Strength and conditioning coaches who systematically progress specific training variables, including games, can help youth improve performance and reduce the risk of injury.
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.
This TSAC Report article highlights resilience and recovery with the performance-enhancing benefits of astaxanthin. Visit NSCA online to learn more about nutrition, resistance training, and tactical athletes
TSAC FacilitatorsExercise ScienceNutritionProgram designOrganization and AdministrationTesting and EvaluationBasic Pathophysiology and Science of Health Status or Condition, Disorder, or DiseaseProfessional Development
This article is the sixth in a continuing series of tactical strength and conditioning (TSAC) research reviews. It is designed to bring awareness to new research findings of relevance to tactical strength and conditioning communities.
Musculoskeletal injuries are the primary source of disability in the United States military. With the integration of movement screens and the implementation of tactical strength and conditioning facilitators there can be success in reducing the amount of musculoskeletal injuries in the tactical populations.
TSAC FacilitatorsExercise ScienceProgram designOrganization and AdministrationTesting and Evaluation
This article discusses the findings of a recent study on the effectiveness of a time-efficient occupationally-specific training program to improve performance in qualities related to physically demanding tactical tasks in law enforcement officers.
In the final part of this four-part series on proper movement, the author recommends that the US Marine Corps screen the movement quality of each Marine and educate them on how to move correctly in order to reduce the risk of injury.
Stephanie Mock, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Performance at the University of Pittsburgh, talks to the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about growing a comprehensive sports performance program. Topics under discussion include tips for interviews, graduate assistantships, staff development, and the ongoing collaboration with academics to advance sport science initiatives at University of Pittsburgh.
Find Stephanie on Instagram: @_mockstephanie_ or @pitt_sportsperformance | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs
This article serves to educate people about the menstrual cycle in the tactical female population. It provides a framework for how to work through the phases of menstruation to increase training response, and thus, overall success in military training.
TSAC FacilitatorsExercise ScienceProgram designBasic Pathophysiology and Science of Health Status or Condition, Disorder, or Disease