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Mentorship isn’t flawless — and that’s where its power lies. Erik Hernandez, Associate Director for Sports Performance – Olympic Sports at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, has built his career on turning imperfect scenarios into lasting lessons for athletes and young coaches alike. For over 14 years at UNC, he has guided lacrosse, volleyball, and golf, adapting his voice to each culture while holding firm to shared standards of accountability and growth. Hernandez streamlines training into a three-phase model — explosive, strength, and remedial — yet emphasizes that delivery and communication matter more than complexity. He reminds athletes, “modifications are part of progress,” linking health, recovery, and seasonal demands to long-term development. For interns and early-career coaches, his advice is clear: earn mentors by serving others, and learn from every scenario, even the imperfect ones. Hear how mentorship, adaptability, and athlete health point the way forward for stronger teams and longer careers. Reach out to Coach Hernandez on Instagram: @hernandezstrength or by email: ehhernan@email.unc.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Answer Bryan Mann’s “call to arms!” Many volunteer applications are open now through December 15. Step up and give back to your strength and conditioning community at NSCA.com/Volunteer.

This article discusses the potential benefits of exercise for helping reduce depression in tactical populations.

This consensus statement provides specific conditioning recommendations with the intent of ending conditioning-related morbidity and deaths of collegiate athletes.

This article from Personal Training Quarterly reviews tart cherry supplementation and its role in strength training. Visit NSCA online to read more on athletic performance and sport nutrition.

Interest is growing in warm-up procedures that involve dynamic activities and sport-specific movements that maximize active ranges of motion at different movement-specific speeds while preparing the body for the demands of sport training and competition.

While a basic fitness assessment will always be a part of a comprehensive client assessment, there is an array of more sophisticated tests and measures that are available to the personal trainer today.

This NSCA Coach article examines the importance of hip-shoulder separation on performance in baseball pitching. Visit NSCA online to read more on athletic performance and sport science.

Tendinopathy is a pathological condition that occurs when a tendon is repeatedly injured and degenerately breaks down. Specific exercise programming may help prevent tendinitis from occurring.

This excerpt from Developing Power explains how to use bands for variable resistance training.