Drew Hammond, Army Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) Program Director at Fort Bragg, talks to the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about differences between tactical and collegiate strength and conditioning. Topics include the Army H2F Program, tactical athlete programming, and how to pursue military strength and conditioning positions. Find Drew on LinkedIn: Drew Hammond | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

This second article of a two-part series continues the discussion of long-term athletic development (LTAD). This article provides practical application of the LTAD principles by examining two sample programs.

This Personal Training Quarterly article reviews the farmer’s walk exercise and how to incorporate it safely into a client’s exercise program. Visit NSCA online to read more on fitness news and exercise research.

From the NSCA 2020 Texas Virtual State Clinic, Erik Korem, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Student-Athlete High Performance at the College of William & Mary, discusses these unprecedented times and safe ways to reintroduce athletes back to full competition.

The path to the top is not always linear. For Jill Costanza, it included returning to school and stops in collegiate and military performance before becoming Director of Sport Science and Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach with the National Football League (NFL) Detroit Lions. Costanza describes today’s sport science landscape as a “Wild West,” where definitions differ by perspective. Her focus centers on assessing the athlete and program effectiveness against the demands of the game to identify holistic interventions. She outlines how intentional systems, a clear communication funnel, and data visualizations help athletes and stakeholders understand the “why,” build buy-in, and tap into competitiveness. Addressing common misconceptions, Costanza clarifies that elite athletes can still have foundational qualities that need rewiring. She emphasizes movement quality, proprioception, and breathing while adapting for individual needs and neurological fatigue. Learn how to build sport science systems, turn insights into action, and keep progressing on your professional path. Reach out to Jill by email at: jill.costanza@lions.nfl.net | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Join the NSCA Football Special Interest Group (SIG) and explore 24 other specialized communities designed to support your development on the Special Interest Groups page.

From the 2021 NSCA’s Coaches Conference, Assistant Athletic Director for Loyola Marymount University and Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Los Angeles Sparks Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) team, Kelly Dormandy, discusses how wearable sports technology can help coaches make more informed decisions for programming and training.

The purpose of this article is to provide some actionable topics for communication that can increase the frequency and effectiveness of communication for strength coaches with their sport coaches.

Guy Leahy writes a review of the research relating to the tactical population from presentations and research from the 65th Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

Courteney Benjamin discusses the importance and warning signs a strength and conditioning coach should know to help prevent sudden death in their athletes.

The first in a planned article series to review essential considerations of each Functional Movement Screen (FMS™) pattern, this article will examine the FMS active straight leg raise (ASLR).