Hey Katie, For collegiate basketball, I think the biggest issue is that supplements have become part of the daily performance culture. Our athletes are constantly exposed to products through social media, outside trainers, teammates, and commercial gyms, so by the time they ask the athletic training staff, they may have already purchased or started taking something. The products we see most often are probably creatine, protein, pre-workout, caffeine, electrolyte products, and recovery supplements. Creatine and protein are generally easier conversations because there is a much stronger evidence base. The bigger concern is the pre-workout, fat-burner, testosterone-booster, and "proprietary blend" products where we may not know exactly what the athlete is consuming or whether the product has been appropriately tested. For basketball, I think the "Safe, Legal, Effective" framework is particularly useful. We have to consider not only whether something works, but whether it is appropriate for an NCAA athlete and whether there is any contamination or banned-substance risk. A product that is completely legal for the general population can still create an eligibility problem for a student-athlete. I also think this is an area where the AT, sports RD, strength staff, and team physician need to have a unified message. If an athlete gets one answer from the athletic trainer, another from strength and conditioning, and another from an outside trainer, we're creating unnecessary risk. For my team, I think we do a great job of communicating and funneling our message to our student-athletes instead of having different voices and the student-athlete choosing what answer they want. One thing that has helped in basketball is trying to move the conversation from "Can I take this?" to "Let's evaluate it before you take it." If an athlete sends us a picture of the product and the full ingredient label before purchasing it, we can determine whether it is worth considering, whether it is third-party tested, and whether we need to involve the sports RD. Ultimately, I don't think our job is to know every supplement on the market. Our job is to recognize the risk, know where to verify the information, and know when to refer. With collegiate basketball players having access to so many different training environments and outside performance professionals, having that process in place is becoming increasingly important.

Hi Katie! Thanks for sharing this information, it is very practical! Not to completely switch topics, but have you followed these protocols with athletes who train and compete in cooler environments and then have to travel to extremely hot and humid conditions for competition? If so, how have you communicated these strategies to coaches and athletes to help prepare them for those conditions? I think hot water immersion can be very practical when a hot tub is readily accessible within the facility. Anecdotally, I have also found sauna use to be beneficial for heat acclimatization. I think the biggest challenge in a team setting is often logistics, especially getting consistent buy-in and compliance from both coaches and athletes. I’d be interested to hear how others have approached this when the environmental conditions at the competition site are significantly different from what athletes are accustomed to training in.

It's a boring thing to harp on for the coaches as well, but they've got to do their part and make sure it is constantly reiterated.

They are approachable. You should feel comfortable bringing them a question, mistake, uncertainty, or even a disagreement without feeling judged.

For basketball, staying ready late in the season is a constant balance between load, recovery, and maintaining exposure to the qualities the game demands. Unlike baseball, where the workload can be very different depending on position and game demands, basketball players are repeatedly exposed to high-intensity accelerations, decelerations, jumping, cutting, contact, and change of direction. By the late season, the goal isn't to build a completely new level of fitness—it is to maintain capacity while managing accumulated fatigue. I like to approach this through a preparation-and-recovery model. Players still need to move. They still need to jump. They still need to sprint and change direction. They still need exposure to high-velocity movements. But the volume and dose of those activities may need to change based on the individual athlete and where they are in the competition schedule. Some of the biggest priorities are: Daily readiness: How did the athlete recover from the previous game or practice? Sleep, soreness, wellness, workload, and movement quality all provide useful information. Maintain explosiveness: Don't completely remove high-speed or high-force activities. Strategic exposure to jumping, sprinting, cutting, and other explosive movements helps maintain the qualities needed to compete. Manage volume: Late-season training should complement competition rather than compete with it. Sometimes the best training session is a shorter, higher-quality session. Keep athletes moving: Recovery doesn't always mean sitting on a table. Mobility, activation, low-level movement, and controlled aerobic work can help athletes feel better and prepare for the next demand. Individualize the plan: A starter playing 35 minutes, a player coming off the bench, and an athlete who hasn't played much may all require very different training and recovery strategies. Use the data to support decisions: Player workload, jump counts, practice minutes, wellness data, and injury history can help identify trends—but they should be used alongside clinical judgment and communication with the athlete. Prepare for the next game, not just recover from the last one: Every decision should ultimately answer the question, “What does this athlete need today to be ready to perform again?” One advantage basketball can have is the ability to manipulate the training environment. Depending on the schedule, we can reduce volume, adjust practice intensity, modify individual workloads, and still give players enough exposure to maintain their physical qualities. Late-season basketball isn't about doing more. It's about being intentional with what we do. The goal is to have athletes arrive on game day feeling recovered—but still mobile, explosive, confident, and prepared for the high-velocity demands of the game.

