Your career can accelerate when you ask, offer, and say yes. For Morgan Smith, that approach led to a postdoctoral fellowship with the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance at Stanford University. Smith recalls how coaching sparked her interest in the science behind performance. Working across academic and practical settings, she encountered challenges with research feasibility firsthand. Today, she focuses on blending coaching with sport science. At Stanford, she began by building relationships and trust within the athletic department. She describes collaborating with coaches and staff to identify research interests, gaps, and low-burden contributions. Smith also highlights opportunities to support club sports, campus recreation centers, and community programs. These roles can help fund education while building your resume, network, and practical skills. She reinforces the value of education as a time to maximize experience and explore interests. Discover how to gain applied experience early, drive cross-department buy-in, and cultivate relationships that move your career forward. Reach out to Morgan on Instagram: @goldenmo_ and LinkedIn: @morgan-smith-sportsscientist | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs | Learn more about the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance at: humanperformancealliance.org. 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 organizational collaboration.

This Kinetic Select excerpt from Developing the Core describes how to perform the medicine ball twist variation as a rotational core movement.

While acute inflammation is a normal response to high-intensity training, chronic inflammation results in depressed immunity and impaired muscle response. Learn about nutritional strategies to help balance exercise-induced inflammation to optimize performance outcomes.

Exercises performed in the water that improve swimming skills and simultaneously work the core can be beneficial for swimmers. One particularly useful core exercise that is specifically designed for swimmers is a kickboard progression, such as the one described in this article.

NSCA Member Spotlight: Lee Brown shares his path into tactical strength and conditioning, firefighter research, and how NSCA engagement has elevated his career.

This excerpt from Strength Training briefly discusses glycemic index and glycemic load.

This article provides medicine ball exercise progressions to help build athleticism in youth athletes.

This PTQ article discusses how Kaizen and the seven flows of personal training can streamline operations and improve the client experience. Visit NSCA online to read more on fitness news and performance optimization.

Tactical professionals are often met with jobs that require long periods of sedentary time. This article provides practical strategies for how to minimize the negative impact of chronic sitting for the tactical professional.