After going to a conference, networking, and returning to your normal schedule and location with all the new ideas, tips, and tricks, what happens then? The purpose of this article is to show how using questions and reflecting can help turn professional development activities into actionable improvements in your coaching practice.

Tactical facilitators are especially well-positioned to integrate mental skills training that may develop more complete tactical athletes who are prepared for dangerous environments. This article offers recommendations for mental skills training based on reported views from a tactical population.

This article explores what a facility-level culture may look like, identifies some of the expected benefits of purposely developing that culture, and discusses some misalignment between what coaches say they want the culture to feel like and the message the athletes are likely to receive.

This article seeks to provide insight on a training method based around prescribing small amounts of training to achieve a large amount of physical improvements.

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.

In this session from the 2015 NSCA National Conference, Greg Myer discusses current concussion prevention strategies as well as possible innovative strategies of the future. By learning how nature may provide a key piece of information to reduce concussion injuries, the strength and conditioning professional may be able to help prevent sports related concussions.

This article contains a non-exhaustive list of items that should be included in a strength and conditioning department policies and procedures manual.

A sound year-round aerobic endurance training program should be divided into sport seasons with specific goals and objectives designed to improve performance gradually and progressively.

The purpose of this article is to help bring awareness of athletic recovery by useful fatigue monitoring and managing tools, such as external and internal load examples.

From the 2020 NSCA Coaches Conference, Ashley Jones, Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Houston SaberCats Major League Rugby team, presents a high-energy hands-on presentation highlighting fun warm-up games coaches can implement with their athletes.