This article discusses current tactical and youth training literature into a 16-week JROTC strength and conditioning model for high school students. Visit NSCA online to learn more about athletic performance.

The extent to which a special operator’s training schedule can be planned in advance is often limited due to their unpredictable operational demands. However, there may be opportunities to plan for specific training during certain periods.

This NSCA Coach article focuses on the in-season resistance training and mobility exercises designed for the 100-m sprint track and field high school athlete.

This article features the recharge skate—an in-season hockey conditioning drill, designed by the authors, to maintain hockey-specific energy system fitness throughout the competitive season.

This article aims to discuss concurrent activation potentiation (CAP) and the proposed mechanisms underlying it, summarize the available research examining the phenomenon, and provide strategies for its implementation.

This brief excerpt from NSCA’s Essentials of Sport Science discusses skill-based key performance indicators (KPIs).

Building athletes who are strong, healthy, and resilient requires more than sets and reps, starting with a shift in mindset. Christi Edson, Head of Performance for the Orlando Pride in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), shares how she integrates strength and conditioning with sport science to sustain athlete health and performance. She reflects on the field’s evolution from the well-known “Bigger, Faster, Stronger” program to a training culture emphasizing resilience, active recovery, and durability. Drawing from her experience coaching high school athletes to NWSL professionals, Edson highlights the adaptability and creativity coaches need. Those qualities help her to develop athletes who can thrive through a demanding 11-month season. She details how tools like GPS, force plates, and velocity-based training sharpen communication and reshape expectations in the gym. Her story points coaches toward the future of athlete development: collaboration, precise load management, and long-term health as the foundation of strength. Connect with Christi on Instagram: @christiedson and LinkedIn: @christiana-edson | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Read the article, “A Creative Mind in the Professional Development of a Strength and Conditioning Coach,” from NSCA Coach, 11(1), February 2024 — referenced in this episode’s return-to-play discussion. NSCA Members enjoy full publication access. Interested in bridging coaching and sport science? The Certified Performance and Sport Scientist (CPSS) credential can help you expand your qualifications, open new career paths, and strengthen cross-department collaboration.

This TSAC Report article highlights the need for recovery strategies to support both physical readiness and psychological resilience in military training. Visit NSCA online to learn more about tactical athletes.

This narrative review will focus on the research related to tactical load carriage and on a program recommendation to maximize strength and endurance adaptations in Special Operations Forces (SOF).

Mary Kate Feit, Assistant Professor and Associate Director of Strength and Conditioning at Springfield College, and Adam Feit, Coordinator of Physical and Mental Performance at Springfield College and Assistant Director of Performance Nutrition at Precision Nutrition, talk to the NSCA Coaching Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about being a married couple in the world of strength and conditioning. Topics under discussion include the unique positions they hold at Springfield College, how becoming parents has changed their perspective on coaching, and why diversity is so important for the future of the field. Connect with Mary Kate via email: mfeit@springfield.edu | Find Adam on Twitter: @Adam_Feit or Instagram @aefeit | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs