CSCS program implementation, new in 2025

A youth soccer coach with limited equipment and one assistant needs an aerobic fitness test for 24 players aged 12–14. Which test is MOST appropriate?

1. Yo-Yo intermittent recovery
   The Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test needs only cones and audio, tests the whole group at once and fits soccer's intermittent demands.
2. 30-second Wingate cycle test
   The 30-second Wingate test measures anaerobic power on a cycle ergometer, not aerobic fitness.
3. Graded treadmill VO2max test
   A graded treadmill VO2max test needs lab equipment and tests one player at a time.

A novice learning the power clean fails a rep. The coach responds with 'jump harder, keep the bar close, and catch with high elbows,' and the next rep is worse. Which feedback approach is MOST appropriate?

1. Detailed cues after every attempt
   Long lists of cues after every rep overload a novice's working memory, which is what made the next rep worse.
2. No cues until the session ends
   Giving no cues until the session ends leaves the athlete repeating the same fault without guidance.
3. One prioritized cue per attempt
   One short, prioritized cue per attempt targets the most important fault without overloading a novice's attention.

Over two weeks of heavy training, a volleyball player's countermovement jump height falls by 12% and ground contact times in repeated hops rise, with no change in body mass. What is the MOST appropriate response?

1. Keep the current plan
   Keeping the plan ignores two converging markers of declining readiness.
2. Reduce the training load
   A clear drop in jump height plus longer contact times, with no change in body mass, points to accumulated fatigue, so the load should come down.
3. Add more plyometric volume
   More plyometric volume adds stress to an athlete already showing neuromuscular fatigue.

A strength coach reviews countermovement jump (CMJ) data to identify athletes whose decrease in performance most likely reflects a meaningful change rather than normal daily variation. Based on the data below, which athlete should be flagged?

1. Athlete B
   Athlete B's drop of 2.6 cm is about 2.2 standard deviations below baseline, the only change clearly beyond normal day-to-day variation.
2. Athlete A
   Athlete A dropped the most centimeters, but with an SD of 4.0 cm that is only about 0.75 SD, within normal variation.
3. Athlete D
   Athlete D's drop is about 0.5 SD, too small to separate from normal daily variation.

A strength and conditioning professional wants to use velocity-based training for the back squat and needs the most valid and reliable measure of mean concentric bar velocity. Which technology is MOST appropriate?

1. Linear position transducer
   A linear position transducer tethered to the bar is the field device with the best validity and reliability for mean bar velocity.
2. Slow-motion phone video
   Slow-motion phone video depends on manual frame-picking and camera angle, so it is less reliable for every set.
3. Wrist-worn accelerometer
   A wrist-worn accelerometer tracks arm movement and estimates velocity indirectly, which adds error.

A soccer player's countermovement jump height falls from a baseline of 60 cm to 53 cm during a heavy training block. What is the percent change from baseline, to one decimal place?

1. −13.2%
   −13.2% divides the 7-cm drop by the new score of 53 instead of the baseline of 60.
2. −7.0%
   −7.0% treats the 7-cm drop as a percentage without dividing by the baseline.
3. −11.7%
   (53 − 60) ÷ 60 × 100 = −11.7%.

A sport scientist monitors an athlete's countermovement jump (CMJ) daily; the test's coefficient of variation (CV) is 3%. Based on the data below, on which day does CMJ FIRST fall by more than the test's typical variation?

1. Day 4
   Day 4 shows a larger drop, but Day 3 already crossed the threshold, so Day 4 is not the first.
2. Day 3
   Day 3 is the first day the drop (3.75%) exceeds the 3% coefficient of variation.
3. Day 2
   Day 2's 2.5% drop is within the 3% typical variation of the test.

Two staff members must assess lower-body strength in 40 novice high school athletes during one preseason session. Which test is MOST appropriate?

1. A true 1RM test
   True 1RM testing on 40 novices with two staff is slow and risky for athletes with unproven technique.
2. A maximum push-up test
   A push-up test measures upper-body muscular endurance, not lower-body strength.
3. A 5RM test used to estimate 1RM
   A 5RM test is safer for novices and quicker to run with little staff, and the result can be converted to an estimated 1RM.

