Strength and conditioning coach
Like personal trainers and group exercise instructors, strength and conditioning coaches help others to improve their fitness. But strength and conditioning coaches differ from the others in one very important way—the clients they work with are focused on improving their performance or skill in a sport.
Like personal trainers and group exercise instructors, strength and conditioning coaches help others to improve their fitness. But strength and conditioning coaches differ from the others in one very important way—the clients they work with are focused on improving their performance or skill in a sport. This is why strength and conditioning coaches work primarily with athletes.
With advances in the science of human performance, nearly all coaches have come to recognize the advantages of conditioning in high-level competition. This means strength and conditioning coaches are important contributors to most athletic teams. A strength and conditioning facility at a university resembles a fitness center but has significantly more weightlifting equipment because strength and power are crucial to success for most athletes. Conditioning coaches might also be employed by high schools, fitness centers, physical therapy clinics, and professional sport teams. They are increasingly employed by commercially based performance-enhancement companies such as the nationally franchised Velocity Sports Performance or Athletic Republic, or by locally owned centers such as Dynamic Sports Performance in Asburn, Virginia, or Proehlific Park in Greensboro, North Carolina. In this latter category of employers, the facility is likely to provide a range of equipment for improving agility, speed, and sport-specific performance.
Salaries for strength and conditioning coaches vary as much as the type of work they do; generally salaries are in the same range as those of personal trainers—typically in the $40,000 to $60,000 (U.S.) range depending on experience and qualifications. Most strength and conditioning coaches aspire to work at the college or professional level. Head conditioning coaches at the college level are typically paid anywhere from $45,000 to $75,000 annually. Some can earn as much as $200,000, but these higher salaries are rare. Conditioning coaches for professional teams typically earn more than college coaches, but usually less than $100,000 per year.
Strength and conditioning coaches have two primary goals. The first is to improve athletic performance, which usually means improving athletes' speed, strength,and power (although specifics vary according to athlete and sport). Conditioning coaches develop systematic training programs for both teams and individual athletes, often working in close association with coaches. This usually includes teaching proper lifting techniques, supervising and motivating athletes as they work out, and assessing their performance before and after the program. The nature of the conditioning program will vary depending on whether the sport is in season or not. During the off-season, conditioning programs can be quite rigorous. In season, conditioning programs tend to focus more on maintaining athletes' conditioning than on improving it. Conditioning programs also vary by sport, and even by position within the sport.
The second primary goal is to reduce athletic injuries. To that end, conditioning coaches often design regimens to strengthen body parts that are prone to injury in a particular sport. Andrew Moser, Strength Coach at Iowa State University agrees, saying, "Student-athletes can have a great training plan that improves their speed, agility, strength, explosiveness, etc., but if we can't keep them healthy and out there competing, then all of the training improvements don't help us." Thus to prevent athletes from getting injured during training, conditioning coaches must know the correct exercise and lifting techniques and be able to teach them to athletes. The conditioning coach also monitors athletes' general health, sometimes providing nutritional advice or referring athletes to a registered dietitian if they need more sophisticated nutritional counseling.
In ideal environments, athletic departments hire one conditioning coach for every 10 to 20 athletes who use the conditioning facility. The actual number of coaches is usually much less. Depending on the size of the athletic program and the level of competition, there might be as few as one or two conditioning coaches. The University of Notre Dame has 9 full-time coaches who work with about 750 student-athletes. Iowa State University has 4 full-time coaches for about 450 student-athletes. Central College in Pella, Iowa, competes at the NCAA division III level and, despite also having about 450 student-athletes, only recently hired a second full-time conditioning coach. At the professional level, you usually find more coaches working with fewer athletes. For example, the Washington Redskins have three coaches for about 75 athletes, and the San Antonio Spurs have a coach for 15 players.
Conditioning coaches usually meet regularly with the team's coaches to determine what individual athletes, or the team, needs to work on in the conditioning facility. If working with an injured athlete engaged in rehabilitation, conditioning coaches will also consult with the sports medicine or athletic training staff to be sure they do not ask the injured athlete to do anything inappropriate in the conditioning facility. Conditioning coaches who work in sport performance-enhancement facilities usually work with other performance specialists. Their client base tends to be younger (junior high school or senior high school students), and they interact often with their clients' parents.
Athletic exercise programs can be fairly rigorous, and it can be difficult to get athletes to train as hard as they should. For this reason conditioning coaches must be good motivators. Because of the diversity of their clientele, coaches must be organized in how they administer each conditioning program and be detail oriented in terms of record keeping. Much like a personal trainer, a conditioning coach must be a good teacher because he will be trying to educate athletes on how to execute weightlifting and other exercises correctly. Conditioning coaches must also be perceptive; they will be monitoring athletes as they train, correcting any lifting errors they make. Finally, to work successfully with an array of athletes, coaches, and maybe even parents, the conditioning coach requires above-average interpersonal skills.
Like any professional, a successful conditioning coach requires the right combination of education, certification, and experience. A conditioning coach should have at least a BA degree, with kinesiology as the ideal major. A master's degree is usually required for college-level jobs. There are many certifying agencies, but there is really only one widely respected certification for strength and conditioning coaches: the CSCS, or Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist offered by the National Strength and Conditioning Association. This certification is virtually a requirement for employment as a conditioning coach.
Experience might be equally as important as preparation for a career as a conditioning coach. The wise student will gain firsthand experience in a strength and conditioning environment while still in college. Whether working as an assistant, an intern, or as a volunteer, nothing is more important than gaining firsthand experience. Working in a fitness center is helpful in this regard, but most fitness centers are committed to improving health and fitness rather than athletic performance. For this reason, it is also important to merge studies in kinesiology with experience working under the supervision, or mentoring, of a skilled strength and conditioning coach. Fortunately many coaches like to share their expertise with enthusiastic young people interested in pursuing similar careers. As is true for the other fitness careers discussed in this chapter, it is worthwhile to become a member of a professional organization. The premier organization for conditioning coaches is the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Members have access to several journals focusing on the science behind conditioning as well as practical methods of doing so.
The job market for strength and conditioning coaches is brisk but tough. There is considerable competition for jobs, especially at the college and professional levels. Some strength and conditioning coaches hire assistants who have a good pedigree, meaning they have worked with well-known conditioning coaches in the past. It can be difficult breaking into this circle without having made connections or having proved yourself with top-level conditioning coaches. On the other hand, strength and conditioning expertise is becoming more sought after by performance-enhancement companies and fitness clubs. In a recent survey of worldwide fitness trends, the American College of Sports Medicine found that demand for strength-training experts was one of the top five most promising employment trends over the past few years. Note that this survey was administered primarily to fitness-oriented clubs and facilities, not athletic programs.
Read more about Careers in Sport, Fitness, and Exercise, by American Kinesiology Association.
Identifying a high-quality kinesiology program
The very best programs provide a solid grounding in the broad field of kinesiology, including exercise physiology; biomechanics; motor development, control and learning; sport psychology; and sociocultural analysis of sport and physical activity.
Departments of kinesiology should be judged first and foremost on the quality of the programs they offer. Most departments require students to take a cluster of departmental courses known as "the core." This core requirement is important because it forms the groundwork for more specialized knowledge taught in various concentrations (e.g., teacher education, athletic training, etc.). The very best programs provide a solid grounding in the broad field of kinesiology, including exercise physiology; biomechanics; motor development, control and learning; sport psychology; and sociocultural analysis of sport and physical activity. See the American Kinesiology Association's (AKA) recommendations listed in figure 1.4. The specifics of this core varies substantially from department to department; sometimes, for example, courses and subject areas are combined into single courses.
High-quality programs require internship experiences of varying durations; offer opportunities for students to get involved in research under the direction of faculty mentors; present opportunities to gain leadership experience in campus organizations; and facilitate students' efforts to volunteer in campus or community service projects. For many exercise science classes, you also want to ensure that laboratory experiences are part of the instructional program. Here are some hints for selecting a department that will meet your personal and professional needs:
- Select a college or university that suits your general tastes. Are you afraid of getting lost in the shuffle of a large state university? If so, there are scores of smaller liberal arts institutions that offer programs in kinesiology. Although these schools do not have high-profile intercollegiate sport programs, which many students find attractive, they usually offer small classes and opportunities to establish close relationships with faculty. If, on the other hand, you think you would be happiest in a larger school, limit your search to those institutions.
