As Director of Sport Science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), Heather Farmer spearheads comprehensive integration efforts. This includes ensuring every stakeholder, from sport performance staff to academic advisors, has a seat at the table. Farmer also outlines developing an internship and graduate assistantship program to meet staffing needs and offer opportunities for practical experience. She recounts how leveraging relationships — not data — has been her key to scalability. Additionally, Farmer recognizes that to make an impact, she must meet athletes and sport coaches where they are, which she uncovers through “highlights” and “hurdles.” She suggests that sport scientists with strength and conditioning backgrounds, like herself, are uniquely equipped to excel due to their communication skills. Farmer and McMahon also discuss avoiding “analysis paralysis” and how to incorporate data to elevate the student-athlete experience — an unignorable factor as athletes bring an element of “self” in the age of name, image and likeness (NIL). Reach out to Heather by email at: heather.farmer@unlv.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs

This NSCA Coach article explores how neck training programs can reduce the severity of sport-related concussions. Visit NSCA online to read more on sports science and athletic performance.

Chris Morris, Director or Performance Science at the University of Kentucky, talks to the NSCA Coaching Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about the importance of capturing athlete readiness through data and technology. Topics under discussion include Dr. Morris’s time as a University of Kentucky football player turned PhD student, how sports science is critical to understanding athlete’s capacities on a much deeper view, and developing interpersonal relationships with athletes to create trust and buy-in. Find Dr. Morris on Twitter: @CMorrisPhD | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

This Personal Training Quarterly article shares hospitality­driven approaches to help personal trainers build connections with clients. Visit NSCA online to read more on fitness, hospitality and health news.

This article seeks to explain the differences between males and females in training and adaptations, as well as provide actionable guidelines to improve performance.

This article will detail example resistance training and aerobic conditioning sessions that could be used by a female recruit in the lead-up to their academy program.

This NSCA Coach article offers a brief description on the various methods for setting resistance training loads. Visit NSCA online to read more on strength training and program development.

This NSCA Coach article discusses training modalities in bench press training and incorporating accessories to improve rate of force development (RFD) among athletes. Visit NSCA online to read more on strength training and exercise science.

This article is a personal perspective of creating and providing a fitness assessment and resistance training program from scratch to a large law enforcement organization.

The purpose of this article is to examine components that affect speed to determine the degree that speed is governed by skill versus genetic factors.