How do you build a sustainable high-performance culture despite yearly assistant coach rotations and demanding schedules? Alice Read, Assistant Athletic Director for Sport Performance at Vassar College, shares expertise from managing 29 teams and 600 student-athletes while continuously "riding the rollercoaster" of Division III scheduling. Read explores strategies for maintaining program continuity, including matching assistant coaches to sports based on strengths and growth areas. She emphasizes advocating for daily staff lifts to test and refine programs firsthand. In a full-circle moment, Read, once an NSCA Foundation Assistantship Recipient, now serves on the committee awarding these opportunities, demonstrating the value of early professional involvement. She also discusses collaborative problem solving within the Liberty League Strength and Conditioning Committee and explains how the College Coaches Professional Development Group (PDG) provided boots-on-the-ground guidance for the 2024 NSCA Strategic Plan. Tune in for actionable insights on mentorship, collaboration, and longevity in collegiate strength and conditioning.
Connect with Alice via email at aread@vassar.edu and on Instagram: @ajpr3 and @vassar_strong | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs
Part 2 of this article series explores the possible benefits of mindful meditation for coach development as well as how it can improve reflective practice and the coach-athlete relationship.
This article will highlight an intervention involving mental skills training and virtual reality (VR) to address acrophobia with this population.
TSAC FacilitatorsProgram designBasic Pathophysiology and Science of Health Status or Condition and Disorder or DiseaseMental Skills TrainingVirtual RealityAcrophobiaDiaphragmatic Breathing
This article is part of a continuing series on practical, evidence-based approaches to reducing the risk of injury while developing tactical strength and conditioning.
In this career series article, developing personal training skills to train special populations is discussed; it includes starting out as a novice through the expert level.
Personal trainersExercise ScienceProfessional DevelopmentCareerConferenceSpecial PopulationsCSPSPersonal Traininghealthcare
For fitness business owners, marketing is understanding the audience and being able to craft stories that capture their attention. This article includes recommendations of ways to get current clients more engaged, as well as reach out to new clients.
Personal trainersOrganization and Administrationpersonal training businesspersonal training careerhow to grow my personal training businesshow to become a certified personal trainerhow to become a personal trainerpersonal trainersPersonal training
Colorado Springs, CO - The National Strength and Conditioning Association recognizes Avery Faigenbaum, Terry Todd, Andrea Hudy, and Jeff Chandler recognized for their career accomplishments.
Emily Zaler, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for the National Football League (NFL) Denver Broncos, talks to the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about the benefits of being persistent and proactively seeking out opportunities in the field. Topics under discussion include working with professional athletes, facing adversity head on, and how no task is too small to show how you can add value to a program.
Find Emily on Instagram: @ezaler or Twitter: @EZaler | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs