How do you find your coaching voice? Michelle Pifer, Associate Director of Strength and Conditioning at Rutgers University, shares how mentorship and professional communication helped her establish an authentic coaching identity. Reflecting on her extensive intern journey across Ivy League and Division III athletics, Pifer highlights key milestones that shaped her coaching approach. These include observing experienced coaches, applying constructive feedback, and effectively navigating challenging athlete personalities. She offers practical strategies, such as structured time-blocking and maintaining clear boundaries, to accommodate athlete accessibility, in-season travel, and work-life balance. Pifer discusses how coaches must adapt to evolving roles, like managing and interpreting athlete monitoring technology. She also addresses common coaching pitfalls, including inappropriate language during presentations, stressing that coaches can be both authentic and relatable without sacrificing professionalism. Tune in to clarify your coaching identity, enhance your professional skillset, and maximize your impact in the strength and conditioning profession. Connect with Michelle via email at mpifer@scarletknights.com, on Instagram: @coach_pifer, and on Twitter/X: @coach_mpifer | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs

An internship is a good way for the exercise science student to start getting some valuable experience in the field of strength and conditioning. The purpose of this article is to present an integrated approach to becoming an effective intern in the collegiate setting.

How Do I Prepare to Become a Strength & Conditioning Coach ...

Look at the end result and work back - not only in training your athletes, but in your career, says Mark Uyeyama, head strength and conditioning coach for the San Francisco 49ers. In this lecture from the NSCA's 2014 National Conference, Coach Uyeyama talks about his career trajectory and how he, as a coach, ultimately got to game day in professional football

Hunter Schurrer, Contracted Human Performance Specialist for Fort Lewis Washington 1st Special Forces Group talks to the NSCA Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Scott Caulfield, about Coach Schurrer’s experience working with collegiate athletes, his mentors at the beginning of his S&C career, and his transition from D1 athletics to Tactical Strength and Conditioning. Topics under discussion include coaching colligate athletes, transitioning to the tactical setting, and training special forces groups.

As the second of a three part series, this article will focus on the Practitioner Pillars of LTAD, including relevant monitoring and assessment tools, as well as systematical progressions and individualized training programs for successful long-term physical development.

Justin Roethlingshoefer, Head Strength Coach of the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League and Devan McConnell, Head of Hockey Performance at University of Massachusetts Lowell, talks to the NSCA Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Scott Caulfield, about their the idea and creation of their book, Intent, as well as their path to strength and conditioning for high performance hockey athletes. Topics under discussion include: training for hockey athletes, sports science, and Intent.

This article in NSCA Coach explores the role of agility training in college baseball. Learn more on sports performance and exercise science online at NSCA.com

The goal of this article is to understand contralateral and ipsilateral loading, how to set-up loaded carries, electromyography activity during exercises, and how to apply these exercises into the strength training program.

This article suggests how high school strength and conditioning coaches can not only prepare high school athletes for sports and fitness, but also help with the process of improving fitness and athleticism of all youth.