On 11/14/2025 at 8:56 AM, Bfaulkner51 said: Hi Coach Marquis! I hope you’re doing well. As an athletic trainer, I saw quite a few knee injuries this fall during football, and I’ve been looking ahead to the offseason to see where we can make improvements. I wanted to ask what some of your go-to exercises are in the weight room to help strengthen the legs and reduce knee-related issues. Our athletes already do the basics (squats, lunges, etc.), but we have limited resources in both the training room and the weight room, so I’m trying to work with our coaching staff to build a more effective and well-rounded program. If you have any favorite movements or simple progressions you think would translate well for knee injury prevention—especially things targeting strength, stability, and mobility—I’d really appreciate your insight! Hi! @Bfaulkner51 SO awesome to hear you're already thinking about off-season and what you can add and build to help the guys be more resilient. My name is Coach Autumn Lockwood, and I am an Associate Sports Performance Coach with the Philadelphia Eagles! I am helping Coach Marquis tag team answering some of these questions! Off-season is a great time to build strength, develop power, and make the guys faster. When it comes to exercises in the weight room to help strengthen the legs and reduce knee-related injuries - isometrics (working up to :30-45 seconds), eccentrics (anywhere from :3-:8 seconds depending on the exercise), and isotonic phases (2-2-2 / 3-3-3 / 4-4-4 tempo - working all phases together) with different lower body exercises like - DB/KB squat, barbell squat, leg press, machine leg extensions, multi-directional lunges, leg curls, split squats, etc. are great options. Those help with building tendon strength and resiliency. From there you can add in power development and plyometrics, and movement mechanics. But, having a solid strength foundation is key! Hope this helps! On 11/14/2025 at 11:21 AM, elifels said: Thank you for your time, Coach! What tip(s) would you give a strength coach who is also a parent, on the topic of raising a child to love exercise and sports - while minimizing the likelihood of burnout or pressure from being a coach's child? Hello @elifels this is such an awesome question, thank you for asking this! My name is Coach Autumn Lockwood, and I am an Associate Sports Performance Coach with the Philadelphia Eagles! I am helping Coach Marquis tag team answering some of these questions! I think the best way to go about it is to be the example you want them to see. When you have a good routine that you stick too, and they see you living that out day-by-day, that's the best way to show them that exercising is good for you and sports can teach you something. If you are in a spot where they are able to be around often, that's even better. I don't have kids yet, but I grew up being a coach's kid - my dad coached football at the collegiate level for over 30 years. I was fortunate to always be around the facility, at practice, and at the games. I was able to see firsthand how much my dad loved his job and the impact he had on the players he was coaching. It helped me love football and learn early on how to serve, help develop, and coach others. It taught me early on that change was good - with how many times we moved around growing up, and we met so many awesome people along the way. My dad always pushed me to be the best version of myself while also instilling in me characteristics that helped me decide to become a strength coach and walk in my own path. He never forced sports on me - it was always my choice. But once I made that choice - he was such a great role model and example on how to achieve the goals that I chose for myself just by being the coach and father that he was! Hope this helps! On 11/14/2025 at 12:11 PM, pfitzgerald said: Hi Coach! As a student studying strength and conditioning, I would love to get some insight from you on a few things that I have been discussing in classes. What would you say are your top core values when it comes to coaching? How do you implement those values in your everyday sessions with your athletes? What changes have you seen in the strength coaching profession that you may have had to adapt to? What is the biggest piece of advice you have for a student like me, getting ready to go out into the strength coaching world? Thank you for your time, Coach, and best of luck to you and your athletes! Happy Saturday @pfitzgerald ! My name is Coach Autumn Lockwood, and I am an Associate Sports Performance Coach with the Philadelphia Eagles! I am helping Coach Marquis tag team answering some of these questions! These are awesome questions, and I am glad you guys are discussing them in your classes! My top core values when it comes to coaching are: (1) Athlete's first - every decision you make should be for the betterment of the athletes that you work with to help set them up for success. (2) Wisdom / Knowledge - You want to be a sponge when it comes to working in this field because there is a lot to learn. There is very much an art to coaching - you have to know your stuff and be knowledgeable BUT you also have to have the wisdom to know when to implement certain things and where. (3) Serve - this field and industry is very much a serving people industry. Throughout your career there will be so many different ways to serve your athletes, coworkers, coaches, support staff, and your organization. (4) Self-Awareness / Self-Assessment / Self-Leadership : this is my three-tier system on what I use to help development myself and my athletes. It's how you can continue to be a lifelong learner in this career. Showing up consistently every day. Being authentically who you are as a person and never trying to be someone that you are not. Building a system that makes sense for you so that you are able to shift and be adaptable to any organization that you work for (that takes time). Sports science being added over the last 10 years has been something that I have had to learn and grow with as it's grown itself. There are so many tools now that help us make the best decisions for our athletes. Playing load management is a big part of this. Doing your research on 1080 sprint, Nord Bord Assessment, Force Plates, Velocity Based Training, GPS Player Load Tracking, and movement screens would be so helpful because more and more programs are using them now. Obtain as much experience as you can while you're a student. See if you're able to intern in the weight room, constantly ask questions. Work with multiple different sports so you see how they all operate. Network at the CSCCa and the NSCA conferences. Do all that you can for personal development with different sources of knowledge. Read the latest research articles and strength and conditioning foundational books. And never feel like you need to know it all at once - allow yourself to continue to learn as much as you can throughout your career! Hope this helps! On 11/14/2025 at 11:22 AM, ATWilson17 said: Hey Coach! Coaching philosophy wise do you believe more in sport specific training or building balanced athletes? What do you consider to be the fundamentals of strength and conditioning? Where did you get your start in strength and conditioning and what keeps you passionate about your work? Thank you for your time. Happy Monday @ATWilson17 ! My name is Coach Autumn Lockwood, and I am an Associate Sports Performance Coach with the Philadelphia Eagles! I am helping Coach Marquis tag team answering some of these questions! Good questions! I personally believe more in building a balanced athlete, because in doing so, you are building the proper foundation of strength, power, speed, etc and that only helps when you get to the more sport specific on-field (or respective playing surface) needs. The goal is always to build resilient athletes that are able to handle the demands of their sport/position. The fundamentals of strength and conditioning, keeping it simple, fall into four buckets, progressive overload/GPP, specificity, individualization, and recovery. There are many modalities that you can go about to achieve those goals, but starting with a solid foundation is always key. From there its's build around the athletes you work with, the time of year it is, how much time you get with them, and so on. I got my start at my Alma Mater, University of Arizona, underneath my former strength coach which was an absolute blessing. The people (athletes, coworkers, coaches) keep me passionate about my work. I love people. And the fact that there is so much to learn, this field turns you into a lifelong learner. Hope this helps!

