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How much of the athlete data you collect changes what you do next? Conor Cantwell, Associate Director for Sports Performance at William & Mary, explains how he chooses assessments based on the physical qualities athletes need and available resources. That includes accommodating sport coaches’ testing preferences while still getting data he can use to guide training. Drawing on Irish rugby experience, he discusses the big “S,” little “c” debate about balancing strength with conditioning. He explains how heart rate data helps him decide how much conditioning athletes need and considers how to keep players fit when playing time is limited. Cantwell discusses his PhD research into how submaximal tests can track fitness during the season without an all-out effort. He also explains how to match recovery strategies to the season. Hear how to use assessments to guide your programming and help athletes understand the choices behind their training and recovery. Contact Information & Episode Links: Reach Conor by email: [email protected] and on Instagram: @cantwellconor | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Join the NSCA Sport Science and Performance Technology Special Interest Group (SIG) on LinkedIn to connect with peers and discuss how data and technology can inform coaching decisions. Conor Cantwell, MS, CSCS,*D, RSCC Conor Cantwell is the Associate Director for Sports Performance at William & Mary, overseeing strength and conditioning for women’s basketball, volleyball, and men’s and women’s tennis. He also oversees sport science support services for the Sports Performance Department. Cantwell has over six years of experience at the professional and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and III levels. He earned a Master’s degree in Sport Physiology and Performance Coaching from Carroll University, where he also led research and sport science initiatives. Cantwell is pursuing a PhD through Technological University Dublin, where his research aims to investigate heart rate monitoring in collegiate women’s basketbal   Show Notes: " The biggest thing I say to people when we're talking about our sport science stuff is like, what key qualities do we want from our athletes, and then what's the best way to assess them? [...] You just have to kind of break down the best you can do with the resources you have." 8:05 "You know, the biggest predictor of injury or the biggest risk factor for injuries, is previous injury. So, looking at what injuries may have occurred, where they're potentially susceptible to reoccurring is important." 11:10 "The more aerobically conditioned you are in just the general level of fitness, your ability to recover between practices and games is just going to be majorly increased." 19:40 Transcript: 00;00;02;18 - 00;00;23;25 Welcome to the NSCA Coaching Podcast. Season ten, episode nine. The biggest thing I say to people when we're talking about our sport science stuff is like, what key qualities do we want from our athletes, and then what's the best way to assess them? And then when we break that down, what metrics are the best way to kind of assess that rather than what technology do we have and what tests can we do. 00;00;23;26 - 00;00;42;06 So kind of reversing kind of the components that we want. And then just looking at how we can assess them. And that's what we kind of have here. And like it is great to have more resources. But again I don't think you. Necessarily have to have them. You just have to kind of break down the best you can do with the resources you have. 00;00;42;08 - 00;01;02;27 This is the NSCA Coaching Podcast, where we talk to strength and conditioning coaches about what you really need to know, but probably didn't learn in school, their strength and conditioning. And then there's everything else. Welcome to the NSCA Coaching Podcast, where we bring you conversations with coaches and practitioners who are helping advance the profession of strength and conditioning. 00;01;02;28 - 00;01;23;20 I'm your host, Eric McMahon from the NSCA. Today I'm joined by Conor Cantwell, Associate Director of Sports Performance at William and Mary. Connor, thanks for being here. Thanks for having me. Yeah, really excited to get to know you today. For those who don't know you. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey into strength and conditioning. 00;01;23;22 - 00;01;52;01 Yeah. So, as you said mentioned earlier, I'm a Director of Sports Performance here at William and Mary heading into my second year here now. Prior to here, I was at a DIII university in Wisconsin, Platteville, was there for about 18 months. Prior to that, I had done a season with the Cincinnati Reds organization at their little ciliate in Daytona Beach with the Daytona Tortugas and, originally from Ireland. 00;01;52;01 - 00;02;19;02 So I came over to the US to do my graduate assistantship, under Doctor Tim Carroll University in Wisconsin. So I was there for two years and prior to that did my undergrad at the University of Limerick in Ireland, and kind of worked across a variety of sports there, including kind of various age levels, Munster Rugby all the way from their kind of under 15 or 16, all the way up to an internship with the professional team. 00;02;19;05 - 00;02;40;28 Tons of different experiences. International perspective. Obviously, I hear the accent coming through and we don't always hear that accent, so I'm glad you told me where you're from. What about that? International perspective provides context and help in the role you currently have, and just how has that helped shape your coaching philosophy? Yeah, I think it's the international experience. 00;02;40;28 - 00;03;00;14 Then a changed sports that I've worked into, just kind of true. And everything kind of has helped. Different experiences help as you go. You're just constantly growing as well. But I think internationally it's different, but it's, you know, doesn't mean it's better or worse. Like I would say, there's a lot of, a lot of Irish conditioning coaches working internationally. 00;03;00;16 - 00;03;20;04 I would say sport science in Ireland is quite strong. You know, internationally we would have had good exposure to that true education and stuff. Would it be undergrad or just, in education? And my practical experience is like, I know I would in the Irish rugby system, there's four teams, and they were some of the earlier adopters of, of GPS technology. 00;03;20;04 - 00;03;45;27 And, you know, that was probably 15, 20 years ago now. But now we look and we see how many teams are using it. And I think here has definitely caught up, if not in maybe passing out a little bit now in certain regards. But yeah, it was interesting coming in with that. I think the biggest thing that I've had that's been more unique that I was able to bring early on, was we probably just maybe it's true, the nature of our sports have more of an emphasis on conditioning. 00;03;45;29 - 00;04;03;20 You know, it's something they talk about a little bit. I think with strength and conditioning. I say sometimes coaches here, it's a little bit of a big S, small c and but I think that depends on the sport you work in. Right. So some people just aren't used to doing as much conditioning. And I came in kind of with a lot of conditioning background, which was great because it was something that kind of was unique that I was able to bring to the table early on. 00;04;03;20 - 00;04;27;22 So sport science, that's topic I want to get into a little bit later in conditioning. That's a big one. I'm glad you mentioned that. Tell us about your current role at William and Mary. What are some of the teams you have and just the work you get to do on a daily basis? Yeah, so I came in initially, just as a sports performance coach for my first year, in the department came in. 00;04;27;22 - 00;04;51;01 I have women's basketball, volleyball and both men's and women's tennis. And, you know, my responsibilities with their team, with those teams involved, you know, full physical preparation, strength and conditioning, travel, women's basketball, so on the road and do a little bit more with them. And most of that comes down to some of the, the monitoring that we, we do with them with heart rate monitoring, which I can talk about a little bit when we get into sport science stuff. 00;04;51;01 - 00;05;11;26 But, the role has kind of developed, I guess we had a bit of a kind of change in, in our department. Around December time, we had a staff member move on for a new opportunity. So it was kind of a shuffle. So I moved into the associate director role, and kind of had already started overlooking a lot of our sport science initiatives here and kind of trying to lead some projects in that regard. 00;05;11;26 - 00;05;30;03 But that's kind of taken on a new, a new level now, kind of in, in the associate role and being able to kind of drive some projects. So we have a couple of things going on now. We we run some standardized assessments over the year just to kind of see, like and collect data over the year to see if we are having changes, maybe see what trends are happening. 00;05;30;03 - 00;05;51;22 So, you know, our athletes when they leave in the spring, coming back way worse from not training. What kind of trends are we seeing over the year? Are we actually making meaningful differences rather than just looking at the metrics? So, you know, we do some statistical stuff in the background to see those. Do those, changes actually matter or is it just kind of normal biological variation? 00;05;51;25 - 00;06;27;03 And then we have some projects. sport science was going on as well around trying to integrate our sport science within, our Return to Play framework, which we're kind of trying to build out a little bit. So we're going at the DI level now, but you've been at the DIII level. What

How can lessons from professional football help you prepare injured athletes to return to competition? Thomas Myslinski III is the Reconditioning and Return to Football Coach for the New York Jets in the National Football League (NFL). A third-generation strength and conditioning coach, Myslinski recalls the joy of tagging along at NFL training camps with his father, who encouraged him to learn beyond one specialty. He discusses workload management and how sport science helps him understand each player’s progress. Myslinski reverse engineers each player’s programming from sport demands and adjusts it to their current capacity. He describes himself and his sports medicine counterpart as “partners in everything” and explains how he keeps fellow strength and conditioning coaches informed. Looking ahead, he considers how strength coaches can match technology to training goals and plan recovery as deliberately as training. Hear what you need to know about a returning player, and what information your colleagues need you to share. Contact Information & Episode Links: Reach Thomas by email: [email protected] and on Instagram: @thomas_myslinski45  | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Join the NSCA Football Special Interest Group (SIG) on LinkedIn to connect with other coaches and stay current on football strength and conditioning best practices. Thomas Myslinski III, MS, CSCS, RSCC Thomas Myslinski III is the Reconditioning and Return to Football Coach with the New York Jets in the National Football League (NFL). Prior to joining the Jets, he gained experience across collegiate and professional sports, building expertise in strength and conditioning, speed development, and return-to-play strategies. Myslinski earned his Master’s degree from East Tennessee State University. Passionate about athlete development, he combines scientific principles with practical coaching experience to enhance performance, reduce injury risk, and prepare athletes to excel at the highest level of competition. Show Notes: "The first one to be is multifactorial. You know, be a Swiss army knife. [...] go learn from all the different people. That's what he instilled in me. I think that throughout my journey, it's been great to have my own mentors and then take pieces of what they've taught me and then kind of make it into the mix that we have." 5:25 "We can't guess. We have to know what's going on with them. [...] If I have a cohort of six or whatever it may be, I better know those six guys inside and out, and I better have a really good understanding of what's going on, at what time frames, having a good understanding of what they were pre-injury where are they at post injury or whatever it may be, but I have to fall back on, a lot of those learnings from [ETSU]..." 11:35 "You have to make sure everybody's on, aware of everything going on. And especially in RTP... Anything can change at a drop of a dime. So as soon as something happens it is okay. Let's communicate via whatever channel, whatever way that we do, let's make sure everybody's aware of what's going on." 15:37   Transcript: 00;00;00;00 - 00;00;23;01 Welcome to the NSCA Coaching Podcast season ten, episode eight. But the first one to be is multifactorial. You know, this Swiss army knife, like go learn. I remember when he was, in the field and he would bring in, you know, mentors of his, like, Charlie Francis, or he would be with buddy, and they'd go out to West Side and learn from Louis. 00;00;23;01 - 00;00;40;12 And not saying you take all those things for gospel, but you got to learn from all the different people. And that's what he instilled in me. So I think that throughout my journey, it's been great to have my own mentors and then take pieces of what they've taught me and then kind of make it into the mix that we have. 00;00;40;14 - 00;01;04;06 This is the next coaching podcast where we talk to strength and conditioning coaches about what you really need to know, but probably didn't learn in school, their strength and conditioning. And then there's everything else. This is the NSCA Coaching Podcast. I'm Eric McMahon from the NSCA. And today we have another big episode from the NFL. In football, we typically think of players who are making an impact on the field every Sunday. 00;01;04;08 - 00;01;24;05 But what about the players coming back from injury? We have a guest with us today, Thomas, Myslinski, who works in that space as a reconditioning and return to football strength and conditioning coach. Hey, thanks for being with us. Hey, thanks for having me online. Awesome, man. All was great connecting with you at the NFL meetings. I know your dad really well. 00;01;24;05 - 00;01;46;24 And before I go any further, I want to just mention you are Thomas. Myslinski, the third. Your dad played in the NFL. He's a successful strength and conditioning coach also. And you are a third generation strength and conditioning coach. I am yep. I don't hear that very much. Third generation. That's really awesome. You got to really grow up in this profession. 00;01;46;27 - 00;02;01;21 Yeah I did I miss my father's probably best judgment to me a lot of the times to telling me, are you sure you don't want to get in anything else? And I'm like, the whole time growing up around him, it was the only thing I've ever wanted to do, so that's great. I love it. Awesome, awesome. What was it about those experiences? 00;02;01;21 - 00;02;31;13 I know you had a lot of early NFL experiences with your dad playing. He made the transition into coaching. What was it like growing up around football and the strength the conditioning field? Yeah, well, the first is it was incredible. I mean, and that's just like kind of a word to summarize everything. I mean, from as young as I can remember when I was, the first time I remember him playing was with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Indianapolis Colts and just kind of like snippets and just little bits. 00;02;31;13 - 00;02;52;28 So that's kind of like my first, you know, my first interaction with him is seeing him out there, seeing him as a player. And then I got to watch him go through his evolution of when he became a coach. And I got to see the change that occurred there. And, and throughout that, I got to see his coaching life cycle where he started out, you know, as an assistant, worked a head guy, and he learned a lot of things throughout the way. 00;02;52;28 - 00;03;07;28 And, him and my dad always were my dad and I would always used to say that I was the gum on his shoe, because there'd be a lot of times where, all right, hey, we got a training camp going on. All right, well, let's go pack a bag. Let's go. And I just go in there, and I would be the unofficial ballboy. 00;03;08;00 - 00;03;25;29 We were in Cleveland at the time. I remember catching punts for Dave Zastudil and Phil Dawson and running around the equipment room and grabbing guys dirty laundry, like, just soaking everything in and doing everything I possibly can and just being there with him. And then, of course, you know, he he trained me and we got to, to dive into that. 00;03;25;29 - 00;03;46;01 So, I mean, that's like the earliest time where I got to really learn is just being around him. His unofficial intern, cleaning up the weight room, doing daily activities with him. I mean, everything was just incredible. And then not only that, too, but I got to see a lot of the other, the football X's and O's of it too, because I would be outside during practices and I would get to watch. 