A fundamental training program at a young age gives the athlete the opportunity to develop many skills needed to succeed. The implementation of agility and coordination training can help reduce the risk of injury and elevate a young developing athlete.

Learn how to use sprinting as a means of screening athletes for power, strength, range of motion, and coordination. In this session from the NSCA’s 2018 National Conference, Derek Hansen also identifies appropriate sprinting and running mechanics for optimizing performance and minimizing injury, and outlines a process for using sprinting as a return-to-play modality for soft-tissue and joint injuries.

Ground-based free weight lifts, especially the explosive Olympic-style lifts, are highly recommended for athletic conditioning for the core muscles. They can provide a moderately unstable stimulus to augment activation of the core and limb muscles, while still providing maximal or near maximal strength, velocity, and power output.

Integrating unbalanced load training into a strength or hypertrophy phase, or any workout program, can add a tremendous amount of demand on the lateral aspects of the core to help the athlete develop a strong core. Using unbalanced load training may help produce increases in athleticism, balance, and motor coordination without sacrificing strength or explosiveness.

This article proposes that all resistance training exercises can be classified as either “specific” or “general.” How to classify each exercise type and the unique benefits they offer is explained.

Line drills can be an excellent way for athletes to improve their footwork, speed, and coordination. This article contains examples of several easy-to-implement line drills.

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.

The snatch is one of the most technically demanding competitive movements. This article focuses on barbell trajectory (or bar path), motor control, and the height of the bar relative to the athlete’s body.

Clayton Kuklick, coaching researcher at the University of Denver, talks to the NSCA Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Scott Caulfield, about what it truly means to be a master coach. Topics under discussion include motor learning, practice design, mentorship in coaching, and coaching standards.

Football is a high intensity collision based sport that has an inherent risk of injury in both competition and practice. The focus of ACL injuries and the development of injury prevention programs have been key in the development of youth athletes to keep them participating in sport with reduced risk of injury.