Hear from two-time Olympian, Meg Stone, the first female strength and conditioning coach to head both men’s and women’s strength programs at a major American university. Stone shares her story from being an elite discus thrower towards an unexpected coaching career, with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Manager, Eric McMahon. She discusses what she believes needs to change to further the strength and conditioning field in support of athlete health and safety. Stone also tells us about what makes the Sport Science Program at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) so unique and beneficial for students. The episode highlights the ongoing work of the NSCA for the prevention of catastrophic injury and sudden death in sport. You can read more about this topic in a recent NSCA press release: NSCA Reaffirms Position on Appropriate Qualifications for Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches. Connect with Meg by email at stoneme@etsu.edu| Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

The purpose of this article is to provide information about the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) certification exams that were administered during 2024.

Strength and conditioning coaches should strive to teach athletes in a way they can understand: by hearing, seeing, and practicing. This article describes some techniques that a coach can use to accomplish this.

The purpose of the National Strength and Conditioning Association Foundation (NSCAF) is to support the mission of the National Strength and Conditioning Association by providing funding for educational and research activities that enhance the practical application of strength and conditioning.

Competence, autonomy, and relatedness are three keys to promoting a more intrinsically motivated athlete. These components can be combined in nearly limitless ways, which is especially important for the long basketball season.

Are you interested in helping shape the future of the NSCA? Learn if you are qualified and how to apply to the NSCA Board of Directors. We are seeking dedicated individuals to lead the association and advance the strength and conditioning profession.

Learn about a framework for analyzing how knowledge is created through “coach talk discourses,” and how those discourses guide coaches’ thoughts, feelings, and practices. This article critiques the coach talk discourse of “buy-in” in order to provide strength and conditioning coaches with other ways to think about and understand coaching.

From the virtual 2021 NSCA Coaches Conference, Dan Jahn, Owner of Maximum Sports Conditioning, discusses important language, tools, and strategies for coaches to become more culturally competent. He shares a variety of perspectives and influences on weight room and team culture, and how to appropriately respond in certain scenarios around race.

In this session from the 2016 NSCA Coaches Conference, Doug Bull addresses the multitude of problems faced by high school strength coaches every day. These include constraints on time and available space, training multisport athletes, dealing with the developmental level of the athlete, and ways to utilize a coaching staff to aid in running a successful program.