00;03;46;01 - 00;04;11;25 And as a former linebacker myself, I would go hang around the different groups and I would just try to learn ball. And it was great. I just got to learn through, as you say, just learn through osmosis. Sometimes I didn't even learn to understand what I was learning at the time, and it wasn't until later I kind of was able to piece together a lot of those things that, you know, from my childhood, you're speaking a little to your path into the field as well. 00;04;11;27 - 00;04;35;23 Through being an athlete, like a lot of us, we discover strength conditioning through our athletic experience. But you had that unique advantage. You had access to high level sport at a young age. And, and your dad was going through this progression himself. What advice did he give you and others give you that helped you navigate your path when you were starting to make career decisions? 00;04;35;26 - 00;04;59;21 Yeah, it's a good question. I think, a couple things stand out to me. The first is, to be a Swiss Army knife. Don't don't dive into one thing. He, he he actually wouldn't let me, get into the field unless my undergrad was in something else other than S&C. So my undergrad was in nutrition and dietetics, so I could kind of understand that that aspect in that role a little bit and which in turn is definitely helped me in the reconditioning and just general lesson. 00;04;59;22 - 00;05;16;28 Seaside. And then from there I went on to, learn a little bit of sport science, but you have to his point was that you can't just be a one trick wonder. You have to understand a lot of different things. And so I was very understanding of that. And, he always taught me to, to learn the sport of whatever sport it was. 00;05;17;00 - 00;05;32;27 So a lot of those and then his big one that he I still carry to this day was, is, no matter what I do don't program scared the resilient their athletes don't program scared. Trust in your principles that you've been taught. And, but the first one to be is multifactorial. You know, be a Swiss army knife. 00;05;32;27 - 00;05;48;13 Like go learn. I remember when he was, in the field and he would bring in, you know, mentors of his, like Charlie Francis, or he would be with buddy, and they'd go out to West Side and learn from Louis. And not saying you take all those things for gospel, but you go lea

Elite sport often gets more attention, but youth training gives strength and conditioning coaches an earlier chance to build athletes’ competence and confidence. Kelli Brightwell specializes in youth development and brings more than a decade of sports training experience, including four years at Michael Johnson Performance. Brightwell defines peak height velocity as the period during which height increases fastest. She then explains why its timing can differ among teammates of the same age. So what should strength coaches test, and what do the results mean? The answer changes with each athlete’s maturity and training experience. Brightwell addresses the growth-spurt “awkward phase,” when familiar movement patterns can break down as an athlete adjusts to a changing body. She also considers how sport sampling can expand children’s range of physical skills and help them discover what they enjoy. Learn how maturation can affect movement, testing, and programming — and why young athletes need foundations before specialization. Contact Information & Episode Links: Connect with Kelli on Instagram: @kelliselman and LinkedIn: @kelli-selman-brightwell | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs See Kelli help illustrate how to put youth training into practice in Lance Walker’s “Hot Zones for Youth Training” session at the 2026 NSCA Personal Trainers Virtual Conference (PTCon). Kelli Brightwell, MS, CSCS,*D, RSCC*D Kelli Brightwell is a Physical Education Teacher, Strength and Conditioning Coach, and Track and Field and Cross Country Coach at Colorado Springs Christian Schools. Brightwell has been training clients ranging from the general population to professional athletes since 2013. Formerly, she was a Performance Specialist, Education Coordinator, and Internship Coordinator at Michael Johnson Performance. In China, she taught courses on the science and application of youth training methods to more than 800 coaches. Brightwell serves on the Colorado State Advisory Board for the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and has served on the NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer® (NSCA-CPT®) job task analysis board. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Physiology and a Master’s degree in Sports Physiology from Texas A&M University. Show Notes: "The professional sports or even those super-duper high level, maybe senior level collegiate athletes, they are well developed. They've made it. But the youth athletes, there's a lot more return on investment of those guys and gals because they're in development. And you can make an impact and see results, and you can be part of that process for competence and confidence and set the stage for them, maybe going to the high-level collegiate or professional sport." 2:45 "But maybe that's something that we can help, because that is something that's within the developmental timeline for them. For those youngest kids, we actually need to bias maximum velocity training. Why? Because their nervous system is needing to get quick off the ground, moving the limbs in a coordinated fashion at high speeds. They don't have the capability to produce a lot of force." 13:50 "Now, in high school, there's the early high school [...] and then there's late high school. Maybe your senior kids that are being signed to play college, [...] but when in doubt, keep it basic and vanilla with the sport performance and strength and conditioning training because it's all going to elevate the human movement patterns needed for sport." 25:30 Transcript: 00;00;00;00 - 00;00;38;29 Welcome to the NSCA Coaching Podcast season ten, episode seven the Professional Sports, or even those super duper high level, maybe see in your level collegiate athletes, they are well developed. They they they've made it. But the youth athletes, there's a lot more return on investment of those guys and gals because they're in development. And you can make an impact and see results, and you can be part of that process for competence and confidence and set the stage for them. 00;00;38;29 - 00;00;46;05 Maybe going to the high level collegiate or professional sports. 00;00;46;08 - 00;01;07;12 This is the NSCAs Coaching Podcast, where we talked to strength and conditioning coaches about what you really need to know, but probably didn't learn in school, their strength and conditioning. And then there's everything else. This is the NSCA Coaching Podcast. I'm Eric McMahon NSCA’s Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager. Today's episode is all about kids, youth training for sport. 00;01;07;12 - 00;01;30;22 We have an expert in that area, Kelli Brightwell. She's been very active in the NSCA community as a presenter, as a volunteer. And Kelli, it's great to have you on. It's an honor to be on the NSCA podcast. Yeah we are, we're catching up all the time. You're here in Colorado Springs just like us here at the headquarters. 00;01;30;24 - 00;01;54;20 You've presented I've, I've called on you to present so many times. This is such an important topic. Training for youth. One thing I'm really passionate about the NSCA is early exposure to strength and conditioning so that kids are getting taught how to lift weights and how to train effectively at earlier ages so that we're not having to play catch up later in their athletic careers. 00;01;54;22 - 00;02;18;00 This is a highly debated topic in the field. Youth training. What are some of the biggest misconceptions about working with young people? Well, a lot of people, when they think of sport performance and strength and conditioning, they always go to that pro athlete. You know, that's their dream is to work with the glamorous pro athletes. And it sounds fine and dandy and all. 00;02;18;03 - 00;02;43;07 But the thing is, is you can really get a lot more out of training youth for several reasons. And here it is. You can have more volume of clients of athletes because, I mean, let's just face the statistics. There is a way greater chance of you being a youth athlete than there is to be a college athlete, than there is to be a pro or Olympic athlete. 