This episode of the NSCA’s Coaching Podcast features the 2024 NSCA College Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year, Brijesh Patel. Patel shares decades of wisdom and experience with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, including valuable lessons to support a fulfilling strength and conditioning career and avoid coach burnout. Learn about the journey of the 2023 Quinnipiac University National Champions Men’s Ice Hockey Team from the strength and conditioning coach’s perspective. Patel explains how program resources and support from administration can make or break the success of a program. From lessons on mentorship to putting in the work in support of professional development, this is an episode you will not want to miss. Connect with Brijesh online at coachbpatel.com or by email: brijesh.patel@qu.edu| Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs Also, here is the link to nominate a colleague or mentor for an NSCA Coach of the Year Award!

This excerpt from the book Developing Endurance, published by Human Kinetics, presents a sample 5K training plan for runners.

Managing workload and optimizing athlete performance while promoting injury-free participation is simplified using the eight tips in this article.

The purpose of this article is to present a brief review of research on the safety and efficacy of caffeine used by athletes participating in anaerobic-dominant sports.

The following article provides a list of tests that could comprise a fitness assessment to measure overall fitness and health prior to, during, and after an academy training program.

This article demonstrates how strength and conditioning coaches can coach power through non-traditional weightlifting exercises that can be taught quickly, to large groups, with less extensive technique correction.

This article walks personal trainers through how to present a program for the common goals and what to do if the process does not produce a sale.

The movement pattern utilized when flipping a tire is similar to the movements required during firefighting. Learn not only how to flip a tire, but how to assess functional power output among firefighters through the use of tire flipping.

Given the growing interest surrounding youth strength and conditioning, the NSCA recently engaged a group of leading experts to author a position statement on long-term athletic development. The document proposes ten key pillars of successful long-term athletic development that practitioners should adhere to in order to enhance performance, promote health and well-being, and minimize the risk of sport- or physical activity-related injury.