How to Become a Strength and Conditioning Coach
Take classes that will prepare you for the job., Decide whether or not you need a certification., Choose an organization to get certified through., Find out how much money you'll have to pay to take the certification exam., Prepare for and take the...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Take classes that will prepare you for the job.
Common majors for successful strength and conditioning coaches include Strength and Conditioning, obviously, but also Kinesiology and Exercise Science, among others.
By taking classes in these subjects, you will gain the knowledge you'll need to help your athletes improve.
Your chances of being hired and paid well in this position will be higher if you hold an associate's or bachelor's degree in one of these or in a related field.
Research your local colleges and universities to determine which program is the best fit for you.
If attending college full-time is not an option for you, take continuing education classes in those fields.
Even if you don't earn a degree, you will still learn the type of information you will need to perform the job. -
Step 2: Decide whether or not you need a certification.
If you want to work at a high level and make a larger salary, your employer might require certification as a strength and conditioning coach.
However, if the position you are trying to attain does not specifically request certification, you may be able to skip it. , Although there are many agencies for certifying strength and conditioning coaches, the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is the most widely respected of these., The National Strength and Conditioning Association's exam costs $260 for NSCA members, and $445 for non-members.
Make room for the exam in your budget. , Look up what information will be cover in your agency of choice's test.
Study the format of the exam as well — will it be entirely multiple choice, or do you need to brush up your essay-writing skills? If you took classes in college relevant to the exam, look at your old class notes to refresh the information in your mind.
Most reputable certification agencies will provide study materials for people studying to take the exam.
Avail yourself of those resources. , An elementary-aged athlete’s body is very different from a high school-aged athlete’s body, and you cannot treat every age group with the same blanket approach to exercise.With young children (6-11 years old), be aware that girls will develop motor skills at an earlier age than boys.
With children, plan activities that will help young athletes develop basic motor skills like jumping, throwing, catching, skipping, climbing, etc., rather than focusing on the specialized motions of the specific sport you’re preparing them for.
Older athletes should be encouraged to develop more complex skills like speed, agility, and flexibility. , Remember to address all the major muscle groups, including calf muscles, hamstrings, quadriceps, shoulders, etc., You cannot use a generic, blanket approach to all athletes.
Each sport — and sometimes, each position within a sport — will require athletes to develop specialized skill sets.
Make sure you understand the needs of your particular athletes before beginning a training program with them.
For example, goalies in ice hockey and catchers in baseball spend much of their time squatting.
Their strength and conditioning needs will be very different from a marathon runner, whose needs will be very different from a football running back whose position calls for quick bursts of speed and the agility to make sharp cuts. , Yoga is a terrific way to strengthen core muscles, as are sit-ups and crunches, low back extensions, Supermans, and exercises with kettle bells.
You should also consider activities that will benefit players of specific sports; for example, basketball players will benefit from passing a medicine ball back and forth, while taking golf swings while balanced on one leg will help golfers., Though athletes in all sports should work on their upper bodies, some sports — gymnastics, for example — specifically require a great deal of upper body strength.
Bicep curls, push-ups, tricep push-ups, pull-ups, and rope climbing are all good exercises for arm strength. , If their legs can't support them, athletes will be hard-pressed to win in a competitive setting.
Running, either on a track or on a treadmill, not only develops long muscle in athletes' legs, but it also improves their cardiovascular health and endurance, allowing them to perform at a high level without tiring for longer amounts of time.
To add power for athletes whose sports require it specifically, leg exercise routines should include squats, leg presses, lunges, and vertical jumps. , These exercises are meant to maintain, rather than increase, muscle mass.
Have your athletes hold each position for a set amount of time; consider their injury and physical ability, and use your discretion in determining the duration of the hold.
Add at least 10 seconds onto their best time every two weeks to improve form. , As a strength and conditioning coach, you will serve in many capacities: teacher, leader, motivator, and support system for the athletes under your guidance.
Because you will see your athletes through a wide variety of experiences, you need to be able to adjust your approach from context to context, from day to day. , Although your athletes will likely be socialized to accept orders from coaches unquestioningly, there may be situations in which you have to alter the manner in which you deliver your message, depending on the emotional state of your audience in that context.
Your goal as a coach is not to domineer, but to get the best possible results out of your athletes.
This may mean that you have to change the delivery of your message from “an order” to “advice.” , Ethos is credibility: speak from a place of authority.
Most of your communication will be ethically charged orders and commands.
Logos is a logical approach: perhaps an athlete feels like giving up because he or she is having a bad day.
Reason with them.
Instead of speaking from authority, help them understand how logical it is to work through their bad days to reach their goals.
Pathos is an emotional approach: on your athletes' worst days, you’ll have to work hard to understand how they’re feeling and help them change negative emotions into positive mindsets. -
Step 3: Choose an organization to get certified through.
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Step 4: Find out how much money you'll have to pay to take the certification exam.
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Step 5: Prepare for and take the certification exam.
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Step 6: Specialize your activities for the age group you’re working with.
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Step 7: Have your athletes stretch out thoroughly before and after exercising to reduce the chances of injury.
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Step 8: Create a program of exercises that will be best suited to the sport your athletes play.
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Step 9: Create a list of exercises to develop your athletes' core strength.
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Step 10: Put your athletes through exercises that develop arm strength.
