Christi Edson | Building the Strong, Healthy, & Resilient Training Mindset

Building athletes who are strong, healthy, and resilient requires more than sets and reps, starting with a shift in mindset. Christi Edson, Head of Performance for the Orlando Pride in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), shares how she integrates strength and conditioning with sport science to sustain athlete health and performance. She reflects on the field’s evolution from the well-known “Bigger, Faster, Stronger” program to a training culture emphasizing resilience, active recovery, and durability. Drawing from her experience coaching high school athletes to NWSL professionals, Edson highlights the adaptability and creativity coaches need. Those qualities help her to develop athletes who can thrive through a demanding 11-month season. She details how tools like GPS, force plates, and velocity-based training sharpen communication and reshape expectations in the gym. Her story points coaches toward the future of athlete development: collaboration, precise load management, and long-term health as the foundation of strength.

Connect with Christi on Instagram: @christiedson and LinkedIn: @christiana-edson | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs  

Read the article, “A Creative Mind in the Professional Development of a Strength and Conditioning Coach,” from NSCA Coach, 11(1), February 2024 — referenced in this episode’s return-to-play discussion. NSCA Members enjoy full publication access.

Interested in bridging coaching and sport science?

The Certified Performance and Sport Scientist (CPSS) credential can help you expand your qualifications, open new career paths, and strengthen cross-department collaboration.

“I think that would be a good example of how I fell into the sport science side, is I was trained up as a S&C coach and then was given technology to figure out after the fact. One of those technologies being force plates, which I have come to love. They're so diverse in what I can do with them in the gym.” 9:15

“I tell my athletes that all the time. You're not here for me. You're not here for me. You are here to play soccer. And my job is to help you stay healthy, to play soccer. We have some words up in the gym, which I finally got. It was strong, healthy, resilient. […] I want you to be healthy mentally and physically, because I don't need you to just slog through a season. I want you to feel good going into the weekend. But then resilient, you're going to take some knocks. But can we bounce back from that? And that strong foundation, I think, is a big piece of that.” 17:25

“Keep your ear to the ground for internships. […] Get those NSCA certifications in early because they are becoming more required. And the organizations that you work for have their ear to the ground. They understand what the minimum standard should be.” 24:10

[00:00:03.48] Welcome to the NSCA Coaching Podcast season 9, episode 11.

[00:00:08.84] I tell my athletes that all the time. You're not here for me. You're not here for me. You are here to play soccer, and my job is to help you stay healthy to play soccer. We have some words up in the gym, which I finally got. It was strong, healthy, resilient.

[00:00:20.60] I want you to be healthy mentally and physically. Because I don't need you to just slog through a season. I want you to feel good going into the weekend. But then resilient, you're going to take some knocks. But can we bounce back from that? And that strong foundation, I think, is a big piece of that.

[00:00:39.24] This is the NSCA's Coaching Podcast, where we talk to strength and conditioning coaches about what you really need to know but probably didn't learn in school. There's strength and conditioning, and then there's everything else.

[00:00:49.68] This is the NSCA Coaching Podcast. I'm Eric McMahon. On today's episode, we learn about sport science and strength and conditioning in women's professional soccer. We're joined by Christie Edson of the NWSL Orlando Pride. Christie, welcome.

[00:01:05.01] Thank you. Thank you for having me. I have been a fan of the podcast for many seasons now. So I appreciate you coming on.

[00:01:11.65] Awesome. Yeah. Well, you've been on my radar. I met you at NSCA Coaches Conference just in the hallway. We got to talking and learned a little bit about your past. So I'd love to have you share that with our guests right now. How'd you get into working in women's professional soccer?

[00:01:28.21] Yeah, so I took the route of normal exercise science through college, right? And then decided I needed to continue on for a master's degree. During that time, I was at UCF for the master's degree. I loved their program, but I had the opportunity to take an internship with Orlando City Men's First Team as a nutrition coordinator or something like that.

