One area that can have great impact on the success of a high school athletic department is the strength and conditioning program. This session from the 2015 NSCA National Conference provides insights from Coach Kevin Vanderbush’s personal experience as the strength and conditioning coach at Ben Davis High School for 31 years. This session covers the most important components of strength and conditioning at the high school level and provides both the rationale behind certain practices as well as practical tips.

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.

This excerpt from Developing Speed looks at how a fundamental understanding of the biomechanical principles that affect speed can assist coaches and athletes in developing running speed.

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.

The “coach’s dozen” is a collection of 12 principles that will help youth coaches, physical education teachers, and pediatric exercise specialists maintain inclusive, sustainable, and enjoyable participation in exercise and sport.

The goal of this brief review is to describe what classifies as high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and summarize the potential benefits for various populations: athletic, general, and clinical.

Omega-3 fatty acids not only have positive impacts on the eyes, heart, brain, and joints, but also on muscle tissue. Omega-3 is a very important nutrient that can help an individual achieve optimal health and performance.

This excerpt from NSCA’s Guide to Sport and Exercise Nutrition briefly analyzes some of the research behind creatine and its application to sport performance.

Ryan Metzger, Senior Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for Clemson University, talks to the NSCA Coaching Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about their internship program going virtual amidst the pandemic to provide young strength coaches the education they need to grow despite the lack of in-person training. Topics of discussion also include early sport specialization and burnout, as well as being a role model for female athletes. Find Ryan on Instagram: @clemsonolystrength or @coach_metz | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

A physical assessment continues to be one of the best ways to evaluate and measure physical preparedness and readiness of a military unit for job-related tasks and future missions. Tactical facilitators must consider multiple factors when developing testing protocols and programs, including leadership support, limited resources, and training cycle time constraints.