Lindsey Kirschman sees her non-traditional educational background as her greatest asset, not a detriment. She still considers herself a teacher — just differently — as the Director of Sports Performance for University of Utah women’s basketball. Coming from a family of educators, Kirschman initially studied forestry and range science before pursuing strength and conditioning. Kirschman explains how her teaching experience provided a firm foundation for optimizing learning and creating a positive environment. Her approach promotes skill transfer from the weight room to sport and beyond, using exercises like sled pushes as analogies for life lessons about resilience. A former track athlete, Kirschman underscores that while the finish line is the same, every athlete’s starting point is unique. Kirschman also discusses culture building through her “GOAT Award” and the challenges of transitioning from a generalist to a specialist. She encourages aspiring professionals to reframe their mindset and fully engage with their working environment. Connect with Lindsey by email: lindsey.kirschman@utah.edu and Instagram: @authentically_strong | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Get involved with the NSCA! Don’t miss your chance to give back and fast-track your growth with volunteer roles. Many applications close December 15 — apply now at NSCA.com/Volunteer.

Dietary fat has both long-term and short-term effects on an athlete and athletic performance. “Fat loading” as a strategy to improve athletic performance remains unproven.

This excerpt explains the role that lactate plays in exercise metabolism and how that information is useful for athletes to predict things like pacing, fitness, and efficacy of training programs.

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The ketogenic diet, while controversial and a highly polarizing subject, has demonstrated promise as an alternative dietary strategy for weight management.

This excerpt from Developing Agility and Quickness explains the agility considerations for different wrestling disciplines.

The purpose of this article is to provide the strength and conditioning coach with a template on how to integrate the clean and power clean into athletic training programs.

This excerpt briefly describes key aspects of this nonessential amino acid including its effect on the body, efficacy, and adverse effects.

The aim of this article is to share with strength and conditioning coaches how red light therapy has evolved from its early beginnings to contemporary times, as well as to address the many benefits for athletes.

Using Lateralizations and Regressions for Motor Skill Acquisition