[00:01:58.17] And I realized that I wanted to be there full time. And to do that, I couldn't be in class, as well. So I transferred from UCF to Liberty because that was the only online school I knew at the time. And that's before COVID, where everybody's moved online, right? But yeah, so I did that, and then was there every day and got to just hang out and be the intern that was there every day while other interns in my same class, if you will, had to go to actual classes.

[00:02:29.07] Whether they were undergrad students or master's students, they actually had to leave and go to class. So I got to be there full time. And that made an impression when a position opened up later in the season. And they decided to give that position to me.

[00:02:43.51] So now first season in the MLS, and then I get offered a full-time role. They kind of changed the position a little bit to be more of a performance coordinator rather than strictly nutrition, which was cool. And then that led to some turnover. Unfortunately, as pro sports happened, there was some turnover on the way. And I kind of stuck around.

[00:03:03.40] So I was given GPS the next season, kind of worked through that with the strength and conditioning coach that was there at the time. He taught me-- gave me a lot of info and help on just how to use Excel, and a little bit of coding, if you really want to call it that. Stuck around again for the 2020 season, went into the bubble with the group.

[00:03:27.42] And then, at that point, I heard about a position with the NWSL opening up. So I had been with the men's team for three seasons at that point and was looking at the NWSL, thinking there was a little more stability. I hadn't seen strength coaches in and out of positions the way that I had seen it in the MLS. And having a family, starting a family, that was important to me.

[00:03:49.04] So I reached out to our in-house family of coworkers that I had known on the NWSL side for Orlando Pride. And I was like, hey, can you put my name in the hat? Because I would really love to come over and stay with the Orlando Pride network-- or, sorry, the Orlando City network and just move over to NWSL.

[00:04:11.40] So it was kind of a falling up. I loved that I was just in the right place at the right time and made the decisions of school to be online at the same time. So yeah, that's how I fell into it, if you will.

[00:04:28.38] But I've loved the NWSL. I've loved watching them grow. I was a fan of the club. So I was at the first men's game just as a fan. I was at the first women's game just as a fan. So to be here as my hometown club is definitely a dream come true.

[00:04:43.78] Yeah, that's really cool. And just to understand this better, it's the same ownership group for both teams?

[00:04:51.30] Yes. We just operate out of different facilities. But yes, same ownership group.

[00:04:55.71] Would you say that's the common hiring pathway right now in the NWSL, hiring from within the team and league system versus coming in from the outside?

[00:05:06.87] I think it's both. So the NWSL has grown. So there's more teams even since I've entered as an S&C. And then so, obviously, more opportunities there. And then even within our own club-- and other clubs are doing the same, as well-- there's just more positions within the club.

[00:05:23.57] So when I first started, it was myself and one athletic trainer. So just two people in the performance department. And now we have six full-time with one or two paid interns. And so we've grown in the four years that I've been here. And so it's a combination of both, like I said.

[00:05:41.81] And the-- all clubs are doing it differently. So some clubs are by themselves and fully the NWSL-only operated. Some are connected with a USL team, and some are connected with an MLS team. So it's kind of interesting to see the different clubs go about it differently, but growth being a big part of each of the clubs.

[00:06:04.27] One of the things I focus on from the NSCA is what positions are mandated by each professional sports league. Currently in Major League Soccer, there's a performance specialist role that requires a CSCS and a performance scientist role that requires a CPSS. Currently in NWSL, there's just that CPSS role for sport science. Give us a little bit on that landscape. Was it GPS in sport science that created that opportunity? And what other responsibilities do you have?

[00:06:37.15] Yeah, I think from my side, being in operations, that was-- it's a little bit of a shock to see that that one came first, rather than the CSCS. I think that that has come about in combination with the MLS getting their CPSS up and running and mandated. And then the-- sorry, I'm blanking on it-- Performance Soccer Association getting up and running at the same time. So we were-- the players union was updating their CBA. And I think that those conversations happened at the same time.

[00:07:09.64] I would like the CSCS to also be included as part of a mandated role. Sometimes those need to be separated because unfortunately, while you can do everything, and I have done everything, it's not always done at a standard. You're getting it done, but it's not at a certain standard. So I would love those two roles to be separated and to make sure that the fitness and strength and conditioning are controlled and understood, that somebody coming in is good for that position, as well as the sport science, as well.

[00:07:45.88] Yeah. No, I think it's important. It's important for the NSCA. It's about creating jobs in the field that maintain a high standard. That's why the NSCA has certifications. That's why we're working. That's why we're here, people.

[00:07:59.49] But I pay attention to that. And the leagues do a great job of bringing in the highest level credentials in these areas. So I want to ask, dig into that GPS thing that you mentioned before. GPS, we know that's a huge thing in the soccer space. And you mentioned that was your gateway into a full-time role. And when things change, it's sort of headed that way.

[00:08:26.73] What other areas of sport science are you seeing in-- within professional soccer? Has it evolved beyond that, and especially on the data side? And you mentioned even coding a little bit.

[00:08:39.65] Yeah, so a lot of, I think, strength and conditioning coaches-- maybe my, I don't want to say generation. I hate that. But my generation came through maybe as purely strength and conditioning coaches who got then put into a role. And they were like, here's this piece of technology. You go figure it out.

[00:08:56.69] So I do feel like there are some college programs now that are sport science related, or you get the S&C and sport science a little bit more. So I feel like I missed some of the traditional computer-- some things. And YouTube has been a great university for me since then.

[00:09:13.77] But yeah, so I think that would be a good example of how I fell into the sport science side, is I was trained up as a S&C coach and then was given technology to figure out after the fact. One of those technologies being force plates, which I have come to love. They're so diverse in what I can do with them in the gym-- jumps and strength tests, as well as the different positions you can put people in, not just lower body, but upper body, what have you.

[00:09:44.35] So we use force plates regularly, and I love them. Again, that's something that I'm diving deeper into every year and I don't have a great traditional background with. But you continue to learn. That's the area that I've taken up in continuing ed.

[00:10:02.50] Another one is a Norbord. Nordics are very popular with soccer. And then the one most recently that I finally introduced, more S&C sport science, if you will, was BBT. And so we got that in the gym. And that has been the greatest driver for our group in the gym in terms of not giving the stereotypical weight on the bar that I've seen on the women's side of like, oh, we start with 25s.

[00:10:29.08] I was like, well, why do you start with 25s? Or why do you start with 45s? Or whatever that number is, why do you start with that? And there was never really an answer. So once I got BBT in the gym, we started having a little bit more fun and a lot more of a push in terms of loading the bar. So that's been my next one that I think soccer could definitely benefit from.

[00:10:51.66] I know on the men's side in Dave Tenney, when we did an episode with him, mentioned this-- the Academy system is developing on the men's side quite a bit to where we're seeing some different player pathways to get to the professional level. Are you seeing that same change on the women's side, with not every player coming out of college programs? Or what is that? What is that landscape right now?

[00:11:19.82] Yeah, I think the pathway is definitely different. We no longer have a draft. So they can come directly from college, or we can get them earlier. There are a lot of teams that have under-18 athletes that they have signed early. And we aren't one of them. So I'm not sure exactly how that continues, if they're online students, finishing high school, or what have you.

[00:11:41.02] We don't have an Academy system structure in the NWSL yet, and I'm hoping that is something that continues to grow. Another area that can-- most recently, the USL Super League has started up. And so that is a league that could be another pathway for NWSL players, or to join the league. Or if you're maybe not getting as much playing time as you wanted to in the NWSL, maybe you go to the USL Super League as another option. I think it's just more opportunities for women to continue to play professionally. And so there are many pathways, I think, that have grown, again, since I've even entered the league.

