Active Sports Coaches and Strength Coaches (Trainers)

This post is for all highschool sports coaches and strength coaches.  Over the past year I have had the opportunity to work with a lot of highschool coaches who have been in the business of coaching kids for quite sometime.  In many cases 10,15, 25 plus years.  This in itself is as tremendous accomplishment and I commend the coaches who have had the patience to coach with the love for the game.

Unfortunately, I have seen too many coaches that can rehab an athlete and train them at the same time.  Their reason for doing so is that they have coached so long it is nothing they have not seen.  Well, I have colleagues who have been in the strength and conditioning industry longer than some of these coaches and they treat the athletes on a case by case basis.  I have seen a scenario where an athlete sprains their ankle and the coach decides to rehab the athlete themselves.  Well, how can you rehab when you do not know what is really wrong?  If their ankle is sprained you are looking at many phases that  an MD and PT should review.  Then with the trainer for post rehab and continued strength and function of the involved area.  I believe it is negligent and a disservice to the kid for their coach to attempt to do all these things.  Most of these coaches do not have any special knowledge, certifications, ongoing classes or CEUS to stay abreast of the strength and conditioning world.  I am in it and I am constantly learning by reading, classes, workshops, clinics, certifications, and other forms of education.  The more I learn, the more I realize I do not know. You have to be a consistent student of the profession.

Most of these young athletes will do anything their coach tells them to do.  In many cases, this is what the coach needs to have a winning team or athlete.  I challenge the coaches to coach and let the trainers train.  Partner up with a local qualified trainer to either implement a system or consult with them to decide what is best for your team.  Some of the athletes are fine with group sessions but many of these athletes need to improve their alignment, stability, and overall understanding of their  biomechanics.

There are many organizations to find a professional or to learn from.  Some of the best are IYCA (www.iyca.org), NSCA (www.nsca-lift.org), NASM (www.nasm.org), and ACSM (www.acsm.org).  There are many others that have good programs as well.  I have had direct experience with the above organizations.  I have written these thoughts out to bring more awareness to the subject of training the youth athlete.

Thank you and remember we all must work together to get optimal results in our youth athletes.

Stay fit – be strong,

Shannon Wallace, Jr NASM-CPT,CKT,YFS