This TSAC Report article examines the primary risk factors contributing to shoulder pain in tactical athletes and provides evidence-based rehabilitation strategies. Visit NSCA online to learn more about exercise research for tactical athletes.

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.

This article provides considerations for preparing firefighters for the physical and psychological demands of their job, including pre-operational work specific training during their rest times.

Bo Sandoval, Director of Strength and Conditioning for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Performance Institute, shares his journey into strength and conditioning, future developments in the UFC program, and training principles around fighters.

The purpose of this article is to review various gravitational running (GR) techniques from an evidence-based approach, then recommend whether to include GR techniques in the training of tactical athletes.

This article discusses current tactical and youth training literature into a 16-week JROTC strength and conditioning model for high school students. Visit NSCA online to learn more about athletic performance.

The purpose of this article is to present the reader with the prescription of a daily specific stretching routine that can help athletes avoid the onset of injuries and chronic pain in muscle-tendon structures of the lower extremities.

Exercise Technique: High Bar Back Squat

Mick Stierli, a Sargent with the New South Wales Police Force and the creator of both the Physical Training Instructors program and the New South Wales Police RECON program in Australia, discusses his holistic approach to providing care and training to police officers over the course of their career from hire to retire at the 2018 NSCA Tactical Annual Training.

During 2018 TSAC Annual Training, the NSCA’s own Tactical Strength and Conditioning Program Manager, Nate Palin, discusses his personal and professional take on running in the military setting. Here Palin identifies the pros, risks, and shortcomings associated with run-centric physical training for special operations forces, as well as discusses more safe and efficient strength and conditioning alternatives to running-based fitness programs for these tactical operators.