By Steve Martorana

National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA)  Founded in 1978  Started with 76 coaches  Network, collaborate and unify strength & conditioning  Currently over 30,000 members in 72 countries

Strength & Conditioning  Similar to personal trainers and Group exercise instructors  Differ in one important way  Improve performance or skill in sports  Work primarily with athletes

Two Main Goals  Goal #1  Improve athletic performance  Goal #2  Reduce athletic injuries

Improving Athletic Performance  Improving athletes’ speed, strength, and power  Work closely with coaches  Teaches proper lifting techniques  Supervising/ motivating athletes during training  Access performance before/after program IMPROPER

Improving Athletic Performance (cont.)  Conditioning programs vary depending on:  If sport is in season or not  The specific sport itself  The position in each sport

Off-Season vs. In season  Off-Season  Training is more rigorous  Focus on improving:  Speed, strength, agility, flexibility, explosive strength, confidence  In Season  Focus on maintaining condition rather than improvement  Injury prevention

Reducing Athletic Injuries  Programs designed to strengthen body parts prone to injury  Proper training techniques  Monitor athletes overall health  Give nutritional advice or refer to dietitian Ouch!!!

Dealing with Injuries  Work with athletic training and sports medicine staff  Devise a program that corresponds with athlete’s injury  Often work with parents if they have younger clients (such as in high school)

Personal Skills & Abilities  Strength and conditioning coaches should be: Good motivators Organized A good teacher Perceptive Good with people Let’s go! One more rep! Push yourself!!

Education and Certifications  Required BA degree  Major in kinesiology  Master’s degree required for college-level  Required strength and conditioning certification:  CSCS: Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist

Aspiring Strength & Conditioning Courses TThe following classes are in the coursework of most programs: NNutrition science AAnatomy PPhysiology KKinesiology EExercise science CCommunication PPsychology PProfessional ethics

CSCS Certification  NCSA administered  Required CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) certified  Required AED (automated external defibrillator) certified  3 hour test  65.5% pass rate

Experience  Most important aspect when looking for a job  Assistant, intern, or volunteer during college  Working in fitness center  Mentoring of a skilled strength and conditioning coach

Future Opportunities  Significant competition for jobs  Have to have a good pedigree  Hard to succeed with no experience  Growing industry  Strength-experts among top 5 most promising employment trend (study by ACSM)

Place of Employment  Strength and conditioning coach may be hired by:  High schools  Fitness centers  Physical therapy clinics  Universities  Professional sport teams

Different levels of coaching  Collegiate  Depends of the size and level of competition  Iowa State(D1): 4 coaches to 450 athletes  Central College (D3): 1 coach to 450 athletes  Professional  More coaches working with fewer athletes  SA Spurs: 1 coach to 15 athletes

Salary  Vary depending on experience and qualifications  Typically $40,000-$60,000 annually  Rare cases make over $200,000  Professionals make more than colligate level  Usually up to $100,000

Put your name out there  Professional social websites can be very beneficial  Ex. LinkedIn, Monster  Intern with well-known coaches  Coaches are willing to let younger people shadow them to get started “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” -Proverb

Strength & Conditioning program  Example of program with video:  Boise State Football:  ogram/strength-conditioning-0 ogram/strength-conditioning-0