Richard Howell, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Indianapolis Colts National Football League (NFL) team, talks to the NSCA Coaching Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about his impressive 21 years with the organization. Topics under discussion include going from pre-medical to strength coach, building relationships with athletes and staff members, and how technology provides hard numbers for sport coaches to understand stress management. Connect with Richard through email: Richard.howell@colts.nfl.net | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

The variables of an NBA season constantly change, which requires strength and conditioning coaches to adjust accordingly. The success of a program is often influenced by the coach’s ability to combine strength and conditioning principles with common sense and the ability to adjust to the schedule.

This article seeks to help coaches understand the demands of Brazilian jiu jitsu on athletes, as well as appropriate training strategies to improve performance potential.

This article provides methods used by tactical facilitators, related research articles, and professional interviews to demonstrate how physical conditioning facilitates the transition from practice to duty for service members, including law enforcement and fire and rescue personnel.

This article will detail example resistance training and aerobic conditioning sessions that could be used by a female recruit in the lead-up to their academy program.

This article details an example assessment battery that could be used to measure the relative health and fitness of community service officers (CSO) within the context of similar populations.

In recent years, performance and prevention strategies have grown to include monitoring training load (TL) to understand fatigue and the potential effects of fatigue on training adaptation and performance.

This article is a personal perspective of creating and providing a fitness assessment and resistance training program from scratch to a large law enforcement organization.

Mentorship isn’t flawless — and that’s where its power lies. Erik Hernandez, Associate Director for Sports Performance – Olympic Sports at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, has built his career on turning imperfect scenarios into lasting lessons for athletes and young coaches alike. For over 14 years at UNC, he has guided lacrosse, volleyball, and golf, adapting his voice to each culture while holding firm to shared standards of accountability and growth. Hernandez streamlines training into a three-phase model — explosive, strength, and remedial — yet emphasizes that delivery and communication matter more than complexity. He reminds athletes, “modifications are part of progress,” linking health, recovery, and seasonal demands to long-term development. For interns and early-career coaches, his advice is clear: earn mentors by serving others, and learn from every scenario, even the imperfect ones. Hear how mentorship, adaptability, and athlete health point the way forward for stronger teams and longer careers. Reach out to Coach Hernandez on Instagram: @hernandezstrength or by email: ehhernan@email.unc.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Answer Bryan Mann’s “call to arms!” Many volunteer applications are open now through December 15. Step up and give back to your strength and conditioning community at NSCA.com/Volunteer.

This article in NSCA Coach shares exercise science comparisons between photobiomodulation therapy and cryotherapy. Visit us online to learn more on muscle recovery and red light therapy.