[00:12:22.43] There's that perception in professional sports that all these players come in, and they've kind of been through every milestone of, OK, they were the best at the youth level, the high school level. They got strength and conditioning and access to great programming. And then they went through college, and then they were good enough to go professional.

[00:12:39.09] But that's not always the case. And as you mentioned, within the league, there's under-18s. There's players that are-- probably don't have that strength and conditioning background, or as much time under the bar, or experience training, or access to this technology. So with that, what sort of process do you go in with a new player that comes to your program, getting to know them so that you can onboard them into the system that you have with the Orlando Pride?

[00:13:08.43] Yeah, I had to remember my time working with high school volleyball, the exercises that you take athletes through to build that foundation. I had been blessed. Once I got to the NWSL, most of my athletes had come through a college system. So I was inheriting some really great foundational movements that the college strength and conditioning coaches at their respective colleges had had instilled in them.

[00:13:34.69] So I got the easy part, right? They had already learned how to clean. They had already learned good squat technique, so I had it easy. We signed an athlete who had just turned 18. She decided to forgo college and come directly to us. I had to remember that she hadn't been through a college strength and conditioning program.

[00:13:52.38] So we started day one, all right, dumbbell goblet squats. I need to see you move. I need to see, like, from day one how we can progress you to the team schedule. Or what-- even if we're on the team schedule, what regressions can I make to certain exercises? Because you're not there yet, and we need to build a foundation.

[00:14:11.98] And I needed her to understand this is going to be a couple of years. This wasn't going to happen in a couple months. So as long as she stayed with us, we would have some growth over the time with us. And again, that's a four-year college system that you've gone through a program for.

[00:14:26.60] And there was planning from the beginning when you came in as a freshman to sophomore, junior, senior. What you're doing at the senior level, those freshman athletes weren't doing. So I needed her to understand there was going to take some time with that. So, yeah, it was a shock to me. I had been cozy and forgot that beginning strength and conditioning for a little bit, and had to slow down, really think about my program and what changes I needed to make specifically for her.

[00:14:54.51] So good reminder for me, right? When you get into the routine and the flow of the years, but then you throw you're thrown this-- another curveball that you have to lean back on your experience and my younger S&C days.

[00:15:09.29] So in taking that to the team environment, that athlete gets thrown in with older players, more experienced players. Maybe they're more accustomed to higher volume training with the team. What does workload management and volume management look like at the NWSL level?

[00:15:25.97] Yeah, it's happening more and more. And there's conversations constantly with the coaches. Like, what adjustments do we want to make for this person? Or is it not adjustments to the football side, and we see that she's handling the football side really well? Do I need to make the adjustment in the gym? My side is easier to adjust than pulling her out of training. If you pull her out of training, are you then potentially pulling her contention to be on the roster or to be in the starting 11, right?

[00:15:53.73] So I think it's more of a collaboration. Hey, I know you want to do all the things, and you're young. And you feel like you're invincible and you can do all the things. But we need to manage this and make sure we get you through this 11-month season.

[00:16:07.81] That's one of the things I've seen the most, is these young athletes come in, and they try to do everything, and some tendinitis pops up somewhere. So then we have to slow it down a little bit. And remember, hey, this is an adjustment to load.

[00:16:22.01] And maybe that looks different in the gym. Maybe those are some isometrics. Maybe those are some slow eccentrics to help mitigate that tendinitis. And then if it really comes to it, conversations with the coaches daily, weekly about how this athlete is developing. Where do they see this athlete fitting in with their roster selection? And then, where can we fit around that on a weekend or within the week in management?

[00:16:47.18] It sounds like you check a lot of the boxes in terms of, you mentioned force plates, and GPS, and all the things that we often associate with soccer, but also sport science, strength, and conditioning, gaining athlete buy-in the gym. And also that differentiation between, hey, what's happening on the field, and being able to make adjustments on our side, which, as much as we don't always like to admit, isn't the priority for these organizations, to make them strong in the gym.

