Kurt Hester, Head of Sports Performance at Louisiana Tech University, talks to the NSCA Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Scott Caulfield, about his journey from weight lifting at 12 years old to training collegiate football athletes today. Topics under discussion include starting a business, pioneering strength and conditioning, and the interview process. Find Kurt on Twitter: @thekurthester or on Instagram: @hesterkurt | Find Scott on Instagram: @coachcaulfield

Tactical facilitators are especially well-positioned to integrate mental skills training that may develop more complete tactical athletes who are prepared for dangerous environments. This article offers recommendations for mental skills training based on reported views from a tactical population.

While analyzing the speed requirements of different sports may, at first, seem to be a massive challenge, asking a few key questions can make the task much simpler.

Endurance sports are typically not thought of as highly technical endeavors, but proper movement during training and competition for endurance sports can affect both performance and health.

The purpose of this article is to make the case for implementing non-traditional sports into training programs that prepare youth for participation in traditional American sports and bridge the gap between pedagogy of physical education and strength and conditioning youth coaching.

In order to effectively prepare an ice hockey player for the season, it is necessary to have a thorough understanding of the specific demands of the sport.

Since traditional sport-specific training or exercise programs do not create enough stimulus to improve the function of the respiratory muscles, the rationale to introduce respiratory muscle training (RMT) emerged. RMT is associated with improved endurance performance and pulmonary function, and it reduced respiratory fatigue, perceived exertion, or breathlessness. The purpose of this article is to provide coaches with tools to select the appropriate form of RMT in the context of the athletes’ needs, using appropriate methods, techniques, devices, and testing protocols. The video abstract is presented in Supplemental Digital Content as SDC 1

Strength and conditioning coaches with knowledge of the exercise principles for youth and the specific demands of basketball can design effective integrative neuromuscular training (INT) programs based on the individual needs of youth athletes.

A sound year-round aerobic endurance training program should be divided into sport seasons with specific goals and objectives designed to improve performance gradually and progressively.