As the school year starts back up and athletes return from summer break, I thought this would be a good time to talk about some programming considerations when returning from an extended break. We all want to believe that our athletes followed their summer training plan, but realistically, some probably did their own thing while others may have taken the summer completely off. Although you may have had a few athletes complete the full training packet, we still need to account for the fact that they are returning to a structured training environment. One of the biggest things I consider is not trying to do too much too soon. This includes too much variety in movements, too much volume or intensity, and overly complex or unstructured programming. I also like to give athletes 2–4 weeks before conducting any formal testing or evaluations. That initial period is a great opportunity to gradually build them back up, establish expectations, and get a feel for where they are physically before doing any type of max-effort testing or conditioning tests. From a programming standpoint, I think things should be relatively simple and general early on. This is a great time to emphasize work capacity, add muscle mass, and improve technical proficiency. One way to accomplish all of that is by incorporating tempo work into the program. Tempo work can help reinforce movement patterns, create time under tension, and provide progressive overload while also help establish the pace and flow of the training session. Another consideration that can easily be overlooked is that athletes are not just athletes. They are also students. When they return to campus, they are balancing training, practices, academics, social life, and everything else that comes with being a student-athlete. There is a lot being thrown at them during that first month, so managing their overall workload becomes extremely important. I also think this is a great time to meet with the performance team and coaching staff to discuss the upcoming season. Getting everyone on the same page early can help establish expectations, identify potential conflicts, and create a more cohesive plan for managing workloads throughout the semester. If you are interested in learning more on high-performance meeting points from the Strength and Conditioning perspective, please refer to @powellm412 discussion post, “Getting the School Year Started Off on the Right Foot,” as I go more in-depth there! I’d love to hear from everyone else— what are some of the biggest considerations you have when programming for athletes returning from a long summer break? Do you have specific strategies you use during those first few weeks to gradually build them back up?

I really like the emphasis on making hydration a daily habit rather than something athletes only think about once practice starts. From an athletic training perspective, I think the biggest takeaway is that hydration needs to be individualized. Two athletes can participate in the same practice but have very different sweat rates and fluid needs. I would also emphasize the connection between hydration and performance. Dehydration can affect an athlete’s ability to maintain intensity, concentration, and thermoregulation, which becomes especially important in basketball where athletes are repeatedly sprinting, changing direction, and working at high intensities. Environmental conditions also need to be considered, particularly during preseason training when athletes may be returning from summer break and aren't necessarily acclimatized to the heat. One area where I think athletic trainers can have a significant impact is helping athletes understand their individual needs rather than simply telling everyone to “drink more.” Monitoring body weight before and after training, paying attention to sweat rate, and educating athletes on when electrolytes may be beneficial can help create a more personalized approach. Ultimately, hydration should be treated as another component of athlete preparation and recovery—not just a response to feeling thirsty. When coaches, strength and conditioning staff, and athletic trainers consistently reinforce that message, athletes are more likely to develop habits that carry over into practice, competition, and recovery.

Hey Connor! I like this topic a lot. I think it is extremely important to evaluate ourselves and seek feedback from others to continue growing both professionally and personally. From a professional standpoint as a strength and conditioning coach, something I have learned over the years is the value of doing an annual evaluation of the sport(s) I worked with. Some areas I may include in that evaluation are: Injuries/Player Availability: What injuries occurred during the competitive season? We’re there any injury trends? How did player availability compare to previous years? Areas of Strength: What went well throughout the year, both objectively and subjectively? Areas of Improvement: What could have been better, and what can I learn from those areas? Programming Considerations: Reflecting on the programming and determining what may need to change for the following year. Are we losing a lot of players to graduation? Will we have a younger roster? Is the style of play changing? Are there coaching staff changes? Data/Performance Metrics: What data did we use to track performance, and what trends did we see throughout the year? Training Phases: What did each training phase consist of, and did the frequency and training goals align with what the team needed? Doing a deeper sport analysis, along with getting feedback from coaching staffs, performance team members, and supervisors, has helped me continue to grow as a professional. It also gives me a better starting point for the following year and helps ensure that I am not simply repeating what we did the previous year without evaluating whether it was effective.

Is there a way to get sponsorship from Gatorade?

Hey Joe! I really like the model you followed and agree with your theory of combining acceleration and tempo training in the same session, especially for team sport athletes. I have followed something similar in the past by combining acceleration and tempo work. I think a lot of it depends on the overall setup and what is feasible within the schedule, facilities, and total training time. When I worked with softball in the past, I typically followed an acceleration day, max velocity day, and change-of-direction/agility day paired with the lift days for the higher-intensity work. Then, we had one tempo running day and one non-impact conditioning day for the lower-intensity, higher-volume work. This allowed us to maintain a high-low model while also facilitating recovery between sessions. I am curious how you have incorporated change-of-direction/agility work within your high-speed running plan and if you have included any additional conditioning work specifically for your pitchers. Great article, thanks for sharing!