Coach Craig Cheek looks at the many ways that strength and conditioning of high school athletes differs from that of college- and pro-level athletes, including training time, facility availability, club sports encroachment, parental participation, and so much more.

Slicing data into smaller metrics helps identify how an athlete is practicing and playing, but first you need a reliable athlete tracking system to gather that data. While many athlete tracking companies use sensors on the torso, new sports technology companies like PlayerMaker are changing the game with on-foot sensors that collect actual foot strike data, not estimations from the top of the athlete’s body.

When athletes get ill, especially with bacterial infections, medical professionals often prescribe medications in the fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics (e.g., Ciprofloxacin, Levaquin). However, Rob Panariello cautions that coaches, practitioners, and rehab professionals may want to consider alternatives. Here, he presents both research-based and anecdotal evidence that the use of fluoroquinolones can cause increased Achilles tendinopathy and Achilles tendon ruptures in athletes.

Whether you work in a team gym or a private facility, there are plenty of steps you can take and solutions you can implement to save time—for yourself, other coaches, clients, and/or athletes. Coach Shane Davenport offers up eight hacks for strength and conditioning coaches that have worked well for him.

Do you track your athlete’s body composition? If you do, do you know what to do with the data? In this second conversation between Bob Alejo and Dr. Jordan Moon, they discuss the relationship between body composition and performance, the importance of knowing how to understand and apply body composition measurements, and the value of the body mass index (BMI) for athletes.

Dorman High School strength coach Eric Cash explains how and why they train their athletes using Joe Kenn’s Tier System and Block Zero concepts, which allow for both uniformity in training and variations as needed.

Elite athletes have typically “been there, done that” when it comes to training drills and exercises. Coach Matt Nussbaum makes the case for boxing—and specifically, mittwork—as something new, and relatively risk-free, to develop agility, reaction time, proper breathing technique, and more for coaches to include in their training toolkit.

Sports science can help athletes of all levels reach their potential when used properly. Coach Pickering believes strongly in the power of sports science and writes about how using biomechanics, physiology, and psychology can help athletes reach elite levels.