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.

Hey Everyone! Wanted to circle back as the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Position Statement: Evaluation of Dietary Supplements for Athlete Safety and Performance has officially published in the Journal of Athletic Training! Please check it out and let us know what you think!

Hello! Thanks for the reply and for sharing those awesome ideas! I've found some success in diving into the research and showing the actual performance decreases at different levels of dehydration. I'm not sure exactly what exists for baseball. But here is an example of what exists for basketball: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17596779/ This study shows slower sprint speed and fewer shots made as level of dehydration increases. I still believe the most effective ways to get an athlete to hydrate is to couple a strong WHY this is important message with influencing as much of their environment as possible. We need to get beverages to look as available and appealing as possible in our facilities and then teach athletes to set up a similarly appealing hydration environment in their classrooms, homes, and as they travel around :)

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!

Hi everyone! My name is Michal Ozga and I'm a Scientist at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute. I work in our Clinical Research Headquarters which is located in the R&D facility in Valhalla, NY. In our lab we continue to serve the athlete and support business needs by studying the effects of exercise, hydration, and nutrition on the human body using the latest scientific technology and equipment in the physiology, biochemistry, exercise performance, and energy metabolism laboratories. Below are 5 tips to help you and your athletes: 1. Hydrate Before You're Thirsty Make hydration a daily habit, not just something you think about during training. Thirst is an important signal but waiting until you’re thirsty may mean fluid losses have already begun. Consistent hydration throughout the day can help you arrive at practice, training, and competition better prepared. 2. Replace More Than Water Sweat doesn't just contain water. It also contains electrolytes, especially sodium, which play an important role in hydration and fluid balance. During longer workouts, intense exercise, or periods of high sweat loss, beverages containing electrolytes can help support rehydration. 3. Start Hydrated, Stay Hydrated Hydration begins long before exercise starts. Beginning training in a hydrated state can help support performance and make it easier to manage fluid losses throughout activity. Focus on drinking fluids consistently throughout the day rather than trying to catch up during practice or competition. 4. Adjust for Heat and Humidity Environmental conditions can have a major impact on hydration needs. Hot weather can increase sweat losses, while humidity can make it harder for the body to cool itself. When training or competing in challenging conditions, pay closer attention to your hydration habits and adjust your fluid intake accordingly. 5. Make It Personal There is no one-size-fits-all hydration plan. Fluid needs vary based on factors such as exercise intensity, duration, environment, and individual sweat losses. Testing hydration strategies during training can help you develop a plan that works best for your needs and prepares you for competition. Here is a resource that will help your athletes gain a better understanding of sodium’s role in the process of electrolyte replacement, how fluid loss impacts performance, and what they can do to help their body maintain fluid balance: Understanding Electrolytes and Hydration - Gatorade Performance Partner Questions? Drop them below!

Thanks for the conversation Ashley! In basketball, I think this is where our data tracking and injury monitoring can really help guide the progression. We are not just looking at whether an athlete is “healthy” or “injured”; we are looking at how they are tolerating the cumulative demands of basketball. We can monitor practice minutes, conditioning volume, strength-training loads, GPS data when available, and individual injury or treatment trends. If a player is coming back from an injury, we can compare their current workload to their previous baseline and gradually increase exposure rather than simply clearing them and allowing them to go right back into a full practice. We also look at what the athlete is actually being exposed to within practice—full-court transition, repeated sprinting, defensive slides, jumping and landing, change of direction, and overall practice minutes. An athlete may tolerate a controlled individual workout but still not be ready for the repeated high-intensity demands of a full basketball practice. One advantage basketball has, particularly at the collegiate level, is that we have a little more time to build toward the competitive season. We have several weeks between the start of school and the beginning of the season to progressively increase basketball-specific demands. That gives us an opportunity to identify athletes who may not be at the same level they were before the summer break and gradually build their capacity rather than forcing them immediately into full competition demands. That is different from some sports where preseason begins almost immediately after athletes return to campus and the competitive season follows shortly after. Those sports may have a much smaller window to identify deficiencies and safely progress workload. In basketball, if we use that additional time appropriately, we can move from individual work, to controlled team activities, to higher-intensity practices, and eventually to full competitive demands in a much more intentional manner. This is also where “doing less” can actually allow us to do more. If our injury monitoring or workload data shows an increase in soreness, treatment needs, or overall stress, we may reduce practice volume or modify certain drills rather than taking the athlete completely out. That allows us to maintain fitness and skill exposure while controlling the specific stressor that may be exceeding their current capacity. Ultimately, I think the goal is to use the time we have in basketball to our advantage. Rather than waiting until an athlete is struggling once the season begins, we can use the preseason window to identify trends, establish individual baselines, progressively increase workloads, and make adjustments along the way. The more information we can gather during that period, the better position we are in to have our athletes physically prepared when the games actually count.

My biggest questions are: How can strength and conditioning, athletic training, and coaching staffs better coordinate off-season workload progression to ensure athletes build capacity and performance while minimizing injury risk? When basketball players train outside of the team facility during the offseason with independent strength coaches, skill trainers, or performance staffs, who ultimately has responsibility for coordinating their total workload, monitoring injury risk, and ensuring that their off-season training aligns with the team’s performance and sports medicine goals?

