tests Actually Build Better Athletes

Baseline testing is only the first step. What matters most is how you train athletes based on those results. To develop well-rounded, powerful athletes, resistance training needs to have a home in the weekly training schedule. Yes - even in-season with games and practices. 

Weight Training Increases Force, Velocity, and Power Output

Traditional resistance training builds the raw horsepower behind athletic movements. It enhances:

• Maximal muscular force: The total amount of force an athlete can produce

• Contraction velocity: How fast muscles can produce that force

• Power output: The blend of strength and speed that drives explosiveness

• Rate of force development: Crucial for sprint starts, jumps, and physical collisions

Lifts like the squat, clean, and bench press are the foundation for building these attributes. Consistent testing shows whether athletes are getting stronger, faster, and more powerful over time.

Strength Testing is a Long-Term Investment

Think of testing not as a one-time event, but as an ongoing investment in your athletes’ development. Testing at key points during the year—preseason, mid-season, and off-season—helps track progress and keep training on target.

Showing athletes their progress is just as important as collecting the numbers. When they see tangible improvement, they buy in more deeply and work harder. Over time, this creates a culture of accountability, competition, and pride—the hallmarks of a winning program.

Final Thoughts

High school is the ideal time to build the strength, power, and speed that athletes need to thrive. By testing key movements like the back squat, clean, vertical jump, bench press, single-leg squat, 40-yard dash, and mile run, coaches can measure progress, target weaknesses, and unlock every athlete’s potential.

Combine those tests with structured plyometric and weight training, and you’ll develop explosive, resilient athletes ready for the next level. And if you want to simplify the process while getting better results, give Peak Strength Teams a look. It frees you from spreadsheets so you can focus on what matters most—coaching champions.