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

The purpose of this article is to present a sample injury prevention program with a specific emphasis on lower body posterior chain development throughout competitive and non-competitive college lacrosse seasons.

The NSCA Long-Term Athletic Development (LTAD) Special Interest Group (SIG) Executive Council Members, Joe Eisenmann, Rick Howard, and Tony Moreno, sit down with the NSCA Coaching Program Manager, Eric McMahon, to discuss LTAD as a framework for the field of strength and conditioning, and the importance of establishing physical literacy in athletes. Find the Long-Term Athletic Development Special Interest Group on Facebook: NSCA Long-Term Athletic Development SIG | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

Andrea Hudy, now the Head Men’s Basketball Strength and Conditioning Coach for the University of Texas, talks to the former NSCA Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Scott Caulfield, about how she got into strength and conditioning. Topics under discussion include the collaborative efforts of the sports medicine team and doctors during her time at the University of Kansas, how she was hired, writing her book and continuing her education, and the value of hosting clinics. Find Andrea on Twitter: @A_Hudy

In this episode, Lilly Bernardi, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at Hofstra University, talks to Eric McMahon, the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, about her journey from being an athlete to becoming a coach. Bernardi shares sentiments over losing her senior lacrosse season as a college athlete during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how it has fueled her motivational approach in coaching. The episode highlights the importance of building confidence as a young professional and adopting a growth mindset for career development. Additionally, the conversation delves into social media etiquette for coaches in the age of information sharing. Connect with Lilly on Instagram: @lilly_bernardi1 or by email: lilly.a.bernardi@hofstra.edu| Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

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.

Brianna Battles believes athleticism does not end when motherhood begins. Frustrated by the lack of resources and support for pregnant and postpartum athletes, she founded Everyday Battles to bridge the gap. Now, she empowers everyone from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighters and Olympians to hobbyists to challenge their perceived fragility, navigate body and identity changes, and pursue a lifetime of athleticism. Battles notes how strength and conditioning coaches are uniquely poised to influence communities and train general populations using a top-down coaching philosophy. Conducting needs analyses, she focuses on their athletic history, predispositions, and how they manage breathing, pressure, and tension during movement. By reverse-engineering a proactive return to performance, she helps clients overcome social media glorification and fearmongering to design an athlete-mom life that serves them. Battles discusses tapping into the “athlete brain” that craves routine and buy-in. Her advice? Get curious, practice brave, and embrace entrepreneurship as another form of progressive overload. Connect with Brianna on Instagram: @brianna.battles and @pregnant.postpartum.athlete or by email at: brianna@briannabattles.com | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs This episode discusses new CASCE field experience requirements that dictate a minimum of two substantially different work experiences. Learn more about CASCE accreditation at NSCA.com/CASCE.

Duncan French, Vice President of Performance at UFC Performance Institute, and Bo Sandoval, Director of Strength and Conditioning, talk to the NSCA Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Scott Caulfield, about how they holistically support around 570 Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) athletes and push the boundaries of the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. Topics under discussion include staying open to new ideas and perspectives, being adaptable as a coach, and the different ways they support their athletes. Find Duncan on Twitter: @DuncanFrench or Instagram: @dr_duncan_french | Find Bo on Twitter: @olystrength or Instagram: @bo.sandoval | Find Scott on Instagram: @coachcaulfield

This is an excerpt from NSCA's Essentials of Sport Science by NSCA -National Strength & Conditioning Association, Duncan N. French & Lorena Torres-Ronda.