What you’re describing sounds less like “I need another job” and more like “I want to expand my impact as an Athletic Trainer.” You can absolutely do that without leaving your current position. My biggest piece of advice is don’t assume that “doing more” means taking on another job, more teams, or more hours. If you already love your position, the better question is: "How can I increase my impact, responsibility, and professional fulfillment within the job I already have?" Here’s how I would approach it. 1. Identify what you’re actually missing Before adding anything, figure out what is driving the feeling that you could do more. It could be: You want more clinical challenges You want more leadership You want to teach or mentor You want to feel more recognized You want to have a greater impact on your athletes You want to create something You feel like you're capable of more professionally You simply want to continue growing Those are very different problems and require different solutions. 2. Don't just add more coverage This would be my biggest caution. If you're already covering two high schools and a summer baseball league, adding another team or another league may give you more work without giving you more fulfillment. Instead, look for ownership opportunities . For example: “I'm going to take responsibility for improving our concussion management process.” or “I'm going to develop a better return-to-play system.” or “I'm going to create an injury-prevention program for our athletes.” That's career growth rather than simply workload growth. 3. Pick one problem nobody else owns Look around your organization and ask: “What could be significantly better if someone took ownership of it?” It could be something relatively simple. Maybe nobody is systematically tracking injuries. Maybe coaches don't really understand the Athletic Trainer's role. Maybe emergency preparedness needs work. Maybe rehabilitation is inconsistent. Maybe parents don't understand when an athlete should be evaluated. Maybe there's no formal mentorship for young Athletic Trainers. Pick one. Then become the person associated with solving it. That is how you start becoming a leader without necessarily getting a leadership title. 4. Teach more One of the best ways to feel like you're doing more is to start transferring your knowledge to other people . You have three built-in audiences: Athletes → Coaches → Parents You could do short 10–20 minute educational sessions throughout the year. For example: Concussion recognition Heat illness Hydration Injury prevention ACL prevention Proper recovery When to report an injury Why athletes shouldn't hide injuries What happens during rehabilitation You don't need to turn it into a huge program. One good presentation a month could make a significant difference over a year. 5. Mentor someone This is something I think Athletic Trainers sometimes overlook. If you've been doing this for a while, there is probably someone younger who could benefit tremendously from your experience. You could become the person a young AT calls and says: "I have a difficult situation. What would you do?” That can be incredibly rewarding. You don't necessarily need a formal mentorship program. Just make yourself available to help someone develop professionally. 6. Start measuring your impact This is something I strongly recommend. Athletic Trainers often do a tremendous amount of work that nobody sees. Start keeping track. For example: Annual Athletic Training Impact Athletes covered Evaluations Treatments Rehabilitation sessions Injuries managed Referrals Concussions Emergency situations Return-to-play decisions Coach education Parent education Prevention programs Community events After 12 months, you'll have evidence of what you're actually contributing. And you may discover that you're already doing far more than you realize. 7. Build something you're proud of This is probably the advice I'd emphasize most. Create one thing that didn't exist before you started. Maybe it's a concussion protocol. Maybe it's an injury database. Maybe it's a return-to-sport system. Maybe it's a coach education program. Maybe it's an Athletic Training student mentorship program. Maybe it's a baseball injury-prevention program. At the end of the year, you should be able to look at it and say: “I created that, and it made our sports medicine program better.” That's a very different feeling from simply working more hours. 8. Don't overlook your summer baseball league That could actually be an opportunity for professional development. Because baseball has a very different injury profile, you could develop expertise around: Throwing injuries Pitch-count/load management UCL injuries Shoulder health Arm-care programs Hamstring injuries Sliding injuries Heat management Return-to-throwing protocols You could eventually develop a baseball sports medicine program that becomes part of your professional identity. 9. Give yourself a professional challenge every year I'd create a simple rule: Every year, accomplish one thing that makes you a better Athletic Trainer. For example: 2026: Develop an injury-tracking system 2027: Present at a conference 2028: Mentor an AT student 2029: Publish an article/case report 2030: Develop a comprehensive injury-prevention program You don't have to completely reinvent your career. You just need to keep moving it forward. Most importantly I wouldn't interpret this feeling as “I need to find another job.” I'd interpret it as: “I'm comfortable enough in my current position that I'm ready to challenge myself again.” That's actually a pretty good place to be. You love your job. That's valuable. Don't sacrifice that simply because you feel like you're capable of more. Instead, use the position you already have as a platform to become more of a clinician, educator, mentor, program developer, and leader. If you do that well, eventually you may find that your current position has become much bigger than the job description you were originally hired to perform.

Hello everyone, My name is Richard Campbell, MS, ATC, and I’m an Assistant Director of Athletic Training with Rutgers Athletics, where I work directly with collegiate student-athletes in the areas of sports medicine, injury management, rehabilitation, and return-to-play decision-making. Over the course of my career, I’ve developed extensive experience working in collegiate athletics, particularly at the Big Ten level, with a focus on helping athletes safely return to competition while balancing the demands of training, academics, travel, and performance. Some of the areas I’m particularly passionate about include: Injury evaluation and management Rehabilitation and return-to-play progression Objective testing and performance-based rehabilitation Communication between athletic training, sports medicine, strength & conditioning, and performance staff Supporting the overall health and well-being of student-athletes Developing practical, evidence-informed approaches to sports medicine One of the biggest challenges I regularly see is finding the right balance between protecting an athlete's health and allowing them to perform at their highest level. Decisions aren't always as simple as whether an athlete is "injured" or "healthy." They often involve managing symptoms, workload, rehabilitation progress, sport-specific demands, medical recommendations, and the athlete's individual goals. I also believe that communication and education are critical components of sports medicine. The best outcomes happen when athletic trainers, physicians, physical therapists, strength & conditioning coaches, coaches, athletes, and administrators are working toward the same goal. I’m looking forward to being part of this community and sharing experiences, practical strategies, and lessons learned from working in collegiate sports medicine. If you have questions about athletic training, injury management, rehabilitation, return-to-play, collegiate athletics, or the challenges facing today's student-athletes, feel free to ask. I’d be happy to contribute to the conversation!