[00:17:17.38] We want them strong in the gym. But that's not what puts people in the stands.

[00:17:22.26] I was just going to say, I tell my athletes that all the time. You're not here for me. You're not here for me. You are here to play soccer. And my job is to help you stay healthy, to play soccer. We have some words up in the gym, which I finally got. It was strong, healthy, resilient.

[00:17:34.96] I've moved away from the S&C tradition of bigger, stronger, faster. And it just kind of fits in our environment, as well, of strong, healthy, resilient. And I want you to be healthy mentally and physically, because I don't need you to just slog through a season. I want you to feel good going into the weekend.

[00:17:54.24] But then resilient, you're going to take some knocks. But can we bounce back from that? And that strong foundation, I think, is a big piece of that.

[00:18:02.94] Yeah, I think that's a really important topic to unpack, is that, the role of the strength and conditioning coach. And I call you that because when I visited you were--

[00:18:14.34] Yeah.

[00:18:14.80] You were in the gym. You do the sport science and the performance science, but it was evident that that was your space. And you were doing both. But the role of the strength and conditioning coach in creating healthy athletes-- injury prevention, return to play.

[00:18:33.63] Met a couple of your physical therapists there on-staff. What's that dynamic like? How do you work with bringing athletes back onto the field from injury and just collaboration with the medical side?

[00:18:45.27] I love both of them, and I'm glad that we have both of them. So my director is a PT mind. And I love that, as a PT, he bridges the gap for medical and performance. Because he's got his CSCS, as well. And then the person I work directly, our head of rehab, she also is a PT mind with her CPSS.

[00:19:05.31] So I have people who have dipped their toe into the NSCA world a little bit, the strength and conditioning world a little bit. And I can have conversations with them as we are returning an athlete back from injury. And I think the big piece for me is, while I have my team lift, my global lift of where I need the group to be, they help me on the individual side.

[00:19:23.77] So I don't have to make 30 individual programs. I get to make my program of where I want the team to be and where that fits in with what our head coach is doing, and filling the gaps with what I see going on the team global side. And then they fill in those gaps for individual.

[00:19:38.45] Hey, maybe it's just one or two exercises that you need to hit specifically. But you don't need a specific lift just for you, right? We just need to hit these one or two things of this injury or this irritation that just keeps popping up. And that's where we're going to attack it.

[00:19:52.37] And I think by doing it that way, we don't overload the athlete, as well. We understand where they need to be globally, and then where they are individually, and we just dip in a little bit into both. And it's a sliding scale. Sometimes an injury pops up, and we slide over into that rehab realm a little bit more. And it's very specific for you to get this irritation and this injury recovered. And then as we start to slide you back into S&C, that helps bridge that gap.

[00:20:20.05] So I love it because our desks are right next to each other. It's not like a complete handoff at any one point. And it's constant communication. So I'm involved from the beginning, but at a very minimal scale. And then they're involved at the end. We share in the middle, but then they're involved at the end. It's never a handoff.

[00:20:38.82] And I think that collaboration between S&C and PT is growing and continues to grow. But I love the way that it's done in our current setup.

[00:20:50.56] Yeah, I really like the way that you speak about your role within the staff and the program in a very autonomous, independent way of what they do. But also, it's built as part of that system. And you highlight the role of the strength and conditioning coach and this performance scientist to emphasize the team concept. Obviously, we're going to care about the athlete and the individual.

[00:21:18.48] But when injuries happen, there are specialists that dial in on those individual concerns and areas, and then roll them back into the team. And so that's a good place for us to be at times. I mean, there are strength and conditioning coaches out there working exclusively on the individual level. And that doesn't take away from that.

[00:21:38.93] But in team settings, it's important to almost be that bridge between the medical side and the sport coaches or the soccer coaches. Would you agree?

