New Hampshire/Vermont State Clinic

• Describe how acute and chronic exercise influence brain function and cognitive performance
• Explain key physiological mechanisms underlying the effects of exercise on the brain, including cerebral blood flow and neurovascular coupling
• Discuss how exercise intensity and cardiorespiratory fitness influence brain activity and cognition
• Interpret current evidence linking exercise, brain function, and cognitive performance across different populations
• Apply exercise–brain research to practical considerations for exercise programming and brain health

• Identify the distinct roles and contributions of key interdisciplinary professionals within a collegiate athletic department
• Implement practical communication and collaboration strategies that improve coordination and decision-making across performance teams
• Develop an action plan for fostering a culture of trust, shared accountability, and athlete-centered collaboration within their own athletic department

• Explain the role of mental skills in helping athletes balance performance demands, recovery, and long-term development
• Recognize common psychological challenges that arise during injury recovery and the return-to-sport process
• Utilize a toolkit of evidence-informed strategies to promote confidence, motivation, focus, and engagement in both healthy and injured athletes

• Describe how the hips, pelvis, rib cage, and shoulders function as a connected system in the overhead athlete, and how a limitation in one can impact another
• Identify assessment strategies that separate the range of motion an athlete has from the range they can use in movement, and use those findings to guide training decisions
• Select and apply appropriate training strategies, including progressions and regressions, that support hip mobility and shoulder health in overhead athletes of all levels

High-performance training principles don’t belong exclusively to elite athletes. This presentation explores how coaches can apply the same foundational concepts used in sports performance, including assessment, individualized programming, strength, power, movement quality, and progression, to help general population clients achieve meaningful results. Attendees will learn how to take principles developed for high-level athletes and adapt them to the realities, goals, and limitations of everyday clients.

• Identify signs and performance changes associated with LEA and RED-S that may present in the weight room
• Explain how RED-S can influence strength, power, recovery, injury risk and training adaptation
• Assess changes in performance and recovery that may indicate a sports medicine referral

• Identify and coach essential movements to improve rucking performance and resilience
• Develop familiarity with rucking equipment to maximize athlete preparedness, safety, and performance
• Apply essential conditioning, loading, and progression techniques to develop rucking performance