At baseline, athletes began the 20-m sprint test 30 cm behind the first timing gate. At retest, the tester had them start directly on the gate line. What effect is MOST likely?

1. Faster retest times from the start change
   Starting on the line removes the flying start that made baseline times quick, so times get slower, not faster.
2. No effect on the measured times
   The measured distance is the same, but the start condition changed, so the times will differ rather than show no effect.
3. Slower retest times from the start change
   With a 30-cm run-in, athletes were already moving when they broke the first beam, so starting on the line makes retest times slower.

Over one week, a rugby player's session RPE load rises 25% (450 to 563 AU per session) while GPS total distance stays the same (5,200 m per session). What is the MOST appropriate next step?

1. Check intensity data and wellness markers
   A rise in perceived load at the same distance points to harder running or a tired athlete, so intensity data and wellness should be checked.
2. Recalibrate GPS units and retest distance
   The GPS distance is consistent, so nothing suggests the units are faulty.
3. Treat it as normal variation and carry on
   A 25% rise in internal load at an unchanged external load is too large to dismiss as normal variation.

A 60-minute testing session includes a 1RM back squat, a vertical jump, a 300-yd shuttle, and body composition (skinfolds). Which order is MOST appropriate?

1. Body composition, vertical jump, 1RM squat, 300-yd shuttle
   Body composition goes first while the athlete is rested and dry, the jump comes before maximal strength, and the exhausting shuttle comes last.
2. Vertical jump, 1RM squat, body composition, 300-yd shuttle
   Skinfolds after the squat and before the shuttle come after fatigue and sweat that can distort measurements.
3. Vertical jump, 300-yd shuttle, 1RM squat, body composition
   Running the 300-yd shuttle second leaves the athlete exhausted for the 1RM squat.

A strength and conditioning professional tests a large collegiate team's vertical jump. Scores are normally distributed with a mean of 24 in (61 cm) and a standard deviation of 2 in (5 cm). One athlete jumps 26 in (66 cm). At approximately which percentile does this athlete rank?

1. 68th percentile
   About 68% of scores fall within ±1 SD of the mean, which describes a range, not a percentile.
2. 98th percentile
   The 98th percentile corresponds to about z = +2, a 28-in jump.
3. 84th percentile
   26 in is one SD above the mean, and about 84% of a normal distribution falls below z = +1.

A sprinter's 10-m time has been 0.08 s slower than baseline on two tests a week apart, and the staff decide to cut his sprint volume for 10 days. Which message to the athlete is MOST appropriate?

1. 'Your starts are slower; we'll cut sprint reps and retest in 10 days.'
   It states plainly what changed, what the staff will do and when he will be retested, so he understands and can buy in.
2. 'Your times are basically normal; we're just changing things up.'
   Calling a repeated slowdown 'basically normal' misrepresents the data the plan is based on.
3. 'Acceleration kinetics show neuromuscular fatigue; a deload protocol begins.'
   Jargon about kinetics and protocols tells the athlete little he can act on and gives no timeline for the next check.

A high school basketball coach measures vertical jump with a jump-and-reach device (Vertec). How is the athlete's jump height determined?

1. Highest reach minus the base vane height
   The device's base vane height is the same for everyone and has nothing to do with the athlete's own reach.
2. Highest reach minus standing reach
   Jump height is the highest vane touched minus the athlete's standing reach with the arm fully extended.
3. Highest reach minus athlete's height
   Subtracting body height ignores arm length and greatly overstates the jump.

A collegiate team is starting daily HRV monitoring. When should athletes take their daily reading to MOST improve day-to-day comparability?

1. In the evening, before going to bed
   Evening readings are affected by the day's activity, meals and stress, which makes them hard to compare.
2. On waking, before food or caffeine
   A reading on waking, before food, caffeine or training, removes most acute influences, so day-to-day changes reflect recovery.
3. Right after the morning training session
   A reading right after training mostly shows the acute effects of that session.