The Typical Day
A typical day for a strength and conditioning coach includes establishing and conducting weight workouts, of course. However, other means of conditioning are as big a part of an athlete's needs as weight training. Half of your time will be spent conducting such workouts. Other coaching tasks include equipment maintenance, data collection and filing reports on athlete progress to the respective sports' coaches.
The busiest time of the year for a strength coach is August. Football, volleyball and other fall sports are in the final pre-competitive period to play their first game in early September. That is not a lot of time! It is not uncommon for strength coaches to put in 14-hour days during the pre-competitive period.
What To Expect
A good coach will always lay down a yearly plan, which he believes is foolproof. However, it never is. After you have your programs lined up, the head coaches, athletic trainers, doctors and administrators invariably throw monkey wrenches into your plans. To your dismay, they will have what you know to be uneducated opinions about training science, and usually you'll have to adjust to their opinions. It's good to present your point of view and to back them up with solid science, but remember the athletic coaches, doctors and administrators always get the last word.
The athletes are another matter. Once you and your coaches are on the same page, you're the boss! But the athletes will give you every excuse in the book not to comply with your training protocol. Some are legitimate (class schedules, doctor's orders, religious obligations, etc.), but others are frustrating to hear. Yale University strength coach, Steve Plisk, once gave me a list of over 70 excuses he's heard from athletes! My favorite wasn't on his list. An athlete once told me he couldn't come to workout because it was raining and he couldn't find his umbrella! I asked, "Well, are you going to carry your umbrella during a game if it's raining?"
"Well, no... But I'll have my helmet on."
"Great! Get your helmet and see you in a few minutes!"
Other odd and unexpected situations come up. One time, during a 7:00 AM session, a rainstorm flooded the weight room. Within minutes the weight room was three feet under water. Cars in the parking lot were floating away! Our swimmers didn't seem to mind, though they did have a great idea to get water out of their car when the waters subsided. They turned the car sideways!
Another time the entire university had a blackout. At this particular weight room, there were no windows and the room was in a basement. Pitch black! We had to wait for security to come in with flashlights to guide us out of the building.
The point is that stuff happens, and you are sometimes obliged to adjust.
Getting Certified
There are two outstanding certification programs to choose from:
* The International Sports Sciences Association
* National Strength & Conditioning Association
My strong recommendation is to get both. I did. I have excerpted a brief description from their respective web sites below. My experience is that the ISSA's Specialist in Sports Conditioning (SSC) program ( www.issaonline.com ) provides a more practical orientation than does the NSCA's Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) program; however, the CSCS program offers more theory.
ISSA President Fred Hatfield, Ph.D., and E.J. "Doc" Kreis, D.A., MSS, head strength coach for the University of Colorado Buffaloes, designed the ISSA's SSC curriculum. These two individuals have trained hundreds of world-class and professional athletes. Many of the finest and most respected authorities in the field of sports science look to these two men for their expertise. No other certification agency has an advisory board with more credentials and vast experience.
The SSC text, Sports Conditioning: The Complete Guide, combined with the study guide and training video, is an absolute must for any coach, assistant coach, athletic trainer, or personal trainer who works with athletes to improve their performance. No other course provides the secrets of elite athlete training like ISSA's SSC certification program.
The NSCA ( www.nsca-cc.org ) provides resources and opportunities for professionals in strength and conditioning and related fields. With over 22,000 members located in over 60 countries, the NSCA draws upon its vast network of coaches, athletic trainers, physical therapists, educators, researchers and physicians to develop and present the most up-to-date information on strength training and conditioning and personal training practices, injury prevention and research findings.
NSCA members benefit from receiving the Strength and Conditioning Journal (bimonthy), the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (quarterly) and the Bulletin newsletter (bimonthly).
Tips On Getting Into The Profession
- Ninety-eight percent of all strength coaches have a master's degree in physical education.
- As an undergrad, get involved. Go to the strength coach and offer your services for free. Sweep floors, dust, log info into the computer and get used to painting. With a little luck, your coach will be able to pay you through a work-study program or out of his budget, but don't count on that being the case.
- Your chances of getting into the field are greater if you are, or have been, a competing athlete yourself.
- Apply for a graduate assistant position. If your head strength coach is well connected, it will be much easier to find one. Another good source is the NCAA's website (http://www.ncaa.org). Check their employment opportunities under "graduate assistants" and "strength and conditioning."
- Now that you are a grad assistant, realize you are there to learn the trade. Earn your strength coach's trust and respect and he'll be more eager to help you!
- Reading scientific journals and coaching magazines will keep you informed of what trends are happening in the field.
- When it is time to spread your wings, look into becoming an assistant. Once you find a position as an assistant, look to stick around for a while! There may be opportunities to move to a better job or better location, but consider that move carefully. When you do finally get into a position to become a head strength coach, athletic directors will want to know how long you've stayed at one place.
- Authoring or co-authoring articles in various journals and publications will be useful in being recognized as an expert.
- Attending seminars and conferences are also an excellent way to get your name known.
- All through this process, there is one "key" to becoming a coach: NETWORKING! Unfortunately, "who you know" is as important as "what you know" in landing a job. Getting to know the other sport coaches in your department (many of whom will be looking to get head coaching positions themselves) and talking to other strength coaches are excellent networking opportunities.
Concluding Comments
If you are looking for a profession that pays well, become a lawyer or an accountant. The coaches who are in the major football conferences will make six figures. But head strength coaching jobs usually will earn you $30,000 to $45,000 a year. Assistants will earn about $25,000 or less.
The field of strength and conditioning can be very satisfying and rewarding. It is not an easy field to get into and even tougher to land your "dream job". Chances are you will have to move to an area of the country you wouldn't have otherwise considered. You are one of many coaches and staff members working together to make your athletes better. However, yours is an extremely important part. It's the part directly responsible for allowing your athletes' skills and abilities to become sharpened, especially in the final minutes of a game.
Copyright (c) 2002, ProPower, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this information may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, distributing, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author. Inquiries should be addressed to ProPower, 6006 Eldorado Drive, Tampa, FL 33615. For complete information on all Dr. Squat's e-booklets, products, programs and more valuable information available to help you get stronger, faster, healthier, lose fat or train for your sport, visit www.drsquat.com.
For complete information on all Dr. Squat's e-booklets, products, programs and more valuable information available to help you get stronger, faster, healthier, lose fat or train for your sport, visit www.drsquat.com.
