The NCAA recently passed legislation prohibiting coaches from scheduling early morning workouts for D1 collegiate athletes. But what about high school athletes? In this article, Volt Advisory Board member and veteran high school strength coach Mike Nitka and I discuss the pros and cons of early morning training for teen athletes—and how it may be doing athletes more harm than good.
Read MoreAre you a new strength coach, or planning to become one? Doug Berninger, M.Ed., CSCS,*D, RSCC, USAW-ASPC has been there—and now he’s sharing his expertise in a brand-new ebook written just for coaches! From nailing your resume to the day-to-day duties of weight room life, The Reality of Strength and Conditioning: Expectations for New Coaches offers invaluable advice for coaches who want to start their careers off right.
Read MoreIn the final installment of Dr. G's 3-part series on Understanding Your Athletes, he offers 5 must-read articles on the sociology of coaching - PLUS some super bonus content you won't want to miss! Brian Gearity, Ph.D., directs the Sport Coaching Master's Program at the University of Denver, is a self-proclaimed "scholar-coach," and might just have the dryest, most sarcastic writing style you'll ever see from a Ph.D.
Read MoreWhen it comes to producing the best possible athletic performance, doing more is not always better. In this installment of our new Myth-Busters series, we tackle the myth behind the "sweat equity" approach to training, and explain why sometimes less truly is more.
Read MoreChampions are built in the off-season—which is why our Sport Performance team has created the ultimate guide to designing a comprehensive off-season football training program. The guide lays out how strength and conditioning professionals create research-based, periodized, and effective training programs for football athletes, step by step. Best of all? It’s free to download!
Read MoreRecently, Brian Gearity, Ph.D., Director of the Sport Coaching Master's Program at the University of Denver, shared his top 10 must-read sociology articles for coaches. In Part 2 of his 3-part series, he breaks down in more detail 5 of those articles and provides commentary to stimulate further thought and dialogue.
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Ever wondered why your athletes play great one half, and poorly the next? Or why they score 10 points one game, and 30 points the next? Consistency has a lot to do with your athletes' "arousal level," a measure of their internal energy level (or butterflies). Guest author Lindsey Wilson of Positive Performance explains how to quantify arousal level and use it to help your athletes perform better, and more consistently.
Read MoreSometimes, mental preparation can be just as important for your athletes' success as their physical preparation. Guest author Lindsey Wilson of Positive Performance shares 3 easy techniques coaches can use to help their athletes get ready to compete at their highest level.
Read MoreStopping your training in-season is kind of like playing Super Mario Bros., getting to the final boss, then shutting off your Super Nintendo: you lose your progress! There's a lot more to it than that, but the importance of in-season strength and conditioning cannot be understated. Guest author and strength coach Doug Berninger tells us why in-season training helps athletes prevent injuries and perform at their best—and why coaches MUST make it a priority.
Read MoreEffective coaching is about much more than just physical training. Motivation, encouragement, discipline: it's all part of the complex coach-athlete relationship. Brian Gearity, Ph.D., directs the Sport Coaching Master's Program at the University of Denver and today shares his top 10 must-read sociology articles for coaches - because to help our athletes perform better, we must first better understand our athletes.
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