00;02;43;07 - 00;03;24;08 Right? So, that's the first thing. And then another thing is the professional sports or even those super duper high level, maybe senior level collegiate athletes, they are well developed. They they they've made it. But the youth athletes, there's a lot more return on investment of those guys. And gals because they're in development. And you can make an impact and see results, and you can be part of that process for competence and confidence and set the stage for them, maybe going to the high level collegiate or professional sport. 00;03;24;10 - 00;03;57;10 So those are some common misconceptions about the world of strength and conditioning and what athlete to target youth is going to get you more impact, and even maybe some more money if you target that population due to the high volume and the need they have to develop their skills. Yeah. As a parent, I think about this topic a lot with my kids, and one of the big topics in the field that we get to is windows of train ability and youth. 00;03;57;13 - 00;04;26;25 And one of the phrases I like is that a nine year old is not half of an 18 year old. We have puberty in there. That's a huge factor when it comes to training and how we're training athletes. How do you view windows or train ability at the various stages with youth athletes? Yeah, well, the three main stages of how I view and how long term athlete development models classify is based around their peak height velocity. 00;04;26;28 - 00;04;53;04 Peak height velocity is the greatest rate of growth. We're growing all the time throughout our childhood, our youth, and even some of those young men can grow into their college years. So peak high velocity is where it's the biggest growth they shoot up. And this is typically around puberty time. It could be right during puberty a little bit after it's somewhere around that time. 00;04;53;04 - 00;05;18;09 So I classify along with many other practitioners pre peak height velocity. Those are that's going to be pre 11 years old for females and pre 13 years old for males. And then you have your circa or mid whichever one you want to call it V. So that's going to be kind of your middle school kids. And then you have your post FV. 00;05;18;09 - 00;05;52;05 That's going to be your high school kids. And like I said there's always variation. There's always not every human develops at the exact same rate. And there's different, equations that you can plug in there height, weight, gender data, birth, seated height and standing height. And you can determine if they fall into the average category of development below average or above average, aka late developers, early developers, or just the average Joe. 00;05;52;08 - 00;06;20;24 So what I'm hearing is there's certain ways to train at the various stages of development. What's the big risk if you get this wrong? If you do too much too soon, or really too little at a critical time? Very good question. Well, there was a big paper that was published, specifically on youth males. And they, they took resisted running methods, pushing a sled, running with the sled. 00;06;20;24 - 00;06;55;13 I can't remember if they pushed it or pulled it. But anyways, they found that it had great benefits for the older group for the post, for maybe those late mid FPS these, but it actually had a detriment to the pre freeze. It actually made them slower and it's all based on the development of neurology. So what happens was is that it increased their ground contact time. 00;06;55;13 - 00;07;25;08 Those youngins pushing the sled. So there is some things that you can do that could actually be worse for them Yeah, that that makes a lot of sense. If you're not ready to handle that force into the ground and it alters your training technique so that you can't be as

What do professional baseball and tactical strength and conditioning have in common? NSCA award-winning coach Matthew C. Krause knows the demands of both worlds, with 22 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) and his current public safety work with the Pasco Sheriff’s Office. Krause explains how lessons from baseball transfer when preparing law enforcement officers, who face long shifts, changing schedules, and fatigue that affects decision-making. In a new setting, his first step is to learn the job before making adjustments. He explains the Pasco Sheriff’s Office health and human performance model for deputy care and long-term development, then talks through how to show value with data and earn leadership buy-in over time. Krause also looks back on his United States Marine Corps service, mentors, and career opportunities as he advises young coaches to “always take the conversation.” Tune in to hear how you can step into a new setting, prove value, and build programs that last. Reach Matthew by email at [email protected] | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Join the NSCA Tactical Strength and Conditioning Professional Development Group (PDG) on LinkedIn to connect with peers and stay involved in the profession. Show Notes "You do a good job, you work your butt off, you're not sure what you want to do. You take these opportunities. [...] I tell all, all young strength coaches always take the conversation and you might not want it, but it's good to work on your skills as far as your interview skills and kind of understanding. You know, that process, learning how to sell yourself a little bit in those scenarios..." 10:25 "If you're going to be working for another organization or going to be in a team environment, you're never going to get everything you want. So, you have to pick and choose, figure out what you think on your list of things is the most important thing that day, right? And ask for those things, at the right time" 23:20 "I think people out there need to know that you need to give your time back and a lot of it's going to be in the form of education and time and talks like this." 25:30 Transcript 00;00;00;00 - 00;00;21;24 Welcome to the NSCA Coaching Podcast season ten, episode six. And then somebody else, you know, you do a good job or somebody, you know, tell people, hey, listen, you work your butt off. You're not sure what you want to do. You take these opportunities and Bruce Hammel, who was the major league strength coach with the Cubs, came and said, hey, listen, you know, there could be some opportunities in baseball for you. 00;00;21;27 - 00;00;48;13 What wasn't where I wanted to be. I thought I was in college football, like I said, and wound up, you know, getting into, with the Pittsburgh Pirates, you know, went down, interviewed. So now, another thing I tell all, all young strength coaches always take the conversation and you might not want it, but it's good to work on your skills as far as your interview skills and kind of understanding, you know, that process, learning how to sell yourself a little bit in those scenarios. 00;00;48;13 - 00;01;09;27 Learn. You know how that dynamic is. This is the NSCA Coaching Podcast where we talked to strength and conditioning coaches about what you really need to know, but probably didn't learn in school. There’s strength and conditioning. And then there's everything else. This is the NSCA Coaching Podcast. I'm Eric McMahon NSCA’s Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager. 00;01;09;28 - 00;01;33;15 Today we have a guest who has extensive experience with the NSCA as a presenter. He was a 2018 Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach of the year, tons of experience working in MLB, but now he's working in tactical, the public safety space with the Pasco County Sheriff's Department in Florida. Matt Krauss, welcome to the show. Thanks, Eric. I appreciate you being here. 00;01;33;22 - 00;01;53;17 It's going to be fun. Yeah, yeah it's great man. I'm really excited to hear about your path from MLB and all the work you've done in the past and now working in the tactical space. What's that been like? I'll tell you a lot of a lot of similarities, being in a major League baseball with certain things from, from an everyday perspective, and you got a chance to experience that too. 00;01;53;17 - 00;02;11;17 In baseball. And then coming into the law enforcement space where it's, it's every day. Right? There's, there's, it's 24 hours a day, every day. It doesn't it doesn't stop. So it's one of the things that, that I, that I really like about it because I always like the grind of baseball. Right? You know, 20 something years and then coming into this space. 