The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is proud to announce the recipients of the organization’s 2024 Coach of the Year Awards: Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year: Justin Lovett, MS, CSCS, NSCA-CPT, RSCC*E College Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year: Brijesh Patel, MA, CSCS, RSCC*E Assistant College Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year: Kenna Smoak Minnici, MA, CSCS, RSCC*D

Integrating unbalanced load training into a strength or hypertrophy phase, or any workout program, can add a tremendous amount of demand on the lateral aspects of the core to help the athlete develop a strong core. Using unbalanced load training may help produce increases in athleticism, balance, and motor coordination without sacrificing strength or explosiveness.

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.

This article seeks to provide some insight to optimal biomechanics in running technique and why normal gravitational techniques may not suit tactical athletes while load-bearing.

This episode of the NSCA Coaching Podcast presents drug testing and anti-doping initiatives in elite sport. Team USA 2008 Olympian, Carissa Gump, discusses how her journey as an international level weightlifter led to her becoming an ambassador for fair competition. Gump shares lessons from overcoming a career-threatening injury prior to the 2008 Olympics, with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, and how a passion for supporting athletes has fueled her career as a sport business executive. Learn about opportunities that the NSCA Foundation has for aspiring strength and conditioning professionals, and how the NSCA Foundation serves to promote the philanthropy of the coaching profession. Learn more about clean sport and anti-doping by taking the USADA Coach’s Advantage Course for 0.2 NSCA CEUs. Check out NSCA Foundation resources to discover grants and scholarships available for strength and conditioning professionals. More episode links: USADA – U.S. Anti-Doping Agency TrueSport – Education for Coaches, Athletes, and Parents NSF for Sport – NSF Certified Nutritional Products Listing Global DRO – Drug Reference Online Drug Free Sport – Anti-Doping Services and Education Email Carissa at carissa.gump@nsca.com| Connect with Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

Brett Bartholomew, keynote speaker, performance coach and consultant, best-selling author, and Founder of Art of Coaching™, talks to the NSCA Coaching Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about the importance of communication as a foundation of coaching, understanding the messy realities of leadership, and how reflection can help the profession grow. Find Brett on Instagram: @coach_brettb or Twitter: @Coach_BrettB | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is proud to announce the recipients of the organization’s 2024 Tactical Awards. Nominated by the NSCA community, these distinguished awards honor individuals who have made significant contributions to the tactical strength and conditioning community.

How do you build a sustainable high-performance culture despite yearly assistant coach rotations and demanding schedules? Alice Read, Assistant Athletic Director for Sport Performance at Vassar College, shares expertise from managing 29 teams and 600 student-athletes while continuously "riding the rollercoaster" of Division III scheduling. Read explores strategies for maintaining program continuity, including matching assistant coaches to sports based on strengths and growth areas. She emphasizes advocating for daily staff lifts to test and refine programs firsthand. In a full-circle moment, Read, once an NSCA Foundation Assistantship Recipient, now serves on the committee awarding these opportunities, demonstrating the value of early professional involvement. She also discusses collaborative problem solving within the Liberty League Strength and Conditioning Committee and explains how the College Coaches Professional Development Group (PDG) provided boots-on-the-ground guidance for the 2024 NSCA Strategic Plan. Tune in for actionable insights on mentorship, collaboration, and longevity in collegiate strength and conditioning. Connect with Alice via email at aread@vassar.edu and on Instagram: @ajpr3 and @vassar_strong | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs

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