- Examine the academic catalog. Is ample coursework offered in the kinesiology department to support your study? Does the program offer a concentration or a full-fledged degree program in kinesiology?
- Review the departmental website. Does the department seem alive? Are exciting things going on?
- Examine the faculty directory of the department on the website. Review their credentials, if listed on the site. Do faculty members share your interests? Are they fully engaged in their profession? Are they active in academic or professional societies? Are they sponsoring interesting projects? Are they publishing in academic and professional journals?
- Plan to visit the department. Set up an appointment with the department head or with faculty members working in areas that interest you. Send them an e-mail to introduce yourself before you meet with them.
- Talk to students during your visit. Current students offer a unique perspective on the department that others cannot. Use caution, though—do not accept opinions blindly; if students have had bad experiences with a single professor this might have tainted their feelings about the entire department. Talk to as many students as possible to get a complete picture.
Learn more about Careers in Sport, Fitness, and Exercise, edited by American Kinesiology Association.
Aquatic therapy specialist
Aquatic therapy is an umbrella term used to describe water-based therapeutic exercises designed to improve functional activities.
Aquatic therapy is an umbrella term used to describe water-based therapeutic exercises designed to improve functional activities. The Aquatic Therapy and Rehab Institute specifically defines aquatic therapy as “the use of water and specifically designed activity by qualified personnel to aid in the restoration, extension, maintenance and quality of function for persons with acute, transient, or chronic disabilities, syndromes or diseases.” Patients with a variety of injuries and conditions benefit from the freedom of movement made possible by the buoyancy of water; this makes aquatic therapy a beneficial adjunctive therapy that does not create additional stress and strain on joints. Aquatic therapy should not be confused with aquatic fitness (aquatic exercise focused on overall general health and wellness) or adapted aquatics (aquatic activity for persons with disabilities). Health care providers specializing in this area are typically credentialed in other subdisciplines, such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, or athletic training, and have sought additional training in the application of aquatic therapy.
Aquatic therapy specialists work in traditional outpatient rehabilitation centers, hospitals, and sports medicine clinics that have access to a full-size or therapeutic-size pool. The aquatic therapy specialist is considered an add-on certification for other health care providers such as athletic trainers and physical therapists. Thus it is difficult to speculate exactly how many individuals have obtained this certification. As well, although salary data is not available for these professionals, it can be assumed that salary ranges are similar to other health care providers employed in sports medicine rehabilitation clinics.
Aquatic therapy specialists work with a variety of patients using aquatic-based exercises as an adjunct to traditional therapeutic interventions. For example, it is common for physical therapists to integrate aquatic therapy into the walking progression for patients recovering from total knee replacement surgery because the buoyancy of the water allows for an earlier progression than does walking on land. Aquatic therapy specialists incorporate principles of water and physics into the development of therapeutic exercise protocols for maximum patient outcomes.
As mentioned previously, aquatic therapy specialists are typically credentialed health care providers in other areas and thereby work in collaboration with other physical therapists, occupational therapists, athletic trainers, and exercise physiologists. They work with patients who have orthopedic conditions ranging from total hip replacement to rotator cuff repair as well as general health conditions such as cardiovascular disease.
Aquatic therapy specialists must be good communicators and enjoy working one on one with patients. They must have a high level of creativity in order to determine how land-based rehabilitation exercises can be modified for performance in water.
There are various certifications in the aquatics industry but only one that targets aquatic therapy. The Aquatic Therapy and Rehab Institute (ATRI) certification verifies that therapists are competent and knowledgeable in the industry standards for aquatic therapy and rehabilitation (see figure 6.2). Eligibility to take the ATRI certification exam includes completing 15 hours of education in aquatic therapy, rehabilitation, or aquatic therapeutic exercise education. Therapists can complete this education through hands-on or online courses.
Because aquatic therapy specialists are typically also certified or licensed as other health care providers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics does not specifically track employment of professionals in this area. In addition, insurance companies are less likely to reimburse clinics for aquatic therapy services, so the market demand for specialists has declined in recent years. However, with the passage of federal health care reform it is possible that this trend will reverse and the demand for aquatic therapy specialists will rise.
Read more from Careers in Sport, Fitness, and Exercise, edited by American Kinesiology Association.
Where You Will Work
