How do you build a sustainable high-performance culture despite yearly assistant coach rotations and demanding schedules? Alice Read, Assistant Athletic Director for Sport Performance at Vassar College, shares expertise from managing 29 teams and 600 student-athletes while continuously "riding the rollercoaster" of Division III scheduling. Read explores strategies for maintaining program continuity, including matching assistant coaches to sports based on strengths and growth areas. She emphasizes advocating for daily staff lifts to test and refine programs firsthand. In a full-circle moment, Read, once an NSCA Foundation Assistantship Recipient, now serves on the committee awarding these opportunities, demonstrating the value of early professional involvement. She also discusses collaborative problem solving within the Liberty League Strength and Conditioning Committee and explains how the College Coaches Professional Development Group (PDG) provided boots-on-the-ground guidance for the 2024 NSCA Strategic Plan. Tune in for actionable insights on mentorship, collaboration, and longevity in collegiate strength and conditioning.
Connect with Alice via email at aread@vassar.edu and on Instagram: @ajpr3 and @vassar_strong | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs
The purpose of this article is to explore trauma-related mental health issues and help human performance professionals more effectively train tactical athletes.
TSAC FacilitatorsExercise ScienceProgram designBasic Pathophysiology and Science of Health Status or Condition, Disorder, or Disease
This article from the TSAC Report shares dietary guidance, customized exercise programs, and strategies for integrating whole health for veterans. Visit NSCA online to learn more about exercise science.
TSAC FacilitatorsExercise ScienceNutritionProgram designOrganization and AdministrationTesting and EvaluationClient Consultation|AssessmentBasic Pathophysiology and Science of Health Status or Condition, Disorder, or DiseaseProfessional Development
The tactical strength and conditioning field is evolving each year. Because of the experience of those in the field, as well as the growing body of research, we are gaining a better understanding of what it actually means to work within the tactical field.
TSAC FacilitatorsOrganization and AdministrationProfessional Development
This PTQ article focuses on the use of the back squat along with innovative technology to measure velocity during lower body lifts. Visit NSCA online to read more on personal training news and athletic performance.
Personal trainersExercise ScienceExercise TechniqueProgram designOrganization and AdministrationProfessional Development
Athletes in field and court sports require reactive agility—they must accelerate, decelerate, and change direction in a constantly changing environment. These requirements result in technical differences between sprinting in a field or court sport and sprinting the 100-m.
Learn from a coach who took his career from working with Winter Olympic and professional sport athletes to success in the private sector. In this episode, Bret Kelly of Exos and formerly United States Ski and Snowboard, shares about his journey and the need for coaches to remain versatile in growing their professional skills in the field. Tune in as Kelly connects with Eric McMahon, the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, on seeking out opportunities to work in niche Olympic sports, the growing uses of performance technology, and the value of building a strong support staff.
Find Bret on Instagram: @bk_strengthcoach and on Twitter: @bret_kelly_ | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs
This article provides a proposed holistic solution to increase functional, quality movement among Marines, thereby increasing physical performance, reducing injuries, and developing more effective warfighters.
Hayley Legg, the NSCA Provincial Director for Saskatoon and senior lecturer at St. Mary’s University in London, presents on training the older adult. This includes considerations during the aging process, training implications across the spectrum, and the role of the strength and conditioning practitioner.
Personal trainersCoachesExercise ScienceProgram designClient Consultation|AssessmentBasic Pathophysiology and Science of Health Status or Condition, Disorder, or Disease
Bo Sandoval, Director of Strength and Conditioning for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Performance Institute, shares his journey into strength and conditioning, future developments in the UFC program, and training principles around fighters.