Our staff at Bullett Performance Training takes pride in continuously furthering our education. As a team, we conduct in-service, classroom style, presentations on a weekly basis to consistently work towards this further education of our staff. Frequently, we reach out to other professionals within the industry to seek additional insight and information regarding specific strength and conditioning topics. This is an extremely beneficial aspect of our in-service experiences when guests are brought in to educate our staff.
This week, we were permitted the opportunity to provide a similar experience to students at a local high school in their Sports Medicine and Fitness class. Just as educating our athletes on the weight room floor is important, here at BPT we take pride in educating others in our community and professional field as much as we can.
During our time with this Sports Medicine and Fitness class, we presented our operations and business model. We also provided unique insight into the Strength and Conditioning industry as a whole from the coaching perspective as well as an athlete’s perspective. Our presentation incorporated the general basics of strength and conditioning including movement evaluations, programming, exercise selection, periodization, and more. We also discussed the many roles a Strength and Conditioning Coach can play within both the collegiate and private sectors. Following our presentation, we had a great discussion with each class, answering questions and diving into specific topics of Strength and Conditioning that interested the students.
The general basics of strength and conditioning is a broad topic; however, it is also commonly misunderstood. The majority of the population knows what a personal trainer is and what they do. Although, even with the growing demand, often only high-level athletes have a deeper understanding of the difference between a personal trainer and a strength coach.
When getting new freshman or transfer athletes in a collegiate setting or new clients in a private setting, each strength and conditioning program starts with a movement evaluation. After a thorough movement assessment, a coach then considers movement demands, planes of motion, and common injury sites of the sport. Next with consideration of an annual or long-term plan a coach can periodize and select the desired exercises to place into the program. Once the program is completed, the next step is to execute it.
Another segment of our presentation outlined the possible career opportunities within the Strength and Conditioning industry. We informed the students of the opportunities within the Collegiate Sector, describing potential roles and career advancement opportunities. The Collegiate Sector has a variety of roles varying from internships and graduate assistants, all the way to an administrative role as Assistant Athletic Director of Football/ Olympic Sports. These are hierarchically structured positions, offering the potential to move up the hierarchy as the career advances.
The other major sector in the Strength and Conditioning industry is the private sector. The private sector offers numerous opportunities with varying responsibilities. A common route is working for large Strength and Conditioning companies such as Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning, Cressey Sports Performance, among others. Many large-sized facilities also partner or work with physical therapy clinics in some capacity, opening another opportunity within the private sector. It is increasingly common for physical therapy clinics to employ Strength and Conditioning coaches. Additionally, there has been an increase in the development of privately owned niche Strength and Conditioning facilities over the past 5 to 10 years. There are a number of specialized facilities including Athletic Strength and Conditioning facilities, Olympic Lifting facilities, Powerlifting facilities, and CrossFit facilities, among others. Finally, there are a number of opportunities to work in professional sports organizations within their Strength and Conditioning departments.
We thoroughly enjoyed the discussion with each class following our presentation because we were able to delve deeper into the aspects of Strength and Conditioning that interested the students. The two classes had some questions and topics of discussion that were both quite similar. The similar topics of discussion from both classes included our personal experiences as Strength and Conditioning coaches as well as athletes participating in high-level Strength and Conditioning. We also discussed our passions within the industry. This was a particularly healthy discussion because we have been positively impacted throughout our personal endeavors in strength and conditioning, and this topic enables us to spread more positive experiences in hopes to provoke more interest in the industry.
Overall, our experience presenting and discussing Strength and Conditioning with the Sports Medicine and Fitness class were extremely fulfilling. We greatly enjoy discussing our industry, particularly with young minds eager to learn. Many people in Strength and Conditioning have given our staff the opportunity to learn and expand our knowledge and expertise, and it was an outstanding experience to provide the same opportunity to others within our community.
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