Strength and conditioning coaches should strive to teach athletes in a way they can understand: by hearing, seeing, and practicing. This article describes some techniques that a coach can use to accomplish this.

This article breaks down youth training. To develop athleticism for youth, coaches should follow the C.O.R.E. principles: context in which to apply movement patterns, opportunities to develop proper movement, recognition of physical attributes required, and environments in which youth explore movement.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently recognized the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) as one of the first organizations to join the National Youth Sports Strategy (NYSS) Champion℠ program. HHS released the NYSS in September 2019 in response to Presidential Executive Order 13824, which called for a national strategy to increase youth sports participation. The NYSS is the first Federal roadmap with actionable strategies to increase participation in youth sports, increase awareness of the benefits of youth sports participation, monitor and evaluate youth sports participation, and recruit and engage volunteers in youth sports programming.

Strength and conditioning coaches with knowledge of the exercise principles for youth and the specific demands of basketball can design effective integrative neuromuscular training (INT) programs based on the individual needs of youth athletes.

Strength and conditioning professionals who incorporate a properly designed and supervised training program can help their young athletes train, compete, and reduce the likelihood of injury.

This article applies LTAD principles to guide the process of generating an athletic profile (part 1) and sample program design (part 2) for a middle school athlete and a high school athlete.

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.

This article describes an innovative approach that was used to implement a long-term athletic development (LTAD) program in a health club, and includes the steps used for implementation.

In recent years, youth strength training and models of athletic development have become hot topics thanks in part to a shift in youth sports from leisure activities to year-round commitments. In order for strength and conditioning professionals to help the athletes of tomorrow achieve their performance and fitness goals, it’s imperative to develop safe, effective, and balanced programming for the youth of today.

Strength and conditioning coaches can safely and effectively integrate strongman training into youth strength and conditioning programs by following established programming guidelines and available research recommendations.