This career series article focuses on the calling of the tactical strength and conditioning facilitator. It touches on the drive, commitment, and dedication necessary to work with tactical populations.

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

This excerpt from the Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning outlines what training typically looks like in the preparatory period, or off-season.

The purpose of this article is to provide some actionable topics for communication that can increase the frequency and effectiveness of communication for strength coaches with their sport coaches.

This short excerpt from Developing the Core details the importance of training the core musculature in tennis athletes.

The purpose of this article is to share the importance of the menstrual cycle’s effects on elite athlete performance, and how these effects should influence the training and recovery of high-performing athletic women.

This Kinetic Select from Developing the Core reviews the effects of muscle activity when performing exercises on unstable surfaces.

This column from the TSAC Report explores the impact of physical fitness and cardiovascular disease risk factors among firefighters and law enforcement officers. Visit NSCA online to learn more about tactical fitness.

This article provides considerations for preparing firefighters for the physical and psychological demands of their job, including pre-operational work specific training during their rest times.