Your career can accelerate when you ask, offer, and say yes. For Morgan Smith, that approach led to a postdoctoral fellowship with the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance at Stanford University. Smith recalls how coaching sparked her interest in the science behind performance. Working across academic and practical settings, she encountered challenges with research feasibility firsthand. Today, she focuses on blending coaching with sport science. At Stanford, she began by building relationships and trust within the athletic department. She describes collaborating with coaches and staff to identify research interests, gaps, and low-burden contributions. Smith also highlights opportunities to support club sports, campus recreation centers, and community programs. These roles can help fund education while building your resume, network, and practical skills. She reinforces the value of education as a time to maximize experience and explore interests. Discover how to gain applied experience early, drive cross-department buy-in, and cultivate relationships that move your career forward. Reach out to Morgan on Instagram: @goldenmo_ and LinkedIn: @morgan-smith-sportsscientist | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs | Learn more about the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance at: humanperformancealliance.org. Interested in bridging coaching and sport science? The Certified Performance and Sport Scientist® (CPSS®) credential can help you expand your qualifications, open new career paths, and strengthen organizational collaboration.

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.

Andy Stocks, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at Augustana University and recently named NSCA Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year, talks to the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about persevering as a young coach in a tough career field. Topics under discussion include how his weightlifting and powerlifting background help him program for student-athletes and what he envisions his future as a head coach might look like someday. Find Andy on Instagram: @stocksthestrengthcoach or @augiestrength and Twitter: @augiestrength | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

The purpose of this article is to help bring awareness of athletic recovery by useful fatigue monitoring and managing tools, such as external and internal load examples.

The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is proud to announce the recipients of the organization’s 2022 Coach of the Year Awards: Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year: Dan Dalrymple, CSCS, RSCC*E College Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year: Liane Blyn, MS, CSCS, RSCC*E Assistant College Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year: Ryan Metzger, MS, CSCS, RSCC

This excerpt from Developing Speed discusses the various start patterns that exist and how to include them in a speed development program.

This excerpt from Developing the Core briefly defines closed- and open-chain exercises and their respective roles in training.

The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is proud to announce the recipients of the organization’s 2021 Coach of the Year Awards: Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year: Paul Goodman, MS, CSCS, RSCC*E College Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year: Brian Thompson, PhD, CSCS,*D, RSCC*E Assistant College Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year: Andrew Stocks, MS, CSCS, NSCA-CPT