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Notice: The NSCA website is scheduled to undergo system maintenance from 12:00 AM - 2:30 AM EST. During this time, there may be short service interruptions across the site and some parts of the site may not be accessible. We apologize for any inconvenience while we work to improve the website experience and security.
The top concern of strength coaches should always be athlete safety. For this reason, the NSCA has compiled a list of resources to raise the standard of care when working as a strength coach at any level. By reading and sharing these examples of standards and guidelines, policies and procedures, position statements on vital topics, mental health best practices, and more, strength coaches can push to increase the safety of athletes around the world.
Athletic performance can be enhanced through the use of implementing various unstructured, semi-structured, and structured play from the 12 types of play. These can be performed in the weight room, at a sports practice, or even at home.
Strength and conditioning professionals who incorporate a properly designed and supervised training program can help their young athletes train, compete, and reduce the likelihood of injury.
Personal trainersCoachesExercise ScienceProgram designyouth athlete trainingyouth strength trainingyouth training guidelines
Self-myofascial release (SMR) through the use of foam rolling or other implements is a time and cost-efficient method of increasing performance and recovery.
Personal trainersExercise Techniqueexercise recoveryself-myofascial releaseSMRFoam rolling
In order to develop athletes who can move optimally in multiple planes of motion, training should include elements that can challenge them in multiple planes while providing various resistance and proprioceptive challenges.
CoachesExercise TechniqueProgram designbasketball coachingNSCA CoachBilateral SymmetryRotational TrainingTraining for Basketball
It is important for strength and conditioning coaches, sport coaches, athletic trainers, and administrators to recognize and address the evidence of stress within student-athletes in order to avoid chronic stress-related anxiety and injury.
CoachesExercise ScienceNSCA Coachstresscollege athletesstrength and conditioning
The purpose of this article is to strongly suggest and offer a pragmatic and stepwise approach that takes into account the ideas and concepts of shared decision making that allows for the “best practices,” pre-participation screenings, evaluations, and stratification flow charts for safe and effective return to play for athletes.
CoachesProgram designAcclimationHealth Risk ScreeningCOVID-19Resistance Training
This excerpt from Developing Speed demonstrates a fun drill aimed to develop the ability to make a cut step in response to a stimulus and to accelerate from this direction change.
CoachesExercise TechniqueProgram designAccelerationChange of DirectionForceCut Step