After fifteen years with the Denver Nuggets, Felipe Eichenberger has witnessed the evolution of National Basketball Association (NBA) performance firsthand. The demands of an NBA season include 82+ games, relentless travel, and the challenge of staying fresh through it all. Eichenberger reveals their post-game lifting culture, driven by the philosophy: “If it’s a hard day, let’s make it hard.” Prioritizing compliance over hardware, he emphasizes flexible periodization and nailing the basics to meet each player’s needs — whether navigating injuries, tailoring programs to position demands, or microdosing training for longevity. At the heart of it all is buy-in, trust, and accountability. Eichenberger shares the importance of leveraging psychology, getting top players to set the tone for the team, and balancing consistency with creativity. With more jobs and awareness in NBA strength and conditioning than ever, this episode explores how to make an impact at basketball’s highest level. Connect with Felipe on Instagram: @eichbra and LinkedIn:@felipe-eichenberger | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Learn more about the National Basketball Strength and Conditioning Association (NBSCA), the Official Basketball Partner of the NSCA.

Connect with a young researcher and coach on exploring strength and power topics within elite sport, including a deep dive into velocity-based training. This episode features Dr. Jonathon Weakley, of Australian Catholic University and Leeds Beckett University, discussing his path from growing up in New Zealand, working and studying in the United Kingdom, and performing coaching-centric research with athletes in Australia. Listen in as “Jono” connects with Eric McMahon, the NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, on uses of weight room technology, providing appropriate coaching feedback to support athletic performance, and the global strength and conditioning and sport science landscape. This episode mentions the following research papers from NSCA journals: Weakley, J, Mann, B, Banyard, H, McLaren, S, Scott, T, and Garcia-Ramos, A. Velocity-Based Training: From Theory to Application, Strength and Conditioning Journal (43)4: 31-49, 2021 Weakley, J, Wilson, K, Till, K, Banyard, H, Dyson, J, Phibbs, P, Read, D, and Jones, B. Show Me, Tell Me, Encourage Me: The Effect of Different Forms of Feedback on Resistance Training Performance, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 34(11), 3157-3163, 2020 Find Jon on Twitter: @JonathonWeakle1 | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

Adam Fletcher, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for men’s basketball at the University of Illinois, talks to the NSCA Coaching Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about the impact of the Coaches vs. COVID-19 webinars to support the service community and build the strength and conditioning community. Topics under discussion include his journey from an accounting major to strength coach, how vital it is to get to know the sport coaches, and how he seeks to be a positive role model as he works alongside his wife. Find Adam on Twitter: @Adam_Fletcher41 or Instagram: @coach_fletch | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

Chris Morris, Director or Performance Science at the University of Kentucky, talks to the NSCA Coaching Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about the importance of capturing athlete readiness through data and technology. Topics under discussion include Dr. Morris’s time as a University of Kentucky football player turned PhD student, how sports science is critical to understanding athlete’s capacities on a much deeper view, and developing interpersonal relationships with athletes to create trust and buy-in. Find Dr. Morris on Twitter: @CMorrisPhD | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

Ryan Metzger, Senior Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for Clemson University, talks to the NSCA Coaching Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about their internship program going virtual amidst the pandemic to provide young strength coaches the education they need to grow despite the lack of in-person training. Topics of discussion also include early sport specialization and burnout, as well as being a role model for female athletes. Find Ryan on Instagram: @clemsonolystrength or @coach_metz | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

Adam Ross, Chair of and an Assistant Professor within the Kinesiology Department at Dallas Baptist University, talks to the NSCA Coaching Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about his unique dual role of strength coach and professor at the university. Topics under discussion include the NSCA Special Interest Groups (SIGs), building trust with athletes and students, and how his mentors and children have shaped his perspective of the field. Find Adam on Facebook: NSCA Baseball SIG or via Email: adamr@dbu.edu| Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs

Brianna Battles believes athleticism does not end when motherhood begins. Frustrated by the lack of resources and support for pregnant and postpartum athletes, she founded Everyday Battles to bridge the gap. Now, she empowers everyone from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighters and Olympians to hobbyists to challenge their perceived fragility, navigate body and identity changes, and pursue a lifetime of athleticism. Battles notes how strength and conditioning coaches are uniquely poised to influence communities and train general populations using a top-down coaching philosophy. Conducting needs analyses, she focuses on their athletic history, predispositions, and how they manage breathing, pressure, and tension during movement. By reverse-engineering a proactive return to performance, she helps clients overcome social media glorification and fearmongering to design an athlete-mom life that serves them. Battles discusses tapping into the “athlete brain” that craves routine and buy-in. Her advice? Get curious, practice brave, and embrace entrepreneurship as another form of progressive overload. Connect with Brianna on Instagram: @brianna.battles and @pregnant.postpartum.athlete or by email at: brianna@briannabattles.com | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs This episode discusses new CASCE field experience requirements that dictate a minimum of two substantially different work experiences. Learn more about CASCE accreditation at NSCA.com/CASCE.

Jeff Connors, who retired after a staggering 31-year collegiate coaching career, talks to the former NSCA Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Scott Caulfield, about being a servant to athletes and contributing to their lives. Topics under discussion include “surviving” head coaching changes, learning from others in the field, and using his coaching experiences to write books.

Kelly Dormandy, Assistant Athletics Director for Sports Performance at Loyola Marymount University and Head Strength Coach for the Los Angeles Sparks Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) team, talks to the NSCA Coaching Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about championship culture. Topics under discussion include constantly seeking new challenges, training WNBA athletes, and being proactive about networking in the field. Find Kelly on Instagram: @kdormandy | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs