Sheri Walters’ journey to Director of Sports Medicine at Texas A&M University reflects a career defined by innovation, collaboration, and comprehensive integration. Walters discusses the "arms race" in collegiate athletics and how Texas A&M shatters silos through unit alignment and being intentionally present. Drawing from her EXOS experience, she highlights the impact of integrating sports medicine with strength and conditioning. Walters employs research-based cross-body training to maintain strength, prioritizing long-term rehabilitation over limb symmetry index testing. She explains how her Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist® (CSCS®) and Certified Performance and Sport Scientist® (CPSS®) credentials enable her to elevate rehabilitation and speak the language of sport performance professionals. Walters underscores the importance of getting student-athletes back to team strength and conditioning as soon as tissues can tolerate it to promote physiological and psychological healing. She also shares how strength and conditioning coaches can optimize return to performance and reduce reinjury risk.
Email Sheri at swalters@athletics.tamu.edu | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs
Catch Sheri’s session on bridging the gap in the collegiate setting LIVE at the 2025 NSCA Coaches Conference! Register to watch online at NSCA.com/Coaches.
Fascinated by the intersection between strength and conditioning and sports medicine? Join other professionals in the Sports Medicine/Rehabilitation Specialist Interest Group (SIG) to discover more resources and engage in discussion.
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
Resources for High School Athletic Directors and Administrators who are interested in adding a strength and conditioning position to their school or improving their existing strength and conditioning program. Includes tools for creating a position and evaluating your existing program, as well as information for parents.
The purpose of this article is to provide an introduction to contrast training, including how it is defined, what variables are utilized, and examples of how to use it in training.
Personal trainersProgram designContrast TrainingPostactivation PotentiationPowerComplex Training
This article provides some practical applications to minimize the negative effects associated with a long intensive ice hockey season on ice hockey athletes.
This article highlights the benefits of exercise for adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It also provides practical recommendations for high school strength and conditioning coaches working with ADHD student-athletes.
Much in the same way that a single movement or a single workout does not make or break a training cycle, the same holds true for mental skills. The challenge is that the strength and conditioning coach will likely need to reach out to another professional trained in sport psychology to help establish the plan and construct the appropriate interventions.
When choosing whether to purchase new technological advances, strength and conditioning coaches should consider price, practicality, and credibility in order to maximize the training of their athletes.
CoachesOrganization and Administrationfitness trackersfitness monitorsfitness smartwatchwearable techfitness appsFitness equipmenths-coaching
As performance staffs grow and develop, professional athletes today have a broad array of services and expertise available to them in the locker room and around competition. This episode features the Vice President of Health and Performance for the National Basketball Association (NBA) Phoenix Suns, Brady Howe. Howe tells Eric McMahon, the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, how humble beginnings as an NBA Developmental League athletic trainer contributed to his current performance-first mindset for leading a multifaceted health and performance department. Topics include often misunderstood developmental factors for training elite athletes and advice for how to serve your athletes at the highest level.
Connect with Brady on Instagram: @bhowe6 or Twitter: @brady_howe | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs
You can learn more about NBA strength and conditioning from the National Basketball Strength and Conditioning Association (NBSCA), an Official Sport Partner of the NSCA.