NSCA’s Coaching Podcast NSCA

NSCA Coaching Podcast – Season 8 Episode 1 – Since 1998, Bryan Mann has dominated strength and conditioning, securing positions at elite collegiate programs and defining research in strength, power, and velocity-based training (VBT). As the Academic Director of Strength and Conditioning at Texas A&M University, Bryan still gets the rewarding chance to shape students like his former athletes, but now, he’s focused on the future. He’s expanding his scope to human performance as a whole — applying his coaching expertise to advance performance across general, special, and tactical populations. Join NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager Eric McMahon as we follow Bryan’s professional path, including his recent transition to the Aggie’s powerhouse performance staff alongside Bo Sandoval and Tommy Moffit. Plus, explore pioneering research on Parkinson’s, the rise of individualization in VBT, and how to create a “forward” (not backup) plan for career longevity.

Connect with Bryan on Instagram @jbryanmann or Twitter/X @jbryanmann | Find Eric on Instagram @ericmcmahoncscs or LinkedIn @ericmcmahoncscs

In this episode, you’ll learn about the NSCA Presenter Application process. Apply by May 15 to be considered for 2025 local events and conferences while earning CEUs for your expertise.
Show Notes“What kept me coaching on the floor for so long, even with having the PhD, was watching the athlete develop from a child to a mature adult. [...] That’s what I really enjoyed. And I just use the weight room and jumps and sprints and everything as a vehicle for that.” 2:43

“You can take plyometrics and scale that to the aging population. That's going to help to the tightened isomers. That's going to help with the stored elastic energy that they're not getting depth through the resistance training. You could do all the heavy stuff you want. You can do all the fast stuff you want. But if you are not using the stretch-shortening cycle appropriately, you're not going to be influencing gait. You're not going to be influencing mobility appropriately.” 14:10

“Find what excites you. What do you think about at night? What do you think about in the morning? What is it that’s always on your mind? That’s the area you should explore [...] because that is what’s going to make you great.” 17:20

“If you have the ability to apply your skillset in another area, you just increased your ability within the job market to go ahead and apply that towards aging, towards general population.” 23:06

“The best ability is availability. And if I have my athletes out on the field feeling good, they’re going to be playing better than if they maintain 95% of their squat max.” 34:46

In this episode with Associate Head Coach of Athletic Performance, Anna Craig, you will learn how “Annual Strategic Planning” improves the professionalism and unity of the University of Texas (UT) Olympic Strength and Conditioning Department. Craig shares her coaching philosophy and talks about the role of mentors during her tenure at UT with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon. This episode stresses the importance of building autonomy in student-athletes and having humility to effectively manage staff dynamics within collegiate strength and conditioning. Learn about how Craig’s off-campus work, coaching in the private sector, allows her to grow professionally. Tune in for some useful tips on staff and facility management.

Connect with Anna on Instagram at: @annaecraig or by email at: anna.craig@utexas.edu| Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs
Show Notes“I want to encourage anyone who is a director of their team or anyone who is in charge of hiring or in charge of longevity—I want to emphasize just the importance of coaches being in their position for a period of time to really make an impact on the place that they are and to really make an impact on their programs and teams.” 5:47

“My philosophy, in life and in my coaching, is that I would like to—if you gave my athletes an exit interview or if you talked to somebody who knew me and you asked them, are you a better person and a better athlete having been coached by Anna than you would have been otherwise?” 11:23

“I want to intrinsically motivate my athletes to seek significant change within themselves and confidence within themselves to be someone at the end that they are proud of.” 12:32

“And part of that is just getting them comfortable with giving each other feedback too. Having hard conversations and giving feedback is uncomfortable. And if they can’t do it in an incredibly controlled situation within the weight room or within strength training, then they have no chance doing it in a heated situation on the field. They’re probably going to handle that incorrectly, not say anything. And so, I want to teach them how to be good communicators. I want to teach them how to be responsible.” 17:35

Get to know the 2024 NSCA Assistant College Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year, Kenna Smoak-Minnici. After accepting her award at the 2024 Coaches Conference, she connects with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, about the unique coaching rigors at the prestigious military academy, Army West Point. The episode goes beyond the demands of sport-specific training to developing student-athletes and leaders for sustained success in the military. Smoak-Minnici highlights the role of family along her journey as an athlete and strength and conditioning coach, as well as the importance of always pushing yourself to go beyond the norm.

Connect with Kenna on Instagram at: @kenna_minnici or LinkedIn: @kenna-smoak-minnici | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs   

Did you enjoy the episode? Don’t forget to nominate a deserving strength and conditioning coach for an NSCA Coach of the Year Award at NSCA Awards.
Show Notes“I also help out with the Athlete Monitoring Program. Everyone is probably familiar with—to get in the military, you have to have meet certain height and weight requirements, or physical abilities that might lean more towards distance running, push-ups, sit ups, whatever it may be. But when you have a 300-lb lineman, or a heavyweight wrestler, or a rugby player, or a thrower, that type of training might not—that body size isn’t conducive to their athletic career for them to stay safe and be successful. So, I work close with getting those athletes ready to commission once their sports seasons end.” 4:48

“When I got to middle school, my parents sat me down and they’re like, okay, maybe softball, or track, or some of your other sports might—and I was like, “no, I’m playing football. I like this the best. I like hitting people.” So, then my dad was, to really appease my mom, like, “don’t worry, I’m going to make her quit.” And so, then he made me get up every morning at 5:00 AM and do his whatever he knew about two hours of working out before school in middle school and I fell in love with it to where he didn’t make me quit. So, I played through junior year.” 11:30

“To me, it’s just all flowing and I can’t compartmentalize it. I’ve been at West Point a while, so I really do feel like I have a family here, to where I can bring my son around. There’s definitely been last minute schedule changes. I’ve thrown him in the hiking backpack and just coached a group. My players love him and he loves Army. It means so much to me for him to see me feel like I have a purpose in my career.” 15:15

Have you ever considered getting a K-12 teaching license, with your CSCS, to gain employment as a high school strength and conditioning coach? Coach Justin Loudon serves as the Chair of the NSCA High School Coaches Professional Development Group (PDG). He shares PDG updates with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, including highlights from the 2024 NSCA Coaches Conference and direction for the future of high school coaching. Learn about the impact of school-based strength and conditioning beyond the weight room, and important benefits for students over their lifetime.  

Connect with Justin on Instagram at: @coach_loudon or by email: loudonsc@gmail.com| Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or X (Twitter): @ericmcmahoncscs | Here is a link to engage with NSCA Professional Development Groups.  
 
As mentioned in the episode, check out the book: NSCA's Guide to High School Strength and Conditioning
Show Notes“I think it's more about being a physically literate individual. So for me, being able to teach these kids and educate these kids on how to do this, I think it just sets them up for success later on in their life.” 6:38

“Our job is really to help mold those kids, the whole child aspect. It's not just focusing on sports. And if I can get that 93%, 94% stronger and better and more athletic, than the other 6%, 7% is going to come with it as well.” 12:48

“Being a coach is being a teacher and being a teacher is being a coach. And I think if you can get that education background, even a couple of classes on it, that's really going to help you out as a coach, whether it's in the college level, professional, or wherever, just being able to look at things maybe slightly different.” 25:10

Catch up on this presentation from the 2024 NSCA Coaches Conference with Major League Baseball (MLB) Tampa Bay Rays Strength and Conditioning Coach, Joey Greany. Greany takes NSCA Coaching Program Manager, Eric McMahon, on a deep dive into plyometrics for a wide range of athletes. He also shares the importance of professional development for strength and conditioning coaches. Tune in to learn in-season training tips and how the NSCA inspired Greany’s path to the Big Leagues.

As mentioned in the episode, here is a link to learn more about the Professional Baseball Strength and Conditioning Coaches Society (PBSCCS).  

Connect with Joey on Instagram at: @joeygreany | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or X (Twitter): @ericmcmahoncscs
Show Notes“I was very interested in fitness, in sports training. So I went to school for exercise science, physical education. Upon graduation, I explained to the group that my academic advisor, at the time, printed out the NSCA, I guess, job board and the NSCA website, handed that to me. I was walking back to my dorm room, reading the material that he just printed out from the NSCA, and you know, I was completely hooked. I said, this is something that I want to do. Eventually, I want to work with the best athletes in the world.” 8:40

“The Professional Baseball Strength and Conditioning Society, is an organization that represents all the strength coaches in professional baseball. When it first started out, there was only a few coaches involved. Over the course of some years, we’ve grown to probably 300 plus coaches that are involved. That’s both Minor League coaches and Major League strength and conditioning coaches, as well as other directors and coordinators are also involved.” 12:45

“Communicating with the players on the team, developing relationships and trust with these players on your team is very important to get them to do the things necessary to improve performance.” 17:45

“It’s important that you manage strength and power levels, while also keeping in mind of fatigue and recovery throughout the whole off season. And there’s a number of different strategies, techniques, and methods to go and to utilize that. As far as sets and repetitions, I like giving a set and repetition range for my athletes.” 20:28

From tactical strength and conditioning to developing the skills to train a specialized group of football kickers, Catherine Wallace shares how growing up in a military family inspired her into coaching. In this episode, Wallace connects with NSCA Coaching and Sport Science Program Manager, Eric McMahon, on how to pursue a tactical coaching career in different branches of the military and public safety. She discusses how earning the Tactical Strength and Conditioning Facilitator® (TSAC-F®) certification led her to pursue the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist® (CSCS®), and more ways that involvement with the NSCA has positioned her for career growth. There is also a discussion about “holistic programs” within strength and conditioning, an area that has been popularized, but is perhaps still misunderstood. Listen and learn about the rapidly growing tactical strength and conditioning area of the field, and the mindset needed to thrive as an impactful coach.

Connect with Catherine on Instagram at: @tac.coach.cath or by email: catherine.university@hp.com | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs or Twitter: @ericmcmahoncscs
Show Notes“I would say, a big piece of advice if you are making that transition is take time to be a fly on the wall and observe and soak in the community and the area that you’re working within. That’s going to be helpful to build trust within your tactical athletes that are coming through.” 7:29

“The NSCA provides so much great content, opportunities to collaborate, to communicate, to grow yourself, and then, also, to grow other coaches.” 14:55

“You can have the best program in the world, but if it doesn’t match the person, if you don’t understand the intent, the why, the purpose behind it, you’re only scratching the surface.” 20:20

“Whether you want to take your service into the fitness field or strength conditioning or you’re looking to pour into whatever it is that you’re doing in the moment—whether that’s you’re working in corporate or you’re just looking to build within yourself or your own community—we tap into the importance and what defines a successful coach.” 23:59