Building athletes who are strong, healthy, and resilient requires more than sets and reps, starting with a shift in mindset. Christi Edson, Head of Performance for the Orlando Pride in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), shares how she integrates strength and conditioning with sport science to sustain athlete health and performance. She reflects on the field’s evolution from the well-known “Bigger, Faster, Stronger” program to a training culture emphasizing resilience, active recovery, and durability. Drawing from her experience coaching high school athletes to NWSL professionals, Edson highlights the adaptability and creativity coaches need. Those qualities help her to develop athletes who can thrive through a demanding 11-month season. She details how tools like GPS, force plates, and velocity-based training sharpen communication and reshape expectations in the gym. Her story points coaches toward the future of athlete development: collaboration, precise load management, and long-term health as the foundation of strength. Connect with Christi on Instagram: @christiedson and LinkedIn: @christiana-edson | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Read the article, “A Creative Mind in the Professional Development of a Strength and Conditioning Coach,” from NSCA Coach, 11(1), February 2024 — referenced in this episode’s return-to-play discussion. NSCA Members enjoy full publication access. Interested in bridging coaching and sport science? The Certified Performance and Sport Scientist (CPSS) credential can help you expand your qualifications, open new career paths, and strengthen cross-department collaboration.

The purpose of this article is to address the key elements when designing a training program for firefighters, provide evidence for utilizing circuit training, and suggest recommendations on how to incorporate circuit training into the training program.

This article examines how training the core and performance are connected. This article seeks to help propose how to best use the literature to maximize understanding and use of the current concepts.

What's behind enduring success at the highest level of college athletics? Kate Smith, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at the University of Michigan, shares insights from nearly 14 years of experience coaching multiple sports in a competitive collegiate environment. Smith emphasizes sustained excellence through adaptability, genuine curiosity, and openness to opportunities — even outside of athletics. Drawing on her private-sector experiences, she explains how diverse roles helped shape her flexible, athlete-centered philosophy. Smith candidly addresses current collegiate challenges, including navigating Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) distractions and adjusting motivational strategies across team cultures and generations. As a Certified Performance and Sport Scientist® (CPSS®), Smith highlights how integrating data-driven insights helps her create a more effective training environment. This expertise uniquely positions her to bridge athletics with academics, deepening collaboration on campus-wide performance initiatives. Learn how to implement practical strategies for keeping athletes engaged amidst external pressures, leverage performance data meaningfully, and continually refresh your coaching approach. Connect with Kate via email at kannehay@umich.edu and on Instagram: @katehaycock | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs

Approximately 2 million youth from 6 - 12 years of age participate in football every year. This article discusses the importance of long-term athletic development (LTAD) for youth football athletes and the significance of a player development pathway for long-term success and longevity in the sport.

This article aims to share practical application strategies that strength and conditioning coaches can use in fostering a positive change in their athlete’s performance by understanding intrinsic and extrinsic performance motivation and how to adopt an autonomy-supportive coaching style.

The purpose of this article is to provide education surrounding the importance of recovery in tactical populations, identify key aspects of the mental recovery process, and identify strategies Tactical Strength and Conditioning Facilitators® (TSAC-F®) can implement to promote mental recovery when working with athletes.

The path to actual integration of mental and physical training for the tactical athlete is paved with growing empiricism. The current challenge is to sustain creative development of functional approaches and demonstrate that integration can deliver potential benefits.

Sheri Walters’ journey to Director of Sports Medicine at Texas A&M University reflects a career defined by innovation, collaboration, and comprehensive integration. Walters discusses the "arms race" in collegiate athletics and how Texas A&M shatters silos through unit alignment and being intentionally present. Drawing from her EXOS experience, she highlights the impact of integrating sports medicine with strength and conditioning. Walters employs research-based cross-body training to maintain strength, prioritizing long-term rehabilitation over limb symmetry index testing. She explains how her Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist® (CSCS®) and Certified Performance and Sport Scientist® (CPSS®) credentials enable her to elevate rehabilitation and speak the language of sport performance professionals. Walters underscores the importance of getting student-athletes back to team strength and conditioning as soon as tissues can tolerate it to promote physiological and psychological healing. She also shares how strength and conditioning coaches can optimize return to performance and reduce reinjury risk. Email Sheri at swalters@athletics.tamu.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Catch Sheri’s session on bridging the gap in the collegiate setting LIVE at the 2025 NSCA Coaches Conference! Register to watch online at NSCA.com/Coaches. Fascinated by the intersection between strength and conditioning and sports medicine? Join other professionals in the Sports Medicine/Rehabilitation Specialist Interest Group (SIG) to discover more resources and engage in discussion.

Sam Moore’s path into sport science is defined by taking risks and chasing meaningful questions. After a devastating knee injury as a collegiate athlete, Moore not only returned to compete, but she also discovered her calling in strength and conditioning. She recounts her coaching, sport science, and hybrid roles prior to leaving a full-time position to pursue her PhD at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Moore describes sport science as problem-solving and drawing evidence across disciplines to drive innovation. She discusses her research on female athlete availability in elite settings, including nuances like body composition, recovery, and high speed exposure in training. Moore advises young professionals to remain open-minded, pitch their ideal position if it does not exist, and go “all in”— knowing one decision does not define forever. Whether you are a coach or researcher, this episode delivers real-world insights on navigating your career with courage and curiosity. Connect with Sam on Instagram: @sammoorestrong and Twitter/X: @SamMooreStrong | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs