Expectations for strength and conditioning coaches now extend far beyond the weight room. Athletes and sport coaches demand better data, deeper insight, and stronger performance. Faith Brown, Associate Director of Strength and Conditioning at George Mason University, supports women’s basketball and volleyball while collaborating with the Patriot Performance Lab. Brown describes balancing teams, testing, and athlete monitoring as a “circus act.” At the heart of her coaching is one goal: be the coach she wishes she had as a college track athlete. She demonstrates ways strength and conditioning coaches can contribute as scientists, creating impact and value outside the weight room walls. Brown shares how GPS, heart rate monitoring, and force plates support workload monitoring. However, she believes that technology should only be used when it answers a real question. Learn how to turn data into better training decisions, translate sport science so sport coaches buy in, and reach out to other coaches to refine your program. Connect with Faith on Instagram: @faithsabrown, LinkedIn: @faith-brown, or by email: fbrown20@gmu.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs From the Episode: Explore NSCA’s Essentials of Sport Science, a foundational text defining the field and the role of sport scientists in high-performance environments. It also supports preparation for the Certified Performance and Sport Scientist® (CPSS®) certification exam.

This short excerpt from Developing the Core details the importance of training the core musculature in tennis athletes.

In this session from the NSCA’s 2016 Personal Trainers Conference, Vance Ferrigno teaches how the body moves in spherical three dimensional space and how to apply fun and innovative speed, agility, and quickness drills to enhance total movement quality.

Considerations for Speed, Agility and Movement in Ice Hockey

Tammy Kovaluk, CSCS, introduces the "pac-man drill" (also known as the "Ickey shuffle") which can be used for speed, agility, and quickness sessions.

This article in NSCA Coach explores the role of agility training in college baseball. Learn more on sports performance and exercise science online at NSCA.com

Loren Landow, owner of Landow Performance in Denver, CO, demonstrates errors and coaching tips for the pro agility drill.

University of Florida’s Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for baseball and softball, Paul Chandler, speaks about warm-up and mobility patterns used for his athletes.

This excerpt briefly explains programming agility sessions for lacrosse athletes.

This excerpt from Developing Agility and Quickness highlights the high-intensity, reactive agility hockey players require, and provides two agility drills that challenge that skill.