S B Coaches College - Tip of the Month January 2008




		S B Coaches College Tip of the Month January 2008

Today’s market requires that many service professionals be “certified” in order to compete in the fitness industry. It is also required in terms of covering ones self and business in terms of liability. However, does “certified” mean qualified? If I am able to pass an entry level test fresh out of college for the NSCA or the NATA (the 2 main certifying agencies in the performance/fitness industry) does that mean I am qualified to address your goals for performance and concerns in rehabilitation? I would venture to guess no. Then what “qualifies” someone for the title “strength and conditioning coach”, “performance coach”, “rehab coordinator” or “re-conditioning expert”? I have some ideas that may shed some light on this often perplexing dilemma when it comes to selecting a professional to provide these services.

Experience is a huge factor and a key in selecting a qualified professional. As a sage coach once asked me, “Does he have 13 years experience or one year of experience 13 times”? A variety of experiences over a significant number of years can dramatically impact the ability of that coach/trainer to positively impact your performance or rehabilitation. Your training age could be zero or this could be your first ACL injury but a qualified coach/trainer will have trained hundreds or thousands of emerging athletes and supervised dozens of ACL rehab programs.

Continuing education is a key component to the coach/trainers’ ability to stay abreast of the cutting edge technology and latest techniques in their field. Does the person you want to entrust your career or rehab to study, read, travel and subscribe to various sources to stay sharp or are they an expert because they already know it all?

The heart of a teacher is a must for a coach/trainer in order for your time to be a quality experience. If the service provider you engage is a businessman, “guru”, burn – out, motivational type person, then your needs may not be as important as the needs of your coach/trainer.

In summary, look for a widely experienced, educated teacher that you seem to have some chemistry with to provide the services you seek. It can take some time to find the right person, but the quality of the experience will far outweigh the time invested in researching the right person for you.