00;02;11;17 - 00;02;31;18 And I do enjoy that part of it. I enjoy the every day. There's something every day you're preparing for something every day. The ongoing of of it never stopping to where people talking about, you know, loading unloading this when it's every single day, you got to have that knack, to keep people going on on their best day and on on the worst day. 00;02;31;18 - 00;02;53;21 Right. So, and just the mental aspect of of a grind. So I really enjoy the space. That's cool. It's something I hear come through is when you're every single day, there's really no peaking, you know, you go, you always gotta be ready to go. You might be at your best, you might be at 80%. But that's your best that day. 00;02;53;24 - 00;03;30;13 How do you prepare law enforcement officers? And just like you did in baseball, to go out there every single day? Well, you know, the number one thing and for, for for any industry is learning the job and kind of getting understand the mentality and the physical part of it, you know, knowing the job, being around. So I think the ticket out for a six months of you coming into this space, kind of not asking as many questions, being more observational, but, you know, asking here and there, certain things, but just really getting to learn, understanding terminology. 00;03;30;15 - 00;03;48;29 You know, certain things are the same. Certain things are not, but really, you know, diving into it. And I've had an opportunity to, really get a chance to, to, to understand kind of what they're doing. I was not part of shift work. Right. Because baseball is is all day to. But understanding how you apply that to. 00;03;49;04 - 00;04;05;18 But but baseball has that you know that set schedule. You know every single day of the ramp up to a game and then and then there's a travel piece to it. But here it's ramping up every single day. And then and then going from a mid shift to a day shift to a night shift and understanding all those different pieces to it. 00;04;05;20 - 00;04;29;15 As people transition from from those aspects and how to how to apply the process or a program or their routine. All of the things that you would say to to a baseball player, right. But you know, it, it applies here to and how to make those adjustments. So seeing all of it and then getting a chance to dissect it a little bit, you know, obviously when you're a college training coach, when I was, when I was working in college, I worked ten different sports. 00;04;29;15 - 00;04;47;29 There's ten different things going on. And then, and then just being in one area, like, we just just in baseball, you get to dissect a little bit and to really kind of hone down on it. And once you kind of understand and get the chance to, to start implementing and, and so I'm making adjustments to try to make it better. 00;04;48;02 - 00;04;59;05 Tactical wasn't completely new to you. I know you have a military background. What was your path into S&C? Being enlisted in the military? 00;04;59;08 - 00;05;16;25 Well, joining the Marine Corps. So I was in the Marine Corps back when I was 18 years old. That was it was one of my paths, an opportunity to to make money and to go to school wasn't I didn't come from a very, a family with a ton of money. And but I definitely wanted to go to school, you know, I was, say, A33 sport athlete in high school. 00;05;16;28 - 00;05;32;17 And obviously I wasn't good enough in any one of those, you know, I was I got I was a plus player, but not enough to get a scholarship right or to continue on a at a lower level. And so that was part of my path. My dad was a marine. My uncle was a marine. I knew some of the people in my neighborhood that Marines. 00;05;32;17 - 00;05;49;13 And so I, I didn't even think, of another, branch. Right. I was just I was going to be, you know, if I was going to do this, I was going to go into the Marine Corps, and but I knew I wasn't going to do it long term. I mean, my path was, you know, my uncle was a college football coach. 00;05;49;16 - 00;06;07;06 He was at Richmond, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, you know, he played football at Mississippi State. So as you're, you know, building where you want to kind of go in life, you know, I had all these friends I wanted to be on Wall Street coming out of New York. I was a Queens, Long Island guy. Right. And I wanted to be I wanted to get off the island, get out of there and be more like my uncle. 00;06;07;08 - 00;06;27;06 And so I just thought I would, you know, moving, move in that direction. So the Marine Corps was, was a great place for me to one grow up. So I give a lot of a lot of credit to Marine Corps. I was, you know, some punk kid that, you know, thought he knew everything. And then I learned that I didn't know anything and that I needed a little structure in my life. 00;06;27;09 - 00;06;39;21 I like to say it taught me a little bit more of the killer instinct. I wish, I wish I played high school sports after I went to the Marine Corps, I would I would have been a better practitioner. I would have been a better planner. I would have been a lot of things instead of, just doing them. 00;06;39;23 - 00;06;59;05 And, so it definitely prepared

At the United States Air Force Academy, time is a commodity. Now entering his 20th season coaching the Falcons, Matt McGettigan explains how he works within the constraints of Division I football at one of the sport’s most distinctive programs. He talks through the reality of the Air Force Academy, where class schedules, military requirements, and sleep routines influence training decisions. A teacher by trade, McGettigan breaks down how the Air Force Academy aligns its performance team and why movement is a separator in its system. He also explains what it means to be the program’s “standard bearer.” McGettigan then walks through a typical day with the team, restorative water-based recovery, and maximizing pre- and post-competition 72-hr windows. Along the way, he reflects on family, mentorship, and preparing athletes for service and life beyond the Academy. Listen for hard-earned lessons to manage cumulative stress, build competition-week readiness, and keep the growth mindset that sustains a long coaching career. Reach Matt by email at [email protected] | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Join the NSCA Football Special Interest Group (SIG) on LinkedIn to connect with other coaches and stay current on football strength and conditioning best practices. Show Notes“The other thing here, there's a little bit higher purpose, right? As we're developing leaders, it's a leadership institution that men and women are going out and serve their country in different various areas. But that's the other thing that I take great pride in is seeing these young men that have come in here and have grown as men. And now as they come back and come through the door, what they've done as fathers and as husbands, as Air Force officers, is pretty impactful. And that's why it keeps me coming to work every day.” 11:50 “My recommendation would be find people that can help you along the way and never be afraid to ask for help. Have a continuous growth mindset, a learning mindset. The longer I do this, Eric, the more I learn. I need to know and the more I don't know right? And and have that ability to have a passion for teaching and coaching.” 26:25 “We tell our players this, we're always going to tell you the why. We're always going to have your best interest in mind and we'll always tell you the truth. Those are things that when you have trust, you have truth. And then they know that you're coming from an area that you do care for them. You can still coach them. You can still hold them to a high standard and accountability, because in any organization, there's accountability and getting players again to try to understand the why and the how and then again, let them take the ownership of it and be a get a player led team...” 28:50

At smaller colleges, strength and conditioning coaches are often asked to lead big with limited staff. Whitney Leyva-Camberos, Director of Sports Performance at Fresno Pacific University and NSCA Southwest Regional Coordinator, shares how she supports a growing program while building a career through service. Leyva-Camberos talks through small-department challenges coaches know well, from crowded training windows and shared weight room space to constant communication with sport coaches. She uses timing gates and velocity-based training to raise intent, spark athlete competition, and keep data useful for a small staff. As a parent and department leader, Leyva-Camberos reflects on the support that helps coaches stay in the field for the long term. She also shares how saying yes and showing up at NSCA events helped turn local introductions into lasting connections. Listen for strategies to lead with limited resources, choose technology with purpose, and get connected through NSCA opportunities in your region. Connect with Whitney on Instagram: @bigassmuscles or by email: [email protected] | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Connect Locally: Find your NSCA region, local leaders, and regional LinkedIn group. Check upcoming State/Provincial & Regional Events for chances to learn, network, and earn CEUs near you. Review NSCA Volunteer Leadership Opportunities for ways to get involved and application windows. Explore the Foundations of Coaching Lifts (FCL) Course for coaching compound lifts with progressions, regressions, and cues. Show Notes“I didn't really hear of a lot of women and moms who were head strength and conditioning coaches. So, I kind of had to lean on other industries, like our head athletic trainer at the time. She's a mom, and she kind of was in the same boat. But then slowly but surely, I've made connections over the years now and seeing that there are a lot more moms in this position. But I think the biggest thing for me is like the village I have.” 8:40  “I'm using technology in my way of adding more content to my list, making sure that they're actually getting what we need out of the list to get the adaptations we need. So, you know, even if we're doing like a quick ten yard sprint, like even putting the gates on, it makes them want to do that competition game with each other [...] Especially when you have female athletes who don't lift as heavy as they should. They're stronger than they think. And we know that and we try to push them. I think the VBT gives them more objective information of like, am I lifting in the range I need to? And so I've used it more for the intent piece.” 13:20  “How did you get involved? What are you doing to volunteer? Because I want to see what that's like. I actually reached out to the Southern California director at the time, and it was actually going to be held at San Diego. And I just said, hey, do you need any student volunteers? I'm willing to drive down and help out. And so I'm pretty sure I drove down by myself. I didn't really have I didn't really know anyone at the time I had started grad school, my husband came down with me, booked a hotel, and I was there, the whole Southern California conference. But I told myself my goal that day was, I'm going to talk to every single speaker at that event. I'm going to connect with every single speaker. Like, this is where my connections begin.” 17:10

Early-career coaches have to learn fast, adapt faster, and still earn trust. Sammi Ryan, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at Boston University, shares how seeking golden opportunities led her across the country and into unfamiliar sports. After an early training experience deterred her from the field, Ryan found her way in through graduate experience and a support system she still maintains today. When coaching sports she has not played, Ryan starts with research, trusted peers, and relationships with sport coaches. She stresses that coaches cannot “copy and paste” what worked at a previous stop because every team, athlete, and setting is different. For Ryan, athlete questions are a chance to clarify the plan or change course. She also discusses staff coverage and sport science integration at Boston University. Ryan reflects on helping college athletes grow and develop as humans, not just athletes. Listen to learn how to strengthen your support system, adapt across teams, and guide athletes beyond sport. Connect with Sammi on Instagram: @sammiryann or by email: [email protected] | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Join the NSCA College Coaches Professional Development Group (PDG) to build your network, share ideas, and navigate challenges in college strength and conditioning. Show Notes“I think a lot of times we can kind of get a little narrow focus on the way we're doing things or the way that things are happening at whatever spot we're at. So, I think being able to lean on different support systems, mentors, other people that were in my cohort at my different grad programs to be able to reach out and lean on them and see how are you dealing with this, not just kind of the X's and O's, but maybe dealing with sport coaches or navigating how to train different teams, or working with sport science or just anything that kind of we deal with on the day to day... I think has been a huge one.” 7:10  “I feel like athletes nowadays, especially with the social media climb, they want to know the reason behind everything. So, I think being able to take a step back and [...] making sure I mean everything I program always has a why behind it. And I told my athletes, if they ask me why and I don't have a reason, I'm more than happy to take a step back and change it.” 14:45  “We get kids that are 17/18 years old and then we can take them and see them grow and develop into not just athletes, but grow and develop as humans as well. [...] I think a big part is being part of their life and helping them develop as humans, not just athletes. And to see that development throughout the years is definitely one of my favorite parts about this field.” 19:20

In the private sector, you are always auditioning. Joe Neal, owner of 2SP Sports Performance based near Detroit, MI, shares a blueprint for serving athletes from youth to the professional ranks. Those foundational principles support off-season training for National Hockey League (NHL) and Major League Baseball (MLB) players. Neal reflects on his untraditional path from an underserved college baseball athlete to a business owner. Along the way, his coaching was guided by self-experimentation, creative training techniques, and relentless learning. He explains what makes a strong private-sector program: coaches should be prepared, moving, and communicating, not buried in screens or programming. Neal also breaks down how he uses technology to individualize training, track progress, and support better decisions without losing supervision. He emphasizes long-term development, where overlooked athletes can keep growing, stay healthier, and outperform early expectations. Listen for practical lessons on culture, coaching, business, and private-sector development across every level of sport. Connect with Joe on Instagram: @joeneal2 or by email: [email protected] | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Join the NSCA Entrepreneur Special Interest Group (SIG) on LinkedIn to connect with other coaches and explore ideas for building and leading in the private sector. Show Notes“If you want to go into the private sector, you got to be willing to bet on yourself constantly. And always be ready to audition, because that's what I feel like I deal with every single day.” 15:25 “If we can do a really competitive and compelling job to get them in there, it’s going to make a difference, you know, a change in their outcomes. [...] I was that athlete who really needed it and that athlete who we probably wouldn't have had, we probably wouldn't be talking if I didn't go through that process myself at this point and just kind of coasted through my career. And it was a game changer for me.” 23:25 “One thing that we want is we want our coaches prepped and ready to go. They shouldn't be programing during, during the session and those type of distractions are really problematic. [...] If they have high energy than our then our athletes are going to have high energy.” 29:40

