This excerpt from Developing the Core briefly defines closed- and open-chain exercises and their respective roles in training.

Planning and designing training programs for a new group of athletes (e.g., a new recruiting class or a new coaching job) can be problematic without a base level understanding of the athletes’ current skill levels. This article describes one system that can be used to determine an athlete's self-confidence on different exercises.

This article walks personal trainers through how to present a program for the common goals and what to do if the process does not produce a sale.

This book excerpt explains how to perform the box step-off landing assessment, which is used to determine an athlete’s readiness before beginning a program in agility and quickness.

This article discusses career development and progression for women in the field of strength and conditioning. Coach Andrea Hudy provides her personal insight as she touches on goal setting, core values, and professionalism.

Brett Bartholomew talks about the risks posed to athletes who are partaking in randomized and unstructured training practices often supervised by non-certified professionals. This session from the NSCA’s 2017 Coaches Conference will help you identify ways in which a “skills not drills” approach towards movement training design can not only lead to enhanced transfer of training to the competitive environment, but also better retention on behalf of the athlete as they progress through future training.

This article provides a personal perspective on the art of coaching that stems from acquired knowledge, education, and real-world application through professional sports experience from working in human performance.

Learn the basics of conducting a needs analysis for tactical athletes based on the athlete’s goals and desired outcomes, assessments, limitations on workout frequency and duration, equipment availability, health and injury status, and occupational physiological demands.

Approximately 2 million youth from 6 - 12 years of age participate in football every year. This article discusses the importance of long-term athletic development (LTAD) for youth football athletes and the significance of a player development pathway for long-term success and longevity in the sport.

Football is a high intensity collision based sport that has an inherent risk of injury in both competition and practice. The focus of ACL injuries and the development of injury prevention programs have been key in the development of youth athletes to keep them participating in sport with reduced risk of injury.