Plyometric training is a series of explosive bodyweight resistance exercises using the stretch-shortening cycle of the muscle fiber to enhance physical capacities, such as speed, strength, and power. These physiological measures translate to improved performance in many sports, including court-based sports, field sports, and water sports.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently recognized the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) as one of the first organizations to join the National Youth Sports Strategy (NYSS) Champion℠ program. HHS released the NYSS in September 2019 in response to Presidential Executive Order 13824, which called for a national strategy to increase youth sports participation. The NYSS is the first Federal roadmap with actionable strategies to increase participation in youth sports, increase awareness of the benefits of youth sports participation, monitor and evaluate youth sports participation, and recruit and engage volunteers in youth sports programming.

In this session from the NSCA’s 2017 National Conference, Iñigo Mujika explains the scientific basis of tapering and peaking in sports, and the effects of manipulating training components during the taper process. Mujika provides the scientific background and examples of tapering and peaking for a league format competition and a major tournament in team sports.

All sports nutrition professionals should be able to answer basic nutrition questions. However, athletes with complex nutrition issues should be referred to the appropriate resource as explained in this book excerpt.

This session from the 2015 NSCA Coaches Conference is designed for the strength and conditioning coach who deals with a wide variety of sports. Scott Charland highlights how the needs of athletes in different sports are similar and shows how it is possible to operate an effective, consistent, and comprehensive strength and conditioning program with minimal staff.

Colin Wilborn, PDH, ATC, CSCS and Abbie Smith-Ryan, PhD, CSCS,*D, spoke on the use of nutritional supplementation in collegiate sports.

Learn about the role of sports science in athletics. In this session from the NSCA’s 2016 National Conference, Patrick Ward provides an overview of monitoring strategies and discusses the use of technology within a sports science setting.

Early sports specialization has been a controversial topic in the field of sports medicine, training, and conditioning. Recent studies report increased sports-related injuries in single-sport specialized athletes compared with multisport specialized athletes.

Here are more reasons why award-winning Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach Scott Sahli is happy when kids are involved in multiple sports programs and supervised by certified strength coaches.

Respected strength coaches Mike Stone and Meg Stone spoke about periodization and programming for strength power sports at the 2012 NSCA Coaches Conference.