Strength and conditioning professionals should consider mental skills training when creating a training program to maximize performance. Developing mental skills is a very long and challenging process; however, the benefits are worth it. Utilizing these skills will put the athlete in a position to succeed in sport, as well as life.
Growth and maturation are two important processes that occur throughout an individual’s childhood and adolescent years. The purpose of this article is to review the dimensions, proportions, stature, body mass, and maturational events of all female pediatric athletes in general. It also serves to identify how early sport specialization and different modes of training of the female pediatric athlete affects her growth and maturation.
CoachesExercise ScienceProgram designFemale AthleteYouth TrainingYouth DevelopmentLTADLong Term Athletic DevelopmentStrength Traininghs-coaching
The purpose of this article is to highlight the 22 fundamental motor skills and offer practical suggestions for implementing fundamental motor skill training into an activity plan.
CoachesExercise TechniqueProgram designfundamentals of movementyouth trainingdeveloping motor skillsMotor skills
This article describes an innovative approach that was used to implement a long-term athletic development (LTAD) program in a health club, and includes the steps used for implementation.
CoachesProgram designNSCA CoachLTADLong-term athletic developmentyouth training
Position statements are official statements of the NSCA on topics related to strength and conditioning and exercise science. All NSCA Position Statements are published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research® and free to the public.
What does LTAD mean and how can parents get more involved with their child’s athletic development? Rick Howard provides an overview of youth development, important concepts to understand, ways to impact physical development, signs of overtraining, and further resources that are a great refresher for coaches and can be passed onto parents.
A qualified strength and conditioning professional in the high school environment can benefit both the school and the students in a number of ways, including injury reduction, improved performance, and risk management.
CoachesProgram designOrganization and Administrationrisk managementinjury reductionltadcscsNSCA Coach
Early sport specialization is often characterized by intensive training and is becoming increasingly common. Adolescent female athletes who train excessively and adopt poor diets are at risk of the female athlete triad, overuse injury, mental health issues, and overtraining.
Personal trainersCoachesProgram designFemale AthletesYouth Trainingyouth sportsearly sport specializationhs-coachinginfographics