Sheri Walters’ journey to Director of Sports Medicine at Texas A&M University reflects a career defined by innovation, collaboration, and comprehensive integration. Walters discusses the "arms race" in collegiate athletics and how Texas A&M shatters silos through unit alignment and being intentionally present. Drawing from her EXOS experience, she highlights the impact of integrating sports medicine with strength and conditioning. Walters employs research-based cross-body training to maintain strength, prioritizing long-term rehabilitation over limb symmetry index testing. She explains how her Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist® (CSCS®) and Certified Performance and Sport Scientist® (CPSS®) credentials enable her to elevate rehabilitation and speak the language of sport performance professionals. Walters underscores the importance of getting student-athletes back to team strength and conditioning as soon as tissues can tolerate it to promote physiological and psychological healing. She also shares how strength and conditioning coaches can optimize return to performance and reduce reinjury risk.
Email Sheri at swalters@athletics.tamu.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs
Catch Sheri’s session on bridging the gap in the collegiate setting LIVE at the 2025 NSCA Coaches Conference! Register to watch online at NSCA.com/Coaches.
Fascinated by the intersection between strength and conditioning and sports medicine? Join other professionals in the Sports Medicine/Rehabilitation Specialist Interest Group (SIG) to discover more resources and engage in discussion.
The goal of this brief review is to describe what classifies as high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and summarize the potential benefits for various populations: athletic, general, and clinical.
In this NSCA 2017 Personal Trainers Conference video, Shawn Arent talks about the psychology of supplementation as well as the effects attitude, perception, and behavior has on the actual benefits of supplements.
Personal trainersCoachesNutritionExercise Technique
No two days are the same for Will Gilmore as part of a team that oversees over 800 athletes across 200 sports at the Red Bull Athlete Performance Center. From surfers to skydivers, the facility provides an elite high-performance ecosystem for traditionally individual sport athletes. Gilmore highlights the need for remote programming and monitoring to support a constantly shifting roster. Together as a team, they navigate uncharted territory in action sports conditioning, guided by physiological demands and underlying energy systems. Gilmore and NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager Eric McMahon discuss the shift in sport science from ample to actionable data to find, change, and measure what matters most. Gilmore reflects on his “career periodization” and having free time for friends and family while working corporate hours — a stark contrast with his background in Major League Baseball (MLB). The pair also emphasize proactive networking and education for future career opportunities.
Connect with Will on Instagram: @will_gilmore_ or LinkedIn: @will-gilmore | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs
Want to get involved with the NSCA? Find peers who share your passion for a specific sport or topic in Special Interest Groups (SIGs), or apply now for Volunteer Leadership Opportunities!
Learn about the framework for practical, functional, and sequential skill development for a “best practices” model. This model is designed to develop a movement vocabulary, physical literacy, and movement skills for improved athleticism.
This article discusses flexible programming strategies for wildland fire suppression aids (FSAs). It also includes a detailed index of exercises that could be utilized for this specific population.
It is important for strength and conditioning coaches, sport coaches, athletic trainers, and administrators to recognize and address the evidence of stress within student-athletes in order to avoid chronic stress-related anxiety and injury.
July 23, 2024by Susannah Reiner, PhD, CSCS, NSCA-CPT, Jennifer Tinsley Kubala, MS, LAT, ATC, Jacob Jelmini, PhD, LAT, ATC, CSCS, Alyssa Eastman, MS, Nicholas Heebner, PhD, ATC, Phillip Gribble, PhD, ATC, FNATA, and Mark Abel, PhD, CSCS,*D, TSAC-F
This article explores the process and reasoning behind integrating an athletic trainer within a fire department to provide clinical care and injury prevention protocols.
TSAC FacilitatorsExercise ScienceBasic Pathophysiology and Science of Health Status or Condition, Disorder, or DiseaseProfessional Development