For many coaches, there comes a point when coaching can become less about proving yourself and more about serving others. Loren Landow, Director of Football Performance at the University of Notre Dame, shares how that shift informs his approach to training, hiring, and leading in elite football. Landow distinguishes workouts from training; every block has a targeted goal, and every off-season is a chance to build brotherhood, uphold standards, and compete in everything they do. Landow also reflects on his path from cardiopulmonary rehabilitation to the private sector, the National Football League (NFL), and the University of Notre Dame. For him, when you can “weather the storm,” no career step is wasted. On the technical side, he argues that movement is his largest key performance indicator (KPI). Landow explains that deceleration is trainable, and athletes need movement literacy before reactive work. Listen to help solidify your standards, coach movement with intent, and adapt a service-first lens to last in the profession. Connect with Loren on Instagram: @lorenlandow or by email: [email protected] | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Join the NSCA Football Special Interest Group (SIG) on LinkedIn to connect with other coaches and stay current on football strength and conditioning best practices. Show Notes“I make sure that I check all my references and make sure that this person is going to be great rowing in the boat with us. I like it and goes back to some of those values being on time. No excuses that you hold players accountable for. It carries over to staff as well, and they obviously have to set that pace for their position groups, their teams and all the way across the board. And I need to have people that understand it's about service, it's about serving. And that's probably one of the more important qualities I look for and I pay attention to in an interview. Does that word come up? Do you understand that your job is to serve?” 9:20  “There's not one part of my path where I thought, man, that was a wasted two years. That was a wasted three years. Everything has led me to this point now where I take all my collective wisdom or experience past failures, and I use those to fuel my direction and ask better questions and ultimately use it to help, you know, serve my student athletes here at Notre Dame.” 13:00  “One of my coaches at my facility reached out to me not too long ago and asked me the question, what would Loren olderself tell Loren's younger self? And I said two things. Patience. Have patience in the process. But weather the storm. Weather the storm in this field because it's going to get hard. It's going to get bumpy, it's going to get choppy. It's not going to be smooth sailing. But if you can weather the storm and you can really decide what it is that you're trying to do.” 14:35

Football is evolving fast, and the coaches who keep pace are the ones who control what they can and win the little details. Ted Rath, Director of Sports Performance for the New Orleans Saints, reflects on over 15 years in the National Football League (NFL). He explains how training times, availability, and sheer athleticism have shifted with the game's expansion. Rath makes the case for gaining a well-rounded experience by coaching different sports, seeking knowledge, and being patient on your path. He also shares his linear progression approach to sport science that keeps new tools actionable and avoids technology overload. With players now arriving more educated and invested in their data, creating understanding and buy-in remains essential. Rath reveals that his coaching philosophy and culture starts with “leading yourself,” emphasizing ownership and helping others. Apply his perspective to protect availability, dial in the little details, and integrate sport science with purpose. Reach out to Ted on Instagram: @tedrathstrengthcoach | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Catch Ted’s session, “The Future of Training in Professional Football,” at the 2026 NSCA National Conference in New Orleans, July 8–11. Sign up early and save at NSCA.com/NSCACon. Show Notes“We work together. That's the greatest thing about team sports. We're in this together and we're competing for the same things and we're trying to help each other get better. But that also goes down to families. We work incredibly long hours, as you know, it's stressful. There are times where it's hard. It's extremely hard. You're going to face adversity. You're going to have ups, you're going to have downs, you're going to have great years. You're going to have very trying years. But all that also reflects upon your family and the people that you choose to surround yourself with.” 5:00 “I always tell the younger coaches that I'm talking to or asking me similar questions. Gain a well-rounded experience and what does that mean? Go see coaches with different philosophical approaches. Go see different sports like we talked about earlier. Go learn wherever you can go. Work with golf athletes and rotational athletes. Go. Just go seek knowledge wherever you can and try to make that as well-rounded as possible. And then don't rush it.” 9:20 “The only wrong step is not taking a step. So, I try to operate with a level of urgency. If you take the wrong step, that's okay. Just learn from it. Don't make that same mistake again.” 11:20

Want to break into tactical strength and conditioning? Start by understanding the physical and stress demands of tactical work. Whitney Tramel explains what coaches need to know before stepping into this space. Drawing on her experience across military, police, and fire settings, she outlines the training qualities tactical professionals need to stay ready. She also discusses the growing focus on “holistic health.” In her view, that means looking at the whole individual and supporting longevity across a demanding career. As Tactical Program Manager at the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and a PhD candidate studying stress physiology, Tramel connects research with the realities of tactical coaching. She also addresses a side many coaches are not ready for: tactical athletes often trust their strength coach with conversations that reach far beyond training. Learn what the role requires, what coaches often miss, and how to enter the tactical field with clarity. Reach out to Whitney by email: [email protected] | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Looking to enter the tactical space or keep growing in it? Explore the Tactical Strength and Conditioning Facilitator® (TSAC-F®) certification and join us at 2026 NSCA Tactical Annual Training in Orlando this August 17 – 20 Show Notes“Maybe there are times throughout the year we can focus more on one than the other. But I think we're really doing people a disservice if we only choose to focus on one at a time. We have a police officer that might be at a desk or two sitting in his cop car all day, but when he needs to chase after someone, he needs to chase after someone, and he doesn't know when that time is going to come. So he needs to be ready to do that at any moment.” 7:40 “Is it required? No. Do I think that it shows that you care and are making efforts towards learning? Absolutely. Secondary to that, it's police officers, firefighters, military personnel, service members who want to bring physical fitness, strength and conditioning, human performance to their department, to their unit, and essentially be a force multiplier...” 19:00 “There's so much research on what the physical and stress demands are of these jobs. So do the research and show up to your first interview knowing without a shadow of a doubt what you're working with. [...] I understand this is what I'm working with. I understand these are some things that I might see in this role. And here's what I plan to do to kind of help that. And I think those are ways to really help you get a job in the space of that's kind of what you're looking for.” 23:05

When William Kraemer first entered the field, strength and conditioning was, as he puts it, “primordial.” There were few standards, limited research, and little shared understanding. As one of the most influential figures in strength and conditioning, Kraemer recounts how the profession grew from humble beginnings into a science-driven discipline. That history still holds weight for coaches today. He explains why coaches are often drawn to new ideas, but progress comes from building on proven principles. Workout logs are central to his approach, and he notes how analyzing training over time can improve decision-making. He also emphasizes alignment across the performance ladder to support innovation and athlete development. As the Senior Advisor for Sports Performance and Sports Science at The Ohio State University, he shares his perspective on where the field is headed next. Apply his wisdom to stay grounded in solid principles, evaluate training with greater precision, and better serve your athletes. Reach out to Dr. Kraemer by email: [email protected] | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Show Notes“I think that search for knowledge, that understanding, that even today I well, we don't know where there's so much, we don't know. I mean, it just gets more complex as you pick up the paper. But if you have the search and the creativity that you want to really understand things and you really, well discovery, and you realize you don't know it all, then you basically build on what we know and the principles and you try to do what's best.” 13:45 “The most important thing you do is your workout logs, and I had a whole chapter on that. If you basically don't understand your workout logs and don't analyze them and look at them and then prepare your athletes to do what their next sequence workout is going to be, you got you really have to be an analytical, you know, monitor, an analytical, forensic person on the athlete's workout logs.” 29:35 “The biggest thing we have to do right now is educate sport coaches, because many of our sport coaches don't have the background that really evolved in into the present day, strength and conditioning and sports performance people or sport science people.” 35:37

