What kind of education is important if you want to be a strength coach at the university or national level?
I’m working on a degree in Exercise Science, but I am considering a degree change to get out a bit earlier. Is it important to work up to the upper levels of education to be a strength coach along the lines of a Poliquin, Staley, Thibadeau, or Waterbury?
Step 1.
Get good grades.
Step 2.
Get a good internship with a pro sports team or college sports program.
Step 3. Get certified by at least one good agency like NSCA.
Step 4. Make good connections, so that you can find a good job, when one becomes available.
Steps 2,3 and 4 can be interchanged, but if you don’t at least get some good grades to start off with, it’s hard to get the internship.
[quote]itisfinished wrote:
What kind of education is important if you want to be a strength coach at the university or national level?
I’m working on a degree in Exercise Science, but I am considering a degree change to get out a bit earlier. Is it important to work up to the upper levels of education to be a strength coach along the lines of a Poliquin, Staley, Thibadeau, or Waterbury?[/quote]
Poliquin, Staley, Thibadeau, and Waterbury all have master’s degrees (or are working toward there masters), that kind of answers your higher education level question now doesn’t?
The best business advice I have received came from Charles Poliquin: “The basic rule is that you have to read 10 hours a week on a particular topic for five years to develop an appreciably level of expertise on that precise subject. If you’re not willing to commit that much time, you might consider a different line of work.”
This field does not need any more piss pore strength coaches/trainers. Utilize every means you have to gain knowledge, you could intern, read books, read articles, watch training videos, call and/or e-mail other strength coaches, those are just a few of the paths to gain knowledge.
Knowledge is not power applied knowledge is power!
—Paul Check
CT wrote a great article a wile back on how to become a strength coach, the links below:
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=454639
Here is some advice given by Charles Staley and Mike Robertson on this topic:
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=675635
Read and learn!!!