This article features the recharge skate—an in-season hockey conditioning drill, designed by the authors, to maintain hockey-specific energy system fitness throughout the competitive season.
CoachesExercise ScienceProgram designTesting and EvaluationIce HockeyRepeat Sprint AbilityAlacticEnergy Systems Development
This article explains the quadrathlon and how it can help strength coaches measure linear speed, speed-strength (power), and elastic or reactive qualities efficiently.
CoachesTesting and EvaluationTestingQuadrathlonPowerSpeedSprintJump
Acceleration is the rate of change in velocity, so this phase of sprinting is critical for changing directions as rapidly and efficiently as possible. Optimal technique for linear sprinting in the acceleration phase involves four factors that maximize stride length and frequency.
CoachesExercise ScienceExercise Techniquespeedagilitystrength and conditioning
Approximately 2 million youth from 6 - 12 years of age participate in football every year. This article discusses the importance of long-term athletic development (LTAD) for youth football athletes and the significance of a player development pathway for long-term success and longevity in the sport.
CoachesExercise ScienceProgram designOrganization and Administrationhs-coachingLTADLong Term Athletic DevelopmentYouth Football
The “five Ss” of trainability and performance are critical periods of development that all youth strength and conditioning coaches should consider when creating a training program. Coaches should take advantage of each window to maximize a youth athlete’s potential and help ensure a long athletic career.
CoachesProgram designLTADyouth training guidelinesyouth athletic training
The aim of the get up and go drill for rugby players is to develop the ability to accelerate from a low body position, which is especially important when accelerating into a potential contact situation.
CoachesExercise ScienceExercise Techniquerugbytraining for rugbyagility drills for rugby
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.
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.
Personal trainersTSAC FacilitatorsCoachesProgram designTraining LoadPlayer LoadRPEGPS