In this career series article, Coach McHenry provides a path for education, certification, knowledge, and networking essential to excelling as a successful high school strength and conditioning coach

Patrick McHenry, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Castle View High School in Castle Rock, CO, and member of the NSCA Board of Directors, talks to the NSCA Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Scott Caulfield, about high school strength and conditioning and his growth in the NSCA from a volunteer to an NSCA Board mMember. Connect with Patrick on Twitter: @strengthcentral and Instagram: @ptmchenry | Find Scott on Instagram: @coachcaulfield and Twitter: @scottcaulfield

Optimize readiness & resilience at the 2026 NSCA Tactical Annual Training in San Antonio, TX. Apply tactical performance research hands-on, connect, & earn 2.0 CEUs.

Apply to become an NSCA School of Distinction and gain national recognition for your K-12 strength and conditioning program. Learn how to qualify and elevate your school’s fitness standards.

Welcome to the NSCA Global program where there are over 10,000 certified professionals found in over 50 countries. The NSCA is committed to empower international partners to advance world understanding of the NSCA’s mission. The NSCA Global community is motivated by educating first.

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.

There can be no doubt that protein is important and this article reviews the current research to help further understand the recommendations for protein intake.

Acceleration and maximum speed are terms used in speed development programs, and when developing a program, it is vital to differentiate between the two. This allows coaches to target their training to the capacity most important in their own sport.

This article contains a sample progression to use with high call volume fire departments to help maintain mobility while building job-specific strength and avoiding a hyper-fatigued state.

Scenarios that provide a stimulus relevant to the sporting environment may help athletes develop better anticipation skills through the refinement of search strategies, response speed and accuracy, pattern recognition, and decision-making abilities.