Building athletes who are strong, healthy, and resilient requires more than sets and reps, starting with a shift in mindset. Christi Edson, Head of Performance for the Orlando Pride in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), shares how she integrates strength and conditioning with sport science to sustain athlete health and performance. She reflects on the field’s evolution from the well-known “Bigger, Faster, Stronger” program to a training culture emphasizing resilience, active recovery, and durability. Drawing from her experience coaching high school athletes to NWSL professionals, Edson highlights the adaptability and creativity coaches need. Those qualities help her to develop athletes who can thrive through a demanding 11-month season. She details how tools like GPS, force plates, and velocity-based training sharpen communication and reshape expectations in the gym. Her story points coaches toward the future of athlete development: collaboration, precise load management, and long-term health as the foundation of strength.

Connect with Christi on Instagram: @christiedson and LinkedIn: @christiana-edson | Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs  

Read the article, “A Creative Mind in the Professional Development of a Strength and Conditioning Coach,” from NSCA Coach, 11(1), February 2024 — referenced in this episode’s return-to-play discussion. NSCA Members enjoy full publication access.

Interested in bridging coaching and sport science?

The Certified Performance and Sport Scientist (CPSS) credential can help you expand your qualifications, open new career paths, and strengthen cross-department collaboration.

“I think that would be a good example of how I fell into the sport science side, is I was trained up as a S&C coach and then was given technology to figure out after the fact. One of those technologies being force plates, which I have come to love. They're so diverse in what I can do with them in the gym.” 9:15

“I tell my athletes that all the time. You're not here for me. You're not here for me. You are here to play soccer. And my job is to help you stay healthy, to play soccer. We have some words up in the gym, which I finally got. It was strong, healthy, resilient. […] I want you to be healthy mentally and physically, because I don't need you to just slog through a season. I want you to feel good going into the weekend. But then resilient, you're going to take some knocks. But can we bounce back from that? And that strong foundation, I think, is a big piece of that.” 17:25

“Keep your ear to the ground for internships. […] Get those NSCA certifications in early because they are becoming more required. And the organizations that you work for have their ear to the ground. They understand what the minimum standard should be.” 24:10