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

The football quarterback (QB) is a unique position in sport. To throw or pass the ball, the QB needs to incorporate nearly every muscle in the body in a very precise sequence to optimally release the ball with the right amount of power, spin, and precision. Specific movement patterns are suggested to optimize the performance of a QB.

The aim of this article is to provide those working with tactical populations an introduction into tracking training load to mitigate injury risk while concurrently optimizing fitness.

Between the physiological, cognitive, and tactical skill demands, this article explains why fighter pilots should be considered tactical athletes and have access to resources like a professional sport athlete.

Former Lead Strength and Conditioning Coach for Edinburgh Rugby, Ashley Jones, discusses ways to simplify a complex world of programming. Jones lays a foundation of how to construct training programs that relate to the current training environment and how to develop a taxonomy of exercise variations and training methods to assist coaches with the “why,” “when,” and “how” of programming.

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the leading mindset, behavioral, and psychological factors controlling food intake, as well as, educate professionals on how to assist with developing healthier nutrition practices.

Jeff Connors, who retired after a staggering 31-year collegiate coaching career, talks to the former NSCA Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Scott Caulfield, about being a servant to athletes and contributing to their lives. Topics under discussion include “surviving” head coaching changes, learning from others in the field, and using his coaching experiences to write books.

The purpose of this article is to provide fitness professionals with best practices on creating a program that uses red light therapy to aid in weight loss and weight management.

This PTQ article reviews the research comparing injury rates across major resistance training styles and ranks them from the safest to the riskiest and provides practical recommendations to improve training safety. Visit NSCA online to learn more about bodybuilding and strength training strategies.

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.