This article discusses utilizing long term athletic development (LTAD) as a framework for accountability and explores the benefits personal trainers can use to measure success.

Tactical jobs are fast-paced, physically and psychologically intense, and failure can have tragic consequences, making it vital to train tactical athletes to perform better under stress.

It is time to catch up with 2019 NSCA Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year, Ashley Jackson, on her recent career move from the University of Michigan to Texas A&M, as the Assistant Director of Olympic Strength and Conditioning. Jackson talks with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about leadership pathways for coaches and how to gain professional opportunities, from mentorship to earning promotions and taking the next step in your career. This episode explains the importance of the assistant strength and conditioning coach role, not only as a career stepping-stone, but also as an opportunity to practice being both an effective leader and follower. Tune-in and learn more about how you can gain valuable leadership experience, regardless of your current career stage, through involvement with the NSCA. Use this link to look up NSCA Contributor Opportunities and get involved! You can connect with Ashley on Twitter @txstronger| Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

NSCA Coach provides valuable takeaways for every level of strength and conditioning coach through quarterly, electronic issues. You can find scientifically based articles specific to a wide variety of your athletes’ needs with Nutrition, Programming, and Youth columns. You must be a member of the NSCA to access NSCA Coach.

Ivan Lewis, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Seattle Seahawks National Football League (NFL) team, shares his journey to becoming a strength coach, advice on professional development, how he hires people, and how to work in collaboration with other sports medicine professionals to help athletes return-to-play.

From the virtual 2021 NSCA Coaches Conference, Mary Kate Feit, Assistant Professor of Strength and Conditioning at Springfield College, goes beyond the sets and reps of strength and conditioning and focuses on how to reflect inward to evaluate and maximize coaching behaviors.

Matt Crawley, Strength and Conditioning Coach and Internship Coordinator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Performance Institute, discusses performance considerations around testing and programming for UFC fighters, as well as the role of the strength and conditioning coach within the interdisciplinary team.

From the NSCA’s 2019 Tactical Annual Training, Nathan Dicks explains the Critical Speed Concept. He presents the normative data, parameters for tactical professionals, and how it can be modeled with load carriage for use in prescribing high-intensity interval training.

In this session from the 2019 NSCA National Conference, Joe Drake, co-owner of Gravity + Oxygen Fitness and Axiom Fitness Academy, discusses power, explains how running power allows you to determine overall effort, and educates on how to test and track running power in order to maximize training efforts.

Learn from those who were there from the beginning, at the forefront of strength and conditioning, as they provide a historical perspective on the field’s evolution and share lessons learned during this question and answer session from the 2019 NSCA Coaches Conference with Boyd Epley, Meg Stone, Al Vermeil, and Johnny Parker.