NATIONAL STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES 2023 CAREER AWARDS

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is proud to announce the recipients of the organization’s 2023 Career Awards. Given annually, these distinguished awards honor those individuals who have made significant contributions to the strength and conditioning community throughout their careers. Each winner will be formally recognized at the 2023 NSCA National Conference in Las Vegas, NV, this July 12-15.

Since 1993, the Boyd Epley Award for Lifetime Achievement has honored individuals who have exhibited historical impact, achievements, and dedication to the NSCA over the course of their careers. Named after Boyd Epley, NSCA’s founder, it’s considered the most prestigious award an NSCA member can achieve. The Board of Directors proudly announces 2023 recipient Ashley Jones, MSc, CSCS,*D, RSCC*E.

Ashley Jones has worked as a strength & conditioning coach in three professional sports, in seven countries, and across four continents in a career that has lasted over 30 years. He has spoken at numerous strength & conditioning and fitness conferences and seminars around the world and contributed articles to the NSCA’s journals. Additionally, he is in his 11th year as a columnist for EliteFTS and has published writings in the Westside Barbell Conjugate Club rugby column, IronMind journal, and the Get Strength website.

Jones is also the Chair of the Executive Council for the NSCA Rugby Special Interest Group (SIG), Chair of the NSCA’s Awards & Honors Committee, and a member of the NSCA Certification Committee. He was awarded the RSCC*E in 2014 and has held the CSCS continuously since 1988. In 2016, he was awarded Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year by the NSCA. Although Australian by birth, he currently resides in Christchurch, New Zealand, with his wife Donna and their 18-month-old puppy Nessie.

Next, created in 1986, the Alvin Roy Award for Career Achievement honors Alvin Roy, who helped establish strength and conditioning as the cornerstone of any training program. Roy was one of the first coaches to show that lifting weights would improve both speed and power, and he helped debunk the myth that lifting weights made athletes slower. In light of his legacy, this esteemed award is given to an individual whose career achievements made a substantial impact on the scientific understanding, methodologies, and practice of resistance training as a component of sports conditioning. The Board of Directors pridefully recognizes 2023 recipient Vladimir Zatsiorsky, PhD.

Vladimir M. Zatsiorsky was born on December 26th, 1932, in Leningrad, USSR (what is now Saint Petersburg, Russia). From 1949 to 1951, he studied mathematics at Lvov University in Ukraine and graduated from the Lvov Institute of Physical Culture in 1954. In 1957, he joined the graduate program at the Central Institute of Physical Culture (GCOLIFK) in Moscow. After completing his PhD and obtaining a tenure-track position at GCOLIFK, Vladimir dedicated 30 years to the institution, serving until 1990. In 1972, he was elected Chair of Biomechanics at GCOLIFK. During his tenure, he also briefly held the position of Director of the All-Union Research Institute of Physical Culture between 1986 and 1989.

In 1961, Vladimir co-authored the first paper on strength training for elite weightlifters with the three-time World Champion and 1960 Olympic Champion in weightlifting, Viktor Bushuev. Later, in 1965, Vladimir published Motor Abilities of Athletes, which explored strength, speed, endurance, and flexibility training. This book has since seen five editions in Russian and has been translated into 12 languages. While working in the USSR, Vladimir was regularly invited to deliver lectures and consult with national team coaches, often visiting their training camps twice a year. In 1995, Vladimir published the influential book Science and Practice of Strength Training. This work went on to have two additional editions in 2006 and 2020, featuring new chapters contributed by Dr. W. Kraemer and Dr. A. Fry, respectively. Vladimir currently resides in Sunnyvale, CA, with Rita, his wife of 63 years. The couple has two children, Betty and Michael, and six grandchildren: Anastasiya, James, Yana, Irene, Ellen, and Jaclyn.

Lastly, awarded since 1997, the NSCA Impact Award highlights an individual who has made significant contributions that have impacted a segment of the overall field of strength and conditioning. The Board of Directors is pleased to acknowledge 2023 recipient Mark Stephenson, MS, ATC, CSCS,*D, TSAC-F,*D.

Mark Stephenson currently serves as the Program Director of the Center for Sports Performance and Research Team for Mass General Brigham leading tactical research initiatives. He brings over 32 years of experience in the human performance field. Previously, he was the Human Performance Program Manager for a special operations force unit at USSOCOM and held sports performance leadership positions, including Head Strength and Conditioning Coach (NCAA Div. 1), Director of Player Performance (NFL), and TSAC Director and Program Co-founder for the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Stephenson holds several sports performance and sports medicine certifications, including Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), Certified Tactical Strength and Conditioning Facilitator (TSAC-F), Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC), and Certified Brain Enhanced and Recovery System (BEARS) provider. He also holds advanced degrees in Exercise and Sports Science and in Sports and Performance Psychology. In 2017, Stephenson was named TSAC Practitioner of the Year by the NSCA.

The NSCA invites you to join us in celebrating their achievements at the 2023 NSCA National Conference in Las Vegas, NV, and online on July 12-15. Register now at nsca.com/NSCACon.

For more information about the NSCA’s esteemed awards, visit nsca.com/membership/awards.

Media Note: To schedule an interview with award winners, please contact marketing@nsca.com.

About the National Strength & Conditioning Association

Founded in 1978, The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is a nonprofit association dedicated to advancing the strength and conditioning and related sport science professions around the world.

The NSCA exists to empower a community of professionals to maximize their impact through disseminating evidence-based knowledge and its practical application by offering industry-leading certifications, research journals, career development services, networking opportunities, and continuing education. The NSCA community is composed of more than 60,000 members and certified professionals throughout the world who further industry standards as researchers, educators, strength and conditioning coaches, performance and sport scientists, personal trainers, tactical professionals, and other related roles.