In this session from the 2016 NSCA Coaches Conference, the Sports Science and Performance Manager for the Seattle Sounders Major League Soccer (MLS) team, David Tenney, discusses the “high performance model” in the American elite sports environment. Tenney delves into how this model impacts hierarchy and daily decision making, as well as the obstructions that many organizations face, how this model can help to drive decision making and optimize training strategies, and the different strategies that can help make this happen.

Acceleration and maximal velocity are two factors that are key for any position in football and can determine success in many situations out on the field. This article will review several aspects of sprint mechanics and training to enhance linear (straight-ahead) speed for football players.

Before implementing an agility training program, baseline measures of change of direction ability should be assessed. This article presents norms for three tests that can be used to assess change of direction ability.

This article demonstrates how strength and conditioning coaches can coach power through non-traditional weightlifting exercises that can be taught quickly, to large groups, with less extensive technique correction.

This article briefly reviews the importance of the stretch-shortening cycle in power production.

This article describes the transition from the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) to the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), as well as the detailed events that make the ACFT.

This article consists of five assessments that could be utilized by the tactical facilitator to measure upper- , lower- , and total-body power in law enforcement officers (LEOs). Although the focus of this article is LEOs, the assessments could also be used for other tactical populations.

Strength and conditioning coaches that temper their posterior chain exercises with some threshold training and specific trunk exercises designed to break the extension/compression stabilization strategy (ECSS) to restore proper stabilizing strategies may find their athletes will move better, get injured less, and actually perform better.

One of the most important elements of running a fitness studio, no matter the discipline or the size, is understanding the competitive landscape. Gaining a key perspective on what is happening not only in the market, but also in the fitness industry as a whole, can provide owners and managers with the insight necessary to uncover the data and trends for their business to thrive.

Studio owners or aspiring owners can leverage current or emerging trends to grow (or start) their business, and better understand the fitness landscape to gain a competitive advantage.