This article describes the long-term athletic development programming pillars and suggests practical applications for strength and conditioning practitioners.
Ground-based free weight lifts, especially the explosive Olympic-style lifts, are highly recommended for athletic conditioning for the core muscles. They can provide a moderately unstable stimulus to augment activation of the core and limb muscles, while still providing maximal or near maximal strength, velocity, and power output.
Integrating weight room cues that are more consistent with those used to reinforce safer tackling techniques on the field may help with athlete retention and buy-in, and prevent potential confusion.
CoachesExercise TechniqueProgram designSafetycoaching cuessafe tacklingfootballstrength and conditioningweight training
This article will focus on three common areas of injuries that occur with ice hockey players and some recommended strategies for the strength and conditioning professional.
CoachesExercise ScienceProgram designTesting and EvaluationIce HockeyAcromioclavicular JointAdductor StrainMobilityMedial Collateral Ligament
Two factors that determine running speed are stride cadence and stride length. Because athletes propel themselves forward only when their foot is in contact with the ground, the stance phase of the running stride should be the focus of speed enhancement programs.
CoachesExercise ScienceMechanics of runninghow to run fasterspeed trainingrunning mechanics
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.
CoachesProgram designLTADYouth AthleteYouth Training GuidelinesAthletic Developmenths-coaching
In the second of this two part series, this article will discuss program design with an emphasis on integrating lower limb plyometric training into soccer training to enhance power actions, as well as, consider high school athletes’ biological characteristics and long-term athletic development (LTAD).
The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Advocates to Raise the Certification Standards with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
What training approaches are efficient and effective at developing functionality and resiliency at the core? The answer lies within an intelligent, systemic, multi-method approach to training the core, including an eclectic set of training tools to individualize specific needs of athletes.
CoachesExercise TechniqueProgram designstrength and conditioningCore training