Ali Kershner, Director of Creative Strategy for Art of Coaching, talks to the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about overcoming adversity on the road to win the 2021 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Women’s Basketball Championship at Stanford University. Topics under discussion include the inequalities found at the NCAA tournament, being true to yourself as a coach, and working outside of the weight room to help strengthen coach-athlete relationships. Find Ali on Instagram: @kershner.ali or Twitter: @alikershner | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

One common thread that provides an advantage for all soccer players at any position is to be faster than the opponent. Incorporate these drills into your next speed session.

Coaches can also benefit from understanding the concepts of positive and negative reinforcement and positive and negative punishment as they relate to motivation. Although coaches use a mixture of both reward and punishment, using rewards and a positive approach is arguably the best approach because it focuses on what athletes should do and what they did right.

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.

As the final article of the three-part series on long-term athletic development (LTAD), this article will focus on enhancing physical fitness and participation in LTAD programs that promote physical fitness and physiological wellbeing, regardless of age, ability, and aspirations.

This article provides high school strength and conditioning coaches with a comprehensive guide for implementing plyometric training for high school athletes effectively.

This article reviews common risk factors for falls, discusses practical means to assess risks, and proposes training strategies and other avenues aimed at reducing the risk of falling in older adults.

The aim of this article is to highlight the functional importance of the foot, and to provide recommendations for foot conditioning.

Do you understand the youth athlete? In order to train youth athletes effectively, coaches must have an understanding of how to motivate youth athletes. This article will explain how to do just that, as well as how to use age-appropriate developmental cues for this population.

Competence, autonomy, and relatedness are three keys to promoting a more intrinsically motivated athlete. These components can be combined in nearly limitless ways, which is especially important for the long basketball season.