Strength and conditioning professionals must be proactive in fighting the challenges associated with time constraints and overtraining with their youth athletes. By applying the strategies explained in this article, a strength and conditioning professional can help a youth athlete perform at a high level when it matters the most.

This article discusses the background, statistics, mechanisms, timing, dosing, influences, and practical applications for the use of caffeine as an ergogenic aid.

This Personal Training Quarterly article shares hospitality­driven approaches to help personal trainers build connections with clients. Visit NSCA online to read more on fitness, hospitality, and health news.

The purpose of this article is to present a brief review of research on the safety and efficacy of caffeine used by athletes participating in anaerobic-dominant sports.

For Keith Swift, coaching is completely effort based, but it starts with camaraderie and education. As Director of Strength and Conditioning at Wofford College, his philosophy is clear: educate, heal, and enhance. While playing collegiate football and studying exercise science, Swift learned early to question the “why” behind training and encourages his student-athletes to do the same. At an academically rigorous institution, his educational focus fits right in, fostering curiosity, technical precision, and peer coaching. Swift shares how his experiences across professional baseball, the private sector, and collegiate programs each shaped his foundation while making it his own. Amid collegiate challenges — from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) transfer portal to the growing authority of student-athletes — Swift holds firm that “there is no substitute for hard work.” His goal is simple: help student-athletes leave with both a degree and a championship ring, setting them up for success in sport and life. Reach out to Coach Swift on Instagram: @worqueowt and @wofford_strength, Twitter/X: @CoachSwift93, LinkedIn: @keithswift, or by email: swiftkd@wofford.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Discover how salaries have evolved across collegiate athletics and other work settings in strength and conditioning in the 2025 NSCA Salary Survey at NSCA.com/Salary.

This article from TSAC 76 provides health program frameworks to enhance the well-being of public safety personnel. Visit us online to learn more about tactical fitness and performance.

The purpose of this article is to discuss creatine supplementation for athletes by addressing supplementation for athletic performance, recovery, cognition, brain function, safety, contraindications, and other special considerations.

If manipulation of the training variables is not tailored correctly to the desired adaptations and specific training goals, an athlete can experience symptoms of nonfunctional overreach. If this process continues, the athlete can develop overtraining syndrome.

The third and final article in this series will introduce the practical and technical elements of heart rate variability (HRV) monitoring in greater depth and detail.