Expectations for strength and conditioning coaches now extend far beyond the weight room. Athletes and sport coaches demand better data, deeper insight, and stronger performance. Faith Brown, Associate Director of Strength and Conditioning at George Mason University, supports women’s basketball and volleyball while collaborating with the Patriot Performance Lab. Brown describes balancing teams, testing, and athlete monitoring as a “circus act.” At the heart of her coaching is one goal: be the coach she wishes she had as a college track athlete. She demonstrates ways strength and conditioning coaches can contribute as scientists, creating impact and value outside the weight room walls. Brown shares how GPS, heart rate monitoring, and force plates support workload monitoring. However, she believes that technology should only be used when it answers a real question. Learn how to turn data into better training decisions, translate sport science so sport coaches buy in, and reach out to other coaches to refine your program. Connect with Faith on Instagram: @faithsabrown, LinkedIn: @faith-brown, or by email: fbrown20@gmu.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs From the Episode: Explore NSCA’s Essentials of Sport Science, a foundational text defining the field and the role of sport scientists in high-performance environments. It also supports preparation for the Certified Performance and Sport Scientist® (CPSS®) certification exam.

This article is part of a continuing series of tactical strength and conditioning (TSAC) research reviews. It is designed to bring awareness to new research findings of relevance to tactical strength and conditioning.

This article is part of a continuing series of tactical strength and conditioning (TSAC) research reviews. It is designed to bring awareness to new research findings of relevance to tactical strength and conditioning communities.

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.

This article is part of a continuing series of tactical strength and conditioning (TSAC) research reviews. It is designed to bring awareness to new research findings of relevance to tactical strength and conditioning communities.

This article is part of a new, continuing series on practical, evidence-based approaches to reducing the risk of injury while developing tactical strength and conditioning.

This article explains the importance of educating and supplying firefighters with the right tools for hydration and optimal body composition to safely and effectively execute their job tasks.

This article will explore the concept of “pink taxing,” whereby females must expend more metabolic energy compared to their male counterparts to achieve the same scores in standard military fitness tests.

The purpose of this article is to discuss caffeine use in tactical populations and provide recommendations for responsible consumption.

An evidence-based movement assessment could hold Marines accountable for mobility and stability by systematically assessing movement patterns. This article (part three of a four-part series) explains one way that this could be accomplished.