NSCA Impact Award
The NSCA Impact Award is given to an individual who is mid-career or later that has made significant contributions that have impacted a segment of the overall field of strength and conditioning. The NSCA Board of Directors carefully deliberates to select the recipient of this prestigious award.
Congratulations to the 2022 winner!
Steve Bliss, MEd, CSCS, RSCC*E, FNSCA
Coach Bliss served as the first strength and conditioning coach at the University of Miami, The Ohio State Univer-sity, and North Dakota State University. During his 50+ years in the industry, he has coached national champions and authored "Buckeye Football Fitness, 4th Down and One Rep to Go," which has been admitted the Jefferson Room at Library of Congress in Washington, DC. He currently serves as the Exercise Coordinator for Sanford Health in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Coach Bliss has served the NSCA in many capacities, including as President from 1987 to 1989, on the Board of Directors, State Director of South Dakota, and on NSCA committees. Steve help establish the NSCA Challenge Scholarship and the insurance liability programs while serving on the Board. He was awarded the NSCA Strength Coach of the Year in 1991 and the Boyd Epley Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2010. In 2018, Coach Bliss was recognized as a Fellow of the NSCA (FNSCA). Steve has been married to wife Doenise for 35 years and has two grown sons, Evan and Joe.
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Award Eligibility
| Nominee must have a minimum of five years cumulative professional membership |
| Individuals must be nominated by a current member of the Board of Directors but recommendations may be submitted to the Board by any current member of the Association |
| Nominations must be accompanied by a brief supporting statement regarding the nominee’s qualifications for consideration for the award |
| Nominations and recommendations must be received by December 15 to be considered for the following year’s award |
Past Award Recipients Include:
| 2021 - G. Gregory Haff, PhD, CSCS,*D, FNSCA | |
| 2020 - Steven J. Fleck, PhD, CSCS, FACSM, FNSCA | |
| 2019 - Jerry L. Mayhew, PhD |  |
| 2018 - Mike Arthur, CSCS, RSCC*D |  |
| 2017 - Andrea Hudy, MA, CSCS,*D, RSCC*E |  |
| 2016 - Yuri Verkhoshansky, PhD | |
| 2015 - Keijo Häkkinen, PhD | |
| 2012 - Jim Lorimer | |
| 1997 - Bernard Cahill and John Fatouros |
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