Youth practitioners need to be aware of the competing demands on young athletes’ lives in order to help them effectively balance these demands. Wellness provides a reference point that can be used to better understand the competing demands placed on youngsters by identifying the six dimensions of wellness.

Have you ever considered getting a K-12 teaching license, with your CSCS, to gain employment as a high school strength and conditioning coach? Coach Justin Loudon serves as the Chair of the NSCA High School Coaches Professional Development Group (PDG). He shares PDG updates with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, including highlights from the 2024 NSCA Coaches Conference and direction for the future of high school coaching. Learn about the impact of school-based strength and conditioning beyond the weight room, and important benefits for students over their lifetime. Connect with Justin on Instagram at: @coach_loudon or by email: loudonsc@gmail.com| Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or X (Twitter): @ericmcmahoncscs | Here is a link to engage with NSCA Professional Development Groups. As mentioned in the episode, check out the book: NSCA's Guide to High School Strength and Conditioning

Megan Evans, Assistant Director of Strength and Conditioning for Olympic Sports at Virginia Tech, talks to the NSCA Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Scott Caulfield, about the journey from student-athlete to assistant director.

Biofeedback is a tool that not everyone knows about, yet many coaches and athletes could benefit from using it. This article will describe the psychophysiological principle, introduce biofeedback, and provide descriptions of two biofeedback modalities that may be useful for strength and conditioning professionals to improve performance.

Competence, autonomy, and relatedness are three keys to promoting a more intrinsically motivated athlete. These components can be combined in nearly limitless ways, which is especially important for the long basketball season.

Hear from strength and conditioning coach, Tim Caron, on his path from collegiate strength and conditioning into a unique private sector business model in the Los Angeles, CA area. Caron connects with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, to discuss the potential role of sport science in the private sector with general population clients. This episode is full of training insights for coaches to re-engage their thought process around working with groups and teams. In addition, Caron shares the origins of his new book, Strength Deficit, on considerations for concentric and eccentric strength training. You can reach Tim on Instagram at @coachtimcaron or Twitter at @coachtimcaron | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

NATCON 2022

Not all diets are appropriate for every population and this is especially true of an athlete who is expected to train and perform at a high level. Learn about the negatives of fad diets, potential pitfalls, and realistic dietary guidelines for athletes.

In this session from the 2015 NSCA National Conference, Nelson Ayotte—the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the St. Louis Blues National Hockey League (NHL) team—explains how to design and implement a specific energy systems program at the elite level. Ayotte demonstrates the characteristics of each of the three energy systems and their trainability, and explores how to understand the energy demands of a sport by analysis of its characteristics, competition intensity, and duration of efforts and recovery periods.