This online community promotes networking, knowledge sharing, and collaboration among NSCA members.

Early-career coaches have to learn fast, adapt faster, and still earn trust. Sammi Ryan, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at Boston University, shares how seeking golden opportunities led her across the country and into unfamiliar sports. After an early training experience deterred her from the field, Ryan found her way in through graduate experience and a support system she still maintains today. When coaching sports she has not played, Ryan starts with research, trusted peers, and relationships with sport coaches. She stresses that coaches cannot “copy and paste” what worked at a previous stop because every team, athlete, and setting is different. For Ryan, athlete questions are a chance to clarify the plan or change course. She also discusses staff coverage and sport science integration at Boston University. Ryan reflects on helping college athletes grow and develop as humans, not just athletes. Listen to learn how to strengthen your support system, adapt across teams, and guide athletes beyond sport. Connect with Sammi on Instagram: @sammiryann or by email: sryan95@bu.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Join the NSCA College Coaches Professional Development Group (PDG) to build your network, share ideas, and navigate challenges in college strength and conditioning.

This article discusses overtraining risk factors in endurance athletes and provides strategies for optimizing effective programming. Visit NSCA online to learn more about athletic performance.

The NSCA Collegiate Program of Distinction honors colleges and universities that demonstrate the highest standards in strength and conditioning.

Choose your 2026 NSCA Fall Performance Summit from five focused strength and conditioning events across the U.S. Earn 0.8 CEUs with expert continuing education.

Long-Term Athletic Development (LTAD) models have provided a youth sport framework for more than 2 decades, aimed at improving skill progression, training outcomes, and athlete preparation. Although influential, traditional LTAD approaches are limited by their sport-centric orientation, linear design, and focus on elite performance, leaving them less relevant for most youth and adults who do not pursue competitive sport. In response, we propose reframing LTAD as Long-Term Activity Development (LTActD), an accessible and flexible model designed to promote lifelong engagement in physical activity, including recreation, exercise, and sport. LTActD emphasizes 5 dynamic phases—Explore, Develop, Apply, Sustain, and Thrive—that accommodate diverse pathways, periods of inactivity, and opportunities to re-enter active living at any age. Represented as a curvy road, the new model underscores that participation in physical activity is rarely linear, more like a winding journey shaped by health, motivation, environment, and social context. LTActD bridges sport science and public health, positioning physical activity as a lifelong resource for health, independence, and fulfillment. LTActD offers a practical framework to empower individuals of all ages and abilities to discover meaningful ways to move, re-engage, and embrace active living throughout the life course.

This TSAC column reviews oxidative damage in tactical populations and examines the role of dietary antioxidants in health and readiness. Visit NSCA online to learn more on nutrition research and tactical performance.

Review sample Ranger unit training programs for before, during, and after deployment from NSCA’s Essentials of Tactical Strength and Conditioning, 2nd Edition.

Learn overtraining syndrome (OTS) risks, symptoms, and outcomes for tactical athletes from NSCA’s Essentials of Tactical Strength and Conditioning, 2nd Edition.

The NSCA Foundation awarded nearly $195,000 to 15 Grant Recipients in 2026 to support strength and conditioning research, coaching advancement, and equipment

This article examines the causes of cardiovascular risk among firefighters and suggests potential interventions to support long-term health. Visit NSCA online to learn more about firefighter fitness and tactical performance.

In the private sector, you are always auditioning. Joe Neal, owner of 2SP Sports Performance based near Detroit, MI, shares a blueprint for serving athletes from youth to the professional ranks. Those foundational principles support off-season training for National Hockey League (NHL) and Major League Baseball (MLB) players. Neal reflects on his untraditional path from an underserved college baseball athlete to a business owner. Along the way, his coaching was guided by self-experimentation, creative training techniques, and relentless learning. He explains what makes a strong private-sector program: coaches should be prepared, moving, and communicating, not buried in screens or programming. Neal also breaks down how he uses technology to individualize training, track progress, and support better decisions without losing supervision. He emphasizes long-term development, where overlooked athletes can keep growing, stay healthier, and outperform early expectations. Listen for practical lessons on culture, coaching, business, and private-sector development across every level of sport. Connect with Joe on Instagram: @joeneal2 or by email: joe@2spsports.com | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Join the NSCA Entrepreneur Special Interest Group (SIG) on LinkedIn to connect with other coaches and explore ideas for building and leading in the private sector.

This TSAC research column explores how operational exposure and experience shape stress responses in military personnel. Visit NSCA online to learn more about tactical performance and exercise research.

This article discusses motivation, self-efficacy, and barriers to exercise specific to law enforcement officers. Visit NSCA online to learn more about tactical performance and occupational fitness.