The four components of the coach-athlete relationship are closeness, commitment, complementarity, and co-orientation. Coaches should seek to deeply understand the value of each category and how to maximize these reciprocal characteristics with their athletes.

As Director of Sport Science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), Heather Farmer spearheads comprehensive integration efforts. This includes ensuring every stakeholder, from sport performance staff to academic advisors, has a seat at the table. Farmer also outlines developing an internship and graduate assistantship program to meet staffing needs and offer opportunities for practical experience. She recounts how leveraging relationships — not data — has been her key to scalability. Additionally, Farmer recognizes that to make an impact, she must meet athletes and sport coaches where they are, which she uncovers through “highlights” and “hurdles.” She suggests that sport scientists with strength and conditioning backgrounds, like herself, are uniquely equipped to excel due to their communication skills. Farmer and McMahon also discuss avoiding “analysis paralysis” and how to incorporate data to elevate the student-athlete experience — an unignorable factor as athletes bring an element of “self” in the age of name, image and likeness (NIL). Reach out to Heather by email at: heather.farmer@unlv.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs

During the initial interview, the personal trainer and client assess compatibility, develop goals, and establish a client-trainer agreement.

This is the second part of a two-part series that investigates the effects of dietary carbohydrate availability on exercise performance and how specifically timed restriction of carbohydrates may also paradoxically enhance exercise performance in the medium and long term.

This article explores the process and reasoning behind integrating an athletic trainer within a fire department to provide clinical care and injury prevention protocols.

This article seeks to provide some insight to optimal biomechanics in running technique and why normal gravitational techniques may not suit tactical athletes while load-bearing.

What Works: Based in Science, Grounded in Reality

What Works: Based in Science, Grounded in Reality

Injury Risk Mitigation through Integrative Medicine

Athletes have sought out intermittent fasting as a strategy to optimize performance. However, it is important to critically evaluate the research available in order to establish specific recommendations and determine if intermittent fasting is safe or effective.