Expectations for strength and conditioning coaches now extend far beyond the weight room. Athletes and sport coaches demand better data, deeper insight, and stronger performance. Faith Brown, Associate Director of Strength and Conditioning at George Mason University, supports women’s basketball and volleyball while collaborating with the Patriot Performance Lab. Brown describes balancing teams, testing, and athlete monitoring as a “circus act.” At the heart of her coaching is one goal: be the coach she wishes she had as a college track athlete. She demonstrates ways strength and conditioning coaches can contribute as scientists, creating impact and value outside the weight room walls. Brown shares how GPS, heart rate monitoring, and force plates support workload monitoring. However, she believes that technology should only be used when it answers a real question. Learn how to turn data into better training decisions, translate sport science so sport coaches buy in, and reach out to other coaches to refine your program. Connect with Faith on Instagram: @faithsabrown, LinkedIn: @faith-brown, or by email: [email protected] | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs From the Episode: Explore NSCA’s Essentials of Sport Science, a foundational text defining the field and the role of sport scientists in high-performance environments. It also supports preparation for the Certified Performance and Sport Scientist® (CPSS®) certification exam. Show Notes“We have a lot of interns that come through the weight room. And 85% of them aren't going to continue in strength conditioning especially, or maybe collegiate strength and conditioning, but a part of them doing that internship is figuring out this is not what I want to do. So what else is left out there that maybe I want to explore?” 7:50 “I think it's just being a two-way street with talking to coaches and learning from them about the sport and what they want to see.” 14:32 “The biggest thing when you're working with the new sport is just get out there, watch a sport, talk to the coaches, talk to the athletes, learn as much as you can about it.” 15:30 “For me, I went into student conditioning, obviously, because I loved it. I had a passion for it. But I think also being able to be what I didn't have when I was in college, I didn't have a conditioning coach and me and my friends, still, best friends with two of the girls I ran track with. And they always they're like, face, like all this stuff you all do is like, so cool.” 36:00

The private sector is growing, and so is the competition. With low barriers to entry and clients cycling in and out of programs, you need a strong business strategy to stand out and build staying power. Gini Grimsley draws on her experience across commercial fitness and National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) leadership to address top questions coaches are asking: Where is the smartest place to start? How do you set your rates? How do you grow a client base in a new community? Grimsley distinguishes between being certified and being qualified, noting credentials open the door while applied experience takes you further. She introduces a framework for “periodizing your paycheck,” reverse-engineering income goals into a viable revenue model. Grimsley also outlines how to integrate into established communities and balance hybrid in-person and online coaching. If you are exploring the private sector or refining your approach, gain practical strategies to find your niche and achieve career flexibility. Reach out to Gini on Instagram: @gdotgperiod, LinkedIn: @gini-grimsley-ms-cscs, or by email: [email protected] | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs Make sure your voice is represented in the profession. Join an NSCA Professional Development Group (PDG) to influence the resources and decisions that impact your segment of the field. Show Notes“We're all trying to do the same thing and getting people moving and performing at a very high level because of the carryover that it does have, whether they're performing on the court, or I like to say, performing in the boardroom.” 9:25 “There's all these apps that are coming into play. So not even online coaching, it's just fitness for the masses. And it's always kind of been like that. You go back to the '80s, it was the aerobics tapes that people were buying and doing. And this is the evolution of that, but people start and stop programs more often than we really care for them to and the health outcomes reflect that. […] How do we get people hooked on fitness in a way that meets them where they are and helps them get to where they want to be in a realistic sense, versus trying to get someone to high performance?” 15:30 “You can't become a good leader until you've become a good follower. And the same thing applies to personal trainers. You can't be a good personal trainer until you experience what good personal training, good coaching actually is.” 18:15

Your career can accelerate when you ask, offer, and say yes. For Morgan Smith, that approach led to a postdoctoral fellowship with the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance at Stanford University. Smith recalls how coaching sparked her interest in the science behind performance. Working across academic and practical settings, she encountered challenges with research feasibility firsthand. Today, she focuses on blending coaching with sport science. At Stanford, she began by building relationships and trust within the athletic department. She describes collaborating with coaches and staff to identify research interests, gaps, and low-burden contributions. Smith also highlights opportunities to support club sports, campus recreation centers, and community programs. These roles can help fund education while building your resume, network, and practical skills. She reinforces the value of education as a time to maximize experience and explore interests. Discover how to gain applied experience early, drive cross-department buy-in, and cultivate relationships that move your career forward. Reach out to Morgan on Instagram: @goldenmo_ and LinkedIn: @morgan-smith-sportsscientist | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs | Learn more about the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance at: humanperformancealliance.org. Interested in bridging coaching and sport science? The Certified Performance and Sport Scientist® (CPSS®) credential can help you expand your qualifications, open new career paths, and strengthen organizational collaboration. Show Notes“My biggest tip would be to put yourself out there and to say yes. Especially as an undergrad, if there's something that pops up and it's like, hey, we have an opportunity for a four week internship, or there's an opportunity to shadow this performance center or this coach, or if anything pops up related to what you may be interested in, say yes as much as you can, because those experiences not only are going to help you build skills, but it's going to help you meet people and network, especially when you have such a positive experience. Your name and your face will be in their minds.” 15:50 “Especially as an undergrad, if there's something that pops up and it's like, hey, we have an opportunity for a four week internship, or there's an opportunity to shadow this performance center or this coach, or if anything pops up related to what you may be interested in, say yes as much as you can, because those experiences not only are going to help you build skills, but it's going to help you meet people and network, especially when you have such a positive experience. Your name and your face will be in their minds.” 16:10 “You never know what's going to happen. And especially if it's something that maybe it's an experience or it's a job that you don't necessarily have the experience for, still apply, especially when you're in undergrad or in grad school. I always tell people when you're a student, it's the best time to explore.” 25:20