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Step 11: Develop your athletes' leg strength.
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Step 12: For injured athletes who need rehabilitation
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Step 13: create a list of isometric exercises
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Step 14: also known as holding moves or holding positions.Note that because these activities do not engage the body in a wide range of motion
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Step 15: you should have a wide variety of isometric exercises in your routine.
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Step 16: Strengthen your rhetorical awareness.
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Step 17: Negotiate the relationship between your role as author
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Step 18: the message you're trying to send
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Step 19: and the audience that's listening to you.
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Step 20: Make use of the rhetorical triangle to make effective arguments.A helpful way to navigate these different methods of message delivery is through an understanding of ethos
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Step 21: pathos
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Step 22: and logos.
Detailed Guide
Common majors for successful strength and conditioning coaches include Strength and Conditioning, obviously, but also Kinesiology and Exercise Science, among others.
By taking classes in these subjects, you will gain the knowledge you'll need to help your athletes improve.
Your chances of being hired and paid well in this position will be higher if you hold an associate's or bachelor's degree in one of these or in a related field.
Research your local colleges and universities to determine which program is the best fit for you.
If attending college full-time is not an option for you, take continuing education classes in those fields.
Even if you don't earn a degree, you will still learn the type of information you will need to perform the job.
If you want to work at a high level and make a larger salary, your employer might require certification as a strength and conditioning coach.
However, if the position you are trying to attain does not specifically request certification, you may be able to skip it. , Although there are many agencies for certifying strength and conditioning coaches, the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is the most widely respected of these., The National Strength and Conditioning Association's exam costs $260 for NSCA members, and $445 for non-members.
Make room for the exam in your budget. , Look up what information will be cover in your agency of choice's test.
Study the format of the exam as well — will it be entirely multiple choice, or do you need to brush up your essay-writing skills? If you took classes in college relevant to the exam, look at your old class notes to refresh the information in your mind.
Most reputable certification agencies will provide study materials for people studying to take the exam.
Avail yourself of those resources. , An elementary-aged athlete’s body is very different from a high school-aged athlete’s body, and you cannot treat every age group with the same blanket approach to exercise.With young children (6-11 years old), be aware that girls will develop motor skills at an earlier age than boys.
With children, plan activities that will help young athletes develop basic motor skills like jumping, throwing, catching, skipping, climbing, etc., rather than focusing on the specialized motions of the specific sport you’re preparing them for.
Older athletes should be encouraged to develop more complex skills like speed, agility, and flexibility. , Remember to address all the major muscle groups, including calf muscles, hamstrings, quadriceps, shoulders, etc., You cannot use a generic, blanket approach to all athletes.
Each sport — and sometimes, each position within a sport — will require athletes to develop specialized skill sets.
Make sure you understand the needs of your particular athletes before beginning a training program with them.
For example, goalies in ice hockey and catchers in baseball spend much of their time squatting.
Their strength and conditioning needs will be very different from a marathon runner, whose needs will be very different from a football running back whose position calls for quick bursts of speed and the agility to make sharp cuts. , Yoga is a terrific way to strengthen core muscles, as are sit-ups and crunches, low back extensions, Supermans, and exercises with kettle bells.
You should also consider activities that will benefit players of specific sports; for example, basketball players will benefit from passing a medicine ball back and forth, while taking golf swings while balanced on one leg will help golfers., Though athletes in all sports should work on their upper bodies, some sports — gymnastics, for example — specifically require a great deal of upper body strength.
Bicep curls, push-ups, tricep push-ups, pull-ups, and rope climbing are all good exercises for arm strength. , If their legs can't support them, athletes will be hard-pressed to win in a competitive setting.
Running, either on a track or on a treadmill, not only develops long muscle in athletes' legs, but it also improves their cardiovascular health and endurance, allowing them to perform at a high level without tiring for longer amounts of time.
To add power for athletes whose sports require it specifically, leg exercise routines should include squats, leg presses, lunges, and vertical jumps. , These exercises are meant to maintain, rather than increase, muscle mass.
Have your athletes hold each position for a set amount of time; consider their injury and physical ability, and use your discretion in determining the duration of the hold.
Add at least 10 seconds onto their best time every two weeks to improve form. , As a strength and conditioning coach, you will serve in many capacities: teacher, leader, motivator, and support system for the athletes under your guidance.
Because you will see your athletes through a wide variety of experiences, you need to be able to adjust your approach from context to context, from day to day. , Although your athletes will likely be socialized to accept orders from coaches unquestioningly, there may be situations in which you have to alter the manner in which you deliver your message, depending on the emotional state of your audience in that context.
Your goal as a coach is not to domineer, but to get the best possible results out of your athletes.
This may mean that you have to change the delivery of your message from “an order” to “advice.” , Ethos is credibility: speak from a place of authority.
Most of your communication will be ethically charged orders and commands.
Logos is a logical approach: perhaps an athlete feels like giving up because he or she is having a bad day.
Reason with them.
Instead of speaking from authority, help them understand how logical it is to work through their bad days to reach their goals.
Pathos is an emotional approach: on your athletes' worst days, you’ll have to work hard to understand how they’re feeling and help them change negative emotions into positive mindsets.
About the Author
Teresa Hart
Writer and educator with a focus on practical hobbies knowledge.
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