This excerpt from NSCA’s Essentials of Sport Science highlights the importance of quantifying training load for both programming and monitoring an athlete’s progression or regression over time.

One challenge is to critically examine your own successes and failures to find a way to attribute the outcomes to something you can control and can change for the future. This could be as small as how you deal with a single person, or it could be a more in-depth examination of how you provide feedback to athletes and how you work with your own staff.

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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.

Learn about expanding developmental pathways and career opportunities within Major League Soccer (MLS) in this episode of the NSCA Coaching Podcast. The Charlotte FC Head of Performance, Adam Parr, shares his experience with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, including the key relationships between strength and conditioning coaches, sport scientists, and international influences on the growth of soccer within North America. As athletes today become more accustomed to data feedback on their performance, Parr explains the process of effectively embedding technology in the team setting. Listen in to learn more about how you can break into a growing area of the field in professional soccer. You can connect with Adam on Instagram: @aparrfitness or LinkedIn: @adamcparr| Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

Racquetball consists of various movements and has different training styles and techniques that target particular skills that can affect an aging player’s performance. The drills in this article are designed to strengthen and coordinate the lower extremity muscle groups for the aging racquetball player.

Research on the benefits of using goals to increase athletic performance has shown that performance generally increases for athletes that use goals consistently. Learn how to move beyond generalities and see how a systematic goal setting approach can be paired with training athletes.

Strength coaches play a pivotal role in the performance of athletes. In this session from the 2016 NSCA Coaches Conference, Korrey Hammond explains the importance of diversity and inclusion for athletes at any level, as they are factors that should not be overlooked.

Passion, while imperative to training, must be paired with energy, enthusiasm, intention, and knowledge to truly make a difference and create your “sonic boom.” Being an effective strength and conditioning coach is a lifestyle, not a job, and with continued passion, you can affect many lives positively.

This article provides some practical applications to minimize the negative effects associated with a long intensive ice hockey season on ice hockey athletes.