STRENGTH and CONDITIONING JOBS: The Nuts & Bolts of this Career!
Strength and Conditioning Jobs
Career Opportunities in Strength and Conditioning
Is this the path you've been seeking? Is it a worthwhile investment of your time and effort? What steps can you take to excel in this field? Avoiding the pitfalls of underperformance is crucial for any team or individual athlete. One key element that significantly contributes to their success is the implementation of strength and endurance training. However, the effectiveness of such training relies heavily on the expertise of professionals guiding the process. This is where opportunities in Strength and Conditioning come into play.
What Constitutes a Strength and Conditioning Job? A Strength and Conditioning position within the realm of sports is dedicated to enhancing athletes' on-field performance. Whether you're serving as a coach, trainer, therapist, or physiologist, your primary objective is to help athletes achieve their sporting goals. Collaborating closely with the head coach, you'll play a pivotal role in optimizing the team's physical capabilities. But there's much more to this occupation, which we'll explore further below.
Varieties of Strength & Conditioning Positions The scope of strength and conditioning roles extends beyond coaching or training. Here's a breakdown of the diverse opportunities available in this domain:
· Physical Therapist A bachelor’s degree alone won't suffice in the realm of Strength and Conditioning. Advanced qualifications, such as a graduate degree, are typically required for this role.
· Athletic Trainer Athletic trainers work with students, semi-professional, and professional athletes, overseeing their athletic programs and addressing their specific needs.
· Strength and Conditioning Coach These professionals specialize in optimizing athletes' form and performance, devising innovative techniques to enhance performance while minimizing the risk of injury.
· Exercise Physiologist This role involves studying the physiological effects of various exercises and providing athletes with tailored recommendations for optimizing their physical well-being.
Embark on your journey in the realm of Strength and Conditioning armed with knowledge of the diverse career paths available to you.
Requirements
Do you want to become or pursue a strength and conditioning career? Well, you must have an interest in this field and love sports. Also, you must have the following requirements to qualify as a coach in this career.
· Bachelor’s Degree
First, you can be an expert in this field if you have a certificate in athletic training. And it must be from a creditable organization. However, the certificate will limit your job options. And the best you can be is a school team coach or coach of a semi-professional team.
But if you want to rise in ranks and coach professional teams or athletes, then you need a degree. And not just any degree, you need a Bachelor’s degree in a sports-related field. And it must be from a University. The popular degree that many coaches have is sports science, kinesiology, exercise science, physical education, and athletic training, among others.
· Advanced Education
While the Bachelor’s degree is enough to qualify for this job, a graduate degree will enable you to progress further. And nowadays, a graduate degree is becoming more popular since some high-profile athletes and teams list it as a qualification. Further, in the sports industry to qualify for some managing position you may need a graduate degree according to NSCA.
· Credentials
To get credentials, then you must go through the credential program and obtain a specialist certificate in strength and conditioning. Also, it must be certified by NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Certificate) to be valid. And what this certificate does is demonstrate your competency as a professional coach. What’s more, other certificates that you can have include:
o SCCC or Strength and Conditioning Coach Certified by CSCCA
o PES or Performance Enhancement Specialist Certificate from NASM
However, you only need one as your credential in this case. So, there is no need to attain all three certificates. But as a high school coach, you may have to get the state certification.
· Experience
To some employers, experience is more vital than having education certificates or degrees only. Thus, practical experience is essential as a requirement to be an expert in this field. Therefore, as you pursue your certificates and degree, offer your services as a volunteer to gain experience. You can find a semi-professional or professional team or athlete that may need your expertise for free.
Meanwhile, you must network and connect with other professionals in this field. It will enhance your social skills and present more opportunities to you. You don’t have to meet someone physically, use the social media app to get in touch with them.
Furthermore, this will help you in branding yourself as an expert in strength and conditioning services. Also, you will be marketing yourself at the same time and gaining a huge following step by step. It will not be easy but very important to do. Ensure you share with people what you do and be friendly. In the field, interact more with people you are working with to attract more opportunities.
Who hires these workers?
Nowadays, the sports world has changed. For an athlete to be successful, they need proper guidance during training. And this is because top fitness is vital for their success during competition. And if you find athletes with the best natural ability, they often underperform due lack of ethics and fitness.
And since it’s difficult to maximize your fitness potential alone, there is a need for a coach or trainer. And this is where employment opportunities for strength and conditioning experts come in. they are hired by sports teams and professional athletes. Some end up in the public sector while others in private entities. And besides coaching in the field, some of them end up as professional instructors in major gymnasiums among other jobs.
Expectations
Lastly, as a professional, you are expected to have a set of skills in this career. And these skills are assurance that you can deliver and the trainees under you will perform optimally. That said, you must have the following skills:
· Excellent communication skills
· Analytical Thinking Skills
· Integrity
· Accurate
· Leadership skills
· Interpersonal relations
CONCLUSION
Even after obtaining an employment opportunity, your journey of garnering knowledge and skills is not over. It’s like a new beginning because you have to network more, study, and research more. It’s not going to be easy to boost and maintain the outstanding performance of your team. But through professional development, you will always have something new up your sleeve to enable them to do better.
