Gain insight into the interactions between strength, power, speed, and agility for soccer players. Also, learn basic programing guidelines that adhere to current research.

This article shows how to introduce and apply the sport season model, periodization cycles, and variables of training into the ARFORGEN process. Overtraining, including the signs and symptoms, also is covered.

Building athletes who are strong, healthy, and resilient requires more than sets and reps, starting with a shift in mindset. Christi Edson, Head of Performance for the Orlando Pride in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), shares how she integrates strength and conditioning with sport science to sustain athlete health and performance. She reflects on the field’s evolution from the well-known “Bigger, Faster, Stronger” program to a training culture emphasizing resilience, active recovery, and durability. Drawing from her experience coaching high school athletes to NWSL professionals, Edson highlights the adaptability and creativity coaches need. Those qualities help her to develop athletes who can thrive through a demanding 11-month season. She details how tools like GPS, force plates, and velocity-based training sharpen communication and reshape expectations in the gym. Her story points coaches toward the future of athlete development: collaboration, precise load management, and long-term health as the foundation of strength. Connect with Christi on Instagram: @christiedson and LinkedIn: @christiana-edson | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Read the article, “A Creative Mind in the Professional Development of a Strength and Conditioning Coach,” from NSCA Coach, 11(1), February 2024 — referenced in this episode’s return-to-play discussion. NSCA Members enjoy full publication access. 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 cross-department collaboration.

Traveling overseas to administer a strength and conditioning program can be an immensely beneficial experience for both the coach and the athlete. It can help build a strong rapport, which can ultimately build more trust and adherence to the training program.

This NSCA Coach article explores how neck training programs can reduce the severity of sport-related concussions. Visit NSCA online to read more on sports science and athletic performance.

Due to the high contact and intensity of football, injuries to the players are inevitable. Strength and conditioning coaches play a vital role in the athlete’s process of return to sport. This article is a detailed outline of the solutions that are involved with transitioning a football player from rehabilitation to strength and conditioning back to the field.

The research reviewed in this article provides a baseline snapshot of clinically-relevant tools to screen, diagnose, and provide treatment that can improve behavior surrounding sleep, as well as quantity and quality of sleep in occupational firefighters.

United States Navy Sailors have unique training and physical fitness considerations while out at sea. This article has information to help a fit boss assure their command is always fighting fit.

Olympic-style lifting, functional training, powerlifting, and bodybuilding should all be considered when designing a program to improve general health, fitness, and functional capacity.