The purpose of this article is to bring awareness and provide an overview of emerging areas within strength and conditioning and sport science.

The program described in this article is an example of how a department can attempt to address and potentially prevent musculoskeletal injuries in firefighters and similar tactical populations. This process includes the use of movement screens, active workshops, and various modes of feedback.

The framework of the athlete system is fragile, and thus susceptible to the “black swan” injury event. In this session from the 2016 NSCA National Conference, Greg Myer explains how to develop a training model focused on anti-fragility, by which athletes train to continuously regenerate and increase performance through the integration of random events, stressors, and volatility into their training regimen.

Mentorship isn’t flawless — and that’s where its power lies. Erik Hernandez, Associate Director for Sports Performance – Olympic Sports at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, has built his career on turning imperfect scenarios into lasting lessons for athletes and young coaches alike. For over 14 years at UNC, he has guided lacrosse, volleyball, and golf, adapting his voice to each culture while holding firm to shared standards of accountability and growth. Hernandez streamlines training into a three-phase model — explosive, strength, and remedial — yet emphasizes that delivery and communication matter more than complexity. He reminds athletes, “modifications are part of progress,” linking health, recovery, and seasonal demands to long-term development. For interns and early-career coaches, his advice is clear: earn mentors by serving others, and learn from every scenario, even the imperfect ones. Hear how mentorship, adaptability, and athlete health point the way forward for stronger teams and longer careers. Reach out to Coach Hernandez on Instagram: @hernandezstrength or by email: ehhernan@email.unc.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Answer Bryan Mann’s “call to arms!” Many volunteer applications are open now through December 15. Step up and give back to your strength and conditioning community at NSCA.com/Volunteer.

This article discusses components of a comprehensive pre-design process that aims to help coaches build an effective golf training program.

On-field success in sports requires the ability to solve sport-specific problems and utilize speed and agility within the specific context of the game. In this session from the 2015 NSCA National Conference, Ian Jeffreys explains how adding a task-based approach to an athlete’s speed and agility training can help ensure optimal transfer from training to game performance.

In recent years, performance and prevention strategies have grown to include monitoring training load (TL) to understand fatigue and the potential effects of fatigue on training adaptation and performance.

The purpose of this article is to define the roles of personal trainers and physical therapists and to learn how their combined expertise can influence long-term physical health improvements for their clients.

In this session from the NSCA’s 2015 Training for Hockey Clinic, Joe Maher from the University of Michigan covers the process of developing an annual plan for a collegiate ice hockey year. It will cover the benefits and results of an annual plan, and how it relates to long-term athletic development for a collegiate ice hockey player.

Dr. Allison Randall, Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Vanderbilt University Women’s Basketball Program, talks to the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about how her path to the 2012 London Olympic Games as an athlete led her to pursue the strength and conditioning profession. Topics include the use of appropriate cueing strategies to optimize work with young athletes, differences with team versus individual sports, and the importance of education for coaches. Find Dr. Randall on Twitter: @AllisonVRandall or Instagram: @allisonvrandall | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs