In this special Season 4 podcast kick-off, NSCA’s Tactical Program Manager, Nate Palin, introduces the new NSCA Coaching Program Manager, Eric McMahon. McMahon discusses how he got into strength and conditioning, transitioning into new roles and the challenges it brings, and the direction that he wants to bring the NSCA with this new position as a bridge between strength coaches and the organization. Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs | Find Nate on Instagram: @natepalin

Growth happens when you go all in, or as Brittany Wiebe says, “full send.” As Head Strength and Conditioning Coach of women’s basketball at the University of Oregon, she shares her people-first, evidence-based approach to maximize performance, minimize risk, and positively impact each individual. Using reverse engineering and fundamental principles, Wiebe describes programming around the big seven movements, progressive overload, and objective and subjective feedback. She reflects on her path through Kenya, Dubai, and the Dominican Republic, gaining exposure to athletes across sports, backgrounds, and abilities. Logistical challenges, like language barriers and limited resources, strengthened her adaptability and creativity. Wiebe believes weight room culture starts the moment you walk in. Her strategies — from high-energy greetings to rallying around big lifts — remind coaches that intent begins with environment. She challenges coaches to step outside their comfort zones, say “yes” to opportunities, and bring the same intensity to their development that they demand from athletes. Reach out to Brittany on Instagram: @coach.bwiebes and LinkedIn: @bwiebes | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Ready to take your coaching further? Explore opportunities to connect with top professionals and gain new insights at NSCA.com/Events, from local clinics to national conferences.

This NSCA Coach article provides a framework for strength and conditioning professionals to support athletes in accessing appropriate mental health services. Visit NSCA online to read more on mental health and sport performance.

This article will discuss the role of strength training, stretching, and functional mobility exercises in reducing falls in older adults and provide a guide for creating a program.

As performance staffs grow and develop, professional athletes today have a broad array of services and expertise available to them in the locker room and around competition. This episode features the Vice President of Health and Performance for the National Basketball Association (NBA) Phoenix Suns, Brady Howe. Howe tells Eric McMahon, the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, how humble beginnings as an NBA Developmental League athletic trainer contributed to his current performance-first mindset for leading a multifaceted health and performance department. Topics include often misunderstood developmental factors for training elite athletes and advice for how to serve your athletes at the highest level. Connect with Brady on Instagram: @bhowe6 or Twitter: @brady_howe | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs You can learn more about NBA strength and conditioning from the National Basketball Strength and Conditioning Association (NBSCA), an Official Sport Partner of the NSCA.

Sheri Walters’ journey to Director of Sports Medicine at Texas A&M University reflects a career defined by innovation, collaboration, and comprehensive integration. Walters discusses the "arms race" in collegiate athletics and how Texas A&M shatters silos through unit alignment and being intentionally present. Drawing from her EXOS experience, she highlights the impact of integrating sports medicine with strength and conditioning. Walters employs research-based cross-body training to maintain strength, prioritizing long-term rehabilitation over limb symmetry index testing. She explains how her Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist® (CSCS®) and Certified Performance and Sport Scientist® (CPSS®) credentials enable her to elevate rehabilitation and speak the language of sport performance professionals. Walters underscores the importance of getting student-athletes back to team strength and conditioning as soon as tissues can tolerate it to promote physiological and psychological healing. She also shares how strength and conditioning coaches can optimize return to performance and reduce reinjury risk. Email Sheri at swalters@athletics.tamu.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Catch Sheri’s session on bridging the gap in the collegiate setting LIVE at the 2025 NSCA Coaches Conference! Register to watch online at NSCA.com/Coaches. Fascinated by the intersection between strength and conditioning and sports medicine? Join other professionals in the Sports Medicine/Rehabilitation Specialist Interest Group (SIG) to discover more resources and engage in discussion.

Thadeus Jackson, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Green Bay Packers National Football League (NFL) team, talks to the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about the importance of a support system in your career. Topics under discussion include the dynamics of working with professional athletes and how strategic data collection can make your organization better. Find Thadeus on LinkedIn: Thadeus Jackson | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

In this episode, Lilly Bernardi, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at Hofstra University, talks to Eric McMahon, the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, about her journey from being an athlete to becoming a coach. Bernardi shares sentiments over losing her senior lacrosse season as a college athlete during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how it has fueled her motivational approach in coaching. The episode highlights the importance of building confidence as a young professional and adopting a growth mindset for career development. Additionally, the conversation delves into social media etiquette for coaches in the age of information sharing. Connect with Lilly on Instagram: @lilly_bernardi1 or by email: lilly.a.bernardi@hofstra.edu| Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

Veteran Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA), Bill Foran, joins the NSCA Coaching Podcast and reflects on a more than four-decade coaching career. Foran discusses his early beginnings teaching elementary school physical education, with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager Eric McMahon, and what led him towards pursuing collegiate and professional sports strength and conditioning. Foran shares stories of resourcefulness from the early days, before the strength and conditioning field was formally defined, up to more recent years using sport science technology and foundational core principles to inform training practices for elite NBA players, such as Lebron James and Shaquille O’Neal. This episode is informative for strength and conditioning coaches at any level, emphasizing the importance of building lasting relationships with athletes and head coaches, as well as taking advantage of all that the NSCA has to offer. Reach out to Coach Foran at by email at bforan@heat.com | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs Learn more about NBA strength and conditioning with the National Basketball Strength and Conditioning Association (NBSCA), an Official Sport Partner of the NSCA.

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.