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Mark Stephenson accepts the NSCA's 2017 TSAC Practitioner of the Year award | NSCA.com

449 views · Published 19 April 2017 · 4:30 · Indexed 24 October 2026

Channel: NSCA · 2017 · Sports

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Mark Stephenson, MS, ATC, CSCS,*D, TSAC-F,*D was named the NSCA's 2017 TSAC Practitioner of the Year. Stephenson is currently the Human Performance Program Manager at a Naval Special Warfare command where he oversees strength and conditioning, sports medicine, nutrition, mental performance/sport psychology, sport science/tactical physiology, testing and assessment, research and development, and recovery. He brings with him over 28 years of experience of rehabilitation, strength and conditioning, and sport science. Stephenson’s area of expertise is in the psychophysiological profile of the elite performer using various biomarkers such as, Heart Rate Variability (HRV), EEG, accelerometry/GPS, and biofeedback to determine optimal training loads and recovery interventions.

Through physiological monitoring Stephenson’s program has developed recovery strategies that have dramatically helped improve chronic overtraining, chronic pain/fatigue, and sleep.  Strategies such as blood flow restriction techniques, modified sensory deprivation through use of Alpha chamber and Flotation tanks, and biofeedback have proven to be successful interventions for improving recovery. Physiological assessments, such as HRV, DC potential, and tensiomyography have also been successful in profiling elite performers as well as aiding in the manipulation of training loads in order to sustain high performance over long periods.

Stephenson began his career as an Athletic Trainer in an orthopedic sports medicine clinic for seven years before opening his own rehabilitation clinic and sports performance center.  He transitioned to college athletics serving as a volunteer strength and conditioning coach at the College of Holy Cross (1995 – 1996).  Mark also served as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Providence College (1996 – 2002), where he was eventually promoted to the position of Head Strength and Conditioning Coach (2002 – 2003).

Prior to working with NSW, Mark was the Director of the Human Performance Center at the National Strength and Conditioning Association (2004 – 2009) where he over saw the resident strength and conditioning programs, physiological testing and assessments, and program development. His duties included serving as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for Colorado College Men’s Ice Hockey team (2004 – 2009), High Performance coach for the Broadmoor Skating Club, and the Tactical Physiologist for the Colorado Springs Police SWAT team.  While at the NSCA he developed the Tactical Strength and Conditioning (TSAC) program.

Stephenson earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Exercise Science, a Master’s of Science in Health Science/Athletic Training, and is currently a Doctoral candidate in Psychology with a specialization in Sport and Performance Psychology. Mark holds certifications from the National Athletic Trainer’s Association (NATA) BOC as an Athletic Trainer, Certified (ATC), National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and a Tactical Strength and Conditioning Facilitator (TSAC-F).

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