[00:21:48.87] Yeah. And I love to just talk shop with them because they PT minds think differently than us, and we think differently than them. And there are times where we get to just collaborate and talk about sets and rep schemes. Or, hey, the most recent one we've talked about is doing your sets and reps, but then finishing with an iso on that last rep, right?

[00:22:10.39] And that's kind of been a bridge between I want some load and I need them to get concentric, eccentric. But then we were also struggling with, when do we put in some isometrics without having them in too much or too long? And so, I don't know. The rehab area is the place where I get to play around a little bit and try new things-- in a safe way, obviously, as they're returning to play.

[00:22:34.87] But can I try a different set and rep scheme? Can I try something with a BBT and see how it works with that individual? Usually that's where somebody might play around in the academy level, right? And I don't really have that.

[00:22:45.55] So as somebody is further into return to play with their rehab, I might mess around with some sets and reps or a new exercise to my program and see if that's something that might want to fit in later to the team schedule. And it's nice because you get that one-on-one feedback. I can talk to them. I can see how it felt how it went for them.

[00:23:04.05] Was it a great bridge for the return to play? Is that something that we keep in the return to play setting with the PT? So yeah, it's a fun-- rehab is fun for me because it's mostly communication, and collaboration, and then a little creativity at times.

[00:23:20.41] Yeah, I like that creativity in strength and conditioning. There was a article we included in the RSCC course last year that talked about that. That's an area we don't talk about a whole lot. And it was from NSCA Coach. I'll throw a link to that issue into the show notes. But no, this is really cool.

[00:23:39.44] And I think it's exciting to see the growth of strength and conditioning, sport science, the combination of the two in soccer in general, but especially on the women's side of the game. There's a young Christi out there somewhere that's listening to this episode and wants to follow in your footsteps. What advice do you have for that next generation who wants to end up where you are?

[00:24:07.66] Yeah, I think keep your ear to the ground for internships. Most clubs have some sort of internship. We are fortunate to have one in our realm, in our department. And then get in with it with your certifications, right? Get those NSCA certifications in early because they are becoming more required. And the organizations that you work for have their ear to the ground. They understand what the minimum standard should be. So get your work in there.

[00:24:37.92] I think getting as much experience as you can. One of the areas I wish I had a little bit more experience would be the soccer side. So I've looked into getting some grassroots coaching license or something like that. That would probably be my next step. I know that UEFA sports has a sports scientist certification-- or not a sport science, a sports fitness coach-- fitness coach certification.

[00:25:03.58] That that's kind of what I'm looking into. So if you're looking to get into football specifically, I would look into getting-- understanding the tactical side and understanding what a coach might be looking for, as well as your S&C and sport science experience.

[00:25:22.99] No, I think that's great. And soccer is a good example of that, where there are certification and organizations out there that specialize in those technical and tactical areas of the sport beyond S&C and sport science. Now, this is really cool. I appreciate you coming on and sharing about your background, your path, some exciting things within the league. So thanks for being here. And for anyone who wants to reach out, what's the best way for them to do that?

[00:25:54.63] I think Instagram is my big one. ChristiEdson is-- kept it pretty easy. And then LinkedIn. I'm also on LinkedIn pretty well, as well-- Christi Edson on that one. Those are the two where you can find me and message me pretty-- and I'll get back pretty easy. I'm on those daily.

[00:26:10.91] Cool. We'll throw those into the show notes and let everybody reach out and blow up your phone. But yeah, Christi, thanks for being with us. Everyone, thanks for tuning in today. Hope you enjoyed that episode and a glimpse of what's going on in the NWSL for professional soccer, the women's professional soccer league. Also a special thanks to Sorinex Exercise Equipment. We appreciate their support.

[00:26:33.87] Hey, this is Justin Levitt from the Los Angeles Rams, honored to be the 2024 Professional Coach of the Year for the National Strength and Conditioning Association. It's been a great experience to be on the NSCA Coaching Podcast. Learn more about the NSCA at nsca.com.

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