Duncan French, Vice President of Performance at UFC Performance Institute, and Bo Sandoval, Director of Strength and Conditioning, talk to the NSCA Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Scott Caulfield, about how they holistically support around 570 Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) athletes and push the boundaries of the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. Topics under discussion include staying open to new ideas and perspectives, being adaptable as a coach, and the different ways they support their athletes. Find Duncan on Twitter: @DuncanFrench or Instagram: @dr_duncan_french | Find Bo on Twitter: @olystrength or Instagram: @bo.sandoval | Find Scott on Instagram: @coachcaulfield

Since 1998, Bryan Mann has dominated strength and conditioning, securing positions at elite collegiate programs and defining research in strength, power, and velocity-based training (VBT). As the Academic Director of Strength and Conditioning at Texas A&M University, Bryan still gets the rewarding chance to shape students like his former athletes, but now, he’s focused on the future. He’s expanding his scope to human performance as a whole — applying his coaching expertise to advance performance across general, special, and tactical populations. Join NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager Eric McMahon as we follow Bryan’s professional path, including his recent transition to the Aggie’s powerhouse performance staff alongside Bo Sandoval and Tommy Moffit. Plus, explore pioneering research on Parkinson’s, the rise of individualization in VBT, and how to create a “forward” (not backup) plan for career longevity. Connect with Bryan on Instagram @jbryanmann or Twitter/X @jbryanmann | Find Eric on Instagram @ericmcmahoncscs or LinkedIn @ericmcmahoncscs In this episode, you’ll learn about the NSCA Presenter Application process. Apply by May 15 to be considered for 2025 local events and conferences while earning CEUs for your expertise.

Much in the same way that a single movement or a single workout does not make or break a training cycle, the same holds true for mental skills. The challenge is that the strength and conditioning coach will likely need to reach out to another professional trained in sport psychology to help establish the plan and construct the appropriate interventions.

Multidirectional ground reaction forces (GRFs) and jump tests within baseball pitchers provide insight into athletic ability and coordination to produce lower-body force and power. Lower-body power is a biomechanical feature that denotes physiological capacity through dynamic and passive tissue stretch-shortening in transferring energy from the ground through the kinetic chain. Optimized lower-body power may lessen the magnitude of forces on the upper extremity. Insufficient lower-body power may create a greater risk of upper-body injury. Lower-body power and its relationship to ball velocity have been minimally investigated, yet some research points to a correlation between jumping ability and fastball velocity. Because pitching is unilateral, practitioners should consider unilateral jumps to determine the extent of bilateral asymmetry or stride to drive leg differences that can guide training to remediate deficiencies. The purposes of this brief review are to (a) examine factors that influence vertical jump performance among baseball players, (b) examine research on pitching multidirectional GRFs, and (c) examine literature concerning jump performances to baseball pitching performance. Collectively, this review can assist coaches and practitioners in lower-body power testing and training for baseball pitchers.

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Discovery Canyon High School’s Sam Melendrez explains how experts in his profession are having a profound impact on youth in sports.

NSCA President Greg Haff shares the key takeaways from recent strategic plan meetings and outlines the organization’s commitment to advancing the strength and conditioning profession.