Hey there from California! I'm a HS AT, and wanted to show some holiday spirit with the classic Gatorade Cup wreath! Happy Holidays!

The Book of Five Rings, by Miyamoto Musashi. While on the surface this focuses on kendo strategy, it is much more than that. Mindset is a key element to this text.

“Strong enough” in basketball isn’t about the amount of volume/intensity an athlete can handle in the weight room. It’s about having the strength that actually shows up on court. A basketball athlete is strong enough when they can control their body through dynamic movement, produce force efficiently, and maintain posture, balance, and coordination at game speed. It means their tissues can tolerate and handle decelerations, landings, and contact without breaking down through a match or demanding season. The strength they build in the weight room transfers to holding their line, creating separation, and sustaining performance over long minutes and heavy schedules. In short, being strong enough is the ability to move well, handle force, stay durable, and repeat your best actions consistently not just lift heavy.

As an athletic trainer who works in baseball primarily with rehab and return to play progressions on the minor league end of things, I am curious how others progress players back from lower extremity injuries on the running progression front. We have recently started using yardage data to program how much and often we are running and yardage goals prior to getting back into games as well as the standard intensity progression. We have also been able to utilize average times around the base paths to make sure they are reaching a normal intensity before returning to games. Does anyone have any additional metrics they look at when progressing running or looking at readiness for return to games from a lower body injury?

When the season is on the line, how do you keep athletes at their best? What tips or go-tos have you seen that consistently help them physically and mentally?

Whether it’s a new high-tech tool or a tried-and-true staple, what’s the one thing you reach for every day—something you couldn’t do your job without and wish everyone in your field knew about?

Speaking to the nutrition piece, there are several things to consider. Education being the most important, they need to understand WHY it is important to eat breakfast and WHAT they should be including at all meals and snacks. As Jarod mentioned, there are so many great resources to provide this education located within the Fieldhouse and you can search by subject and type of resource (pdf, poster to hang in ATC room, video to show, etc) Insights for Better Performance - Gatorade Performance Partner As you mentioned the meals provided by the cafeteria may not cover all the needs of these student athletes so having nutrient-dense items to supplement is important (protein shakes, protein bars, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches being some simple examples). Adding nut butters to smoothies, oatmeal, yogurt is a great way to increase calories, healthy fat and add some protein. Adding snacks between meals that are more nutrient dense and have protein will help to increase overall intake as well (trail mix + beef jerky, pbj, meat/cheese and cracker snack packs, etc). As Jarod also mentioned having some of these items available in the training room would be a great reminder to them to make sure to be consistent with intake. Hope this helps and happy fueling!!!

Hi, my name is Kate Roth and I am currently a senior in high school and a part of the sports medicine team and club that we have at my school. I was one of the athletic trainers for our football team and am hoping to continue sports medicine throughout college and after. I am trying to look for a summer internship that I could apply for preferably with a football team. I have been having a hard time figuring out where I could apply or if this is possible so I would love your help! Thank you so much!

I researched the best electrolyte packets because I have started training more often and noticed that plain water isn’t enough to keep me hydrated and energized. After spending the past few days reading reviews and comparing different brands, I came across several expert recommendations from Healthline, Forbes Health, and Men’s Journal. So far, the two that keep showing up on top are: Instant Hydration Electrolytes Powder Packets https://www.amazon.com/Instant-Hydration-Electrolytes-Powder-Packets/dp/B0DDLXZL8C/?th=1 HydroMATE Electrolyte Powder Variety Pack https://www.amazon.com/Electrolytes-Drink-Mix-Variety-Sticks/dp/B09GKX9J39/?th=1 I am mainly looking for something that helps with post-workout recovery, hydration after long days in the heat, and avoiding fatigue. Taste and sugar content also matter a lot to me. I prefer something that isn’t overly sweet but still effective.Has anyone here tried either of these, or found another brand that works even better? I would love to hear your experiences and which one actually makes you feel the difference.Thanks in advance for any recommendations!