Access the videos to the 2017 NSCA Training for Combat Sports Clinic, held September 22-23, 2017 at the new UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, NV. This two-day clinic brings together elite strength and conditioning coaches from the worlds of boxing, judo, mixed martial arts, and other Olympic combat sports to give you the most cutting-edge topics and best practices in strength and conditioning for combat sports.

Colorado Springs, CO – As it celebrates its 10th anniversary, the National Strength and Conditioning Association Foundation (NSCAF) is proud to announce several new grants and scholarship that will be available to NSCA members for the 2017-2018 grant and scholarship cycles.

Successful performance in sport is a multifactorial process that includes a blend of technical, tactical, physiological, biomechanical, and psychological features interacting together to result in the desired performance outcome. The strength and conditioning (S&C) program, depending on the sport, can support performance by influencing the physiological and biomechanical components through direct and indirect avenues of impact. Performance planning to achieve identified objectives is typically a long-term process, ranging from a year in seasonal professional team sports to a four-year Olympic cycle. It is critical to develop and implement key strategic processes to ensure that the S&C program effectively supports performance at major competitions. Furthermore, it is essential to have clarity for the role of S&C within the overall sports training program. Having a clear approach to deconstructing and understanding performance from a human performance perspective, showing how and where the impact on performance can be made, and objectively demonstrating the contribution to performance variables is vital. The current article uses the author’s experience of working across a range of Olympic and professional sports to articulate a process for strategic planning and managing S&C support from a technical perspective. Examples from various sports have been used to illustrate critical strategic processes.

Megan Evans, Assistant Director of Strength and Conditioning for Olympic Sports at Virginia Tech, talks to the NSCA Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Scott Caulfield, about the journey from student-athlete to assistant director.

Dr. Lonnie Lowery spoke at the NSCA's 2012 National Conference about the connection between Vitamin D and testosterone.

According to a recent study, the hip hinge kettlebell swing produced the greatest amount of hamstring surface electromyography of the three styles of kettlebell swings that were assessed. These findings have implications for the application of kettlebell swing exercises in strength and conditioning, injury prevention, and rehabilitation programs.

Andy Stocks, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at Augustana University and recently named NSCA Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year, talks to the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about persevering as a young coach in a tough career field. Topics under discussion include how his weightlifting and powerlifting background help him program for student-athletes and what he envisions his future as a head coach might look like someday. Find Andy on Instagram: @stocksthestrengthcoach or @augiestrength and Twitter: @augiestrength | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

Access the live stream video collection for the 2017 NSCA Training for Combat Sports Clinic, September 22-23, 2017 at the new UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, NV. This two-day clinic brings together elite strength and conditioning coaches from the worlds of boxing, judo, mixed martial arts, and other Olympic combat sports to give you the most cutting-edge topics and best practices in strength and conditioning for combat sports.

NSCA Coach of the Year Awards and Keynote Speaker

This article aims to share practical application strategies that strength and conditioning coaches can use in fostering a positive change in their athlete’s performance by understanding intrinsic and extrinsic performance motivation and how to adopt an autonomy-supportive coaching style.