High School Strength & Conditioning Certification (Now Available)
I work primarily at the high school level. And I’m a firm believer in the idea that every high school coach, regardless of sport, should be certified by a reputable organization.
Because, the truth is, 8 out of 10 high school coaches could not pass a basic strength and conditioning test. And I’ve worked with quite a few of them.
You know who I mean. That angry, incompetent and morbidly obese dude that clearly hates kids (and Christmas), but has nothing else to do after school except torment some teenagers.
We need to get these people out of coaching. And being really good at what we do is the only way to drive these people into coaching extinction.
Not to mention the fact that these types of ‘coaches’ are the reason your athletes feel compelled to seek outside coaching when they’re competing in a season they’re not with you.
(If you’re one of those ‘outside the school’ trainers, this is another reason to look into this certification…)
And if you’re both equally uncertified, it’s hard for you to tell a kid not to go to that ‘personal trainer’.
If we, as New Breed Coaches, are going to drive the bad coaches into retirement, we have to be the change we want to see in others.
That starts with educating ourselves and then our athletes.
Not only will they work harder for you, but they’ll get better results, have more fun, and, most importantly, stay injury free.
If you agree with what I’m saying, you should take a serious look at this HS Strength & Conditioning Certification from the International Youth Conditioning Association (IYCA):
http://www.athletesacceleration.com/highschool
I know that certifications aren’t the ‘end all, be all’ of whether or not we’re good coaches.
But I know the guys and the organization who created this one.
They’re smart people who care about our industry and care about kids. And if you study their information, you’ll become a better coach.
And that serves the greater good. It helps you. It helps kids. It helps your sport. It helps our industry. Check it out:
http://www.athletesacceleration.com/highschool
To your success,
Latif Thomas
3 Reasons to Follow Me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/latif_thomas
1. I share info there that I don’t put in my standard emails & blog posts.
2. You’ll get my uncensored thoughts & opinions on every topic anyone would consider interesting.
3. There are no other speed, strength & conditioning coaches saying anything funny, so experience priceless Latif comedy that can only be contained by Twitter servers.
January 25th, 2011 at 1:32 pm
Latif,
I just received your post about IYCA HS Strength & Conditioning Coach. I was planning to earn CSCS certification, but am intrigued by the IYCA one as well. Which would you recommend? Or would you recommend both? Thanks for the heads up on all of these valuable resources!
Keith Whitman
January 28th, 2011 at 1:04 pm
Keith Whitman: I recommend both, but I’m an information addict. If you work mostly with high school kids, the IYCA one is a good call. If you’re trying to get into a college or something along those lines, the CSCS is the standard cert. CSCS is probably more well known, but IYCA cert will mean more to people if you work with a lot of kids.
January 30th, 2011 at 8:38 am
Latif,
I have been reading some of your posts here and have learned much thank you. When i sprint my feet turn out slightly at ground contact. I know this when i video myself. Does this make me slower & less efficient? What can i do to stop it?
January 30th, 2011 at 11:03 pm
Hi Latif,
It’s Tim again the new reluctant head coach. This is sort of on but off topic. I have implemented much of what is in CST2 (thanks for convincing me), but here is the problem. Earlier I explained how the program doesn’t get any support. The Athletic Director views Track as an extension of football. Many of my athletes have weights and condition this semester taught by the AD. This would be great if he did more than just bench and squat. My runners have his class at last period so how do I work on speed work or any work out for that matter, when he just lifted them 30 minutes prior to practice? I’ve tried to work with him and around him with no success. The kids are wasted before they get to practice. What should I do in this case? Thanks for any suggestions.
Coach Tim
February 1st, 2011 at 7:05 am
KYLA- So I am going to try and answer this for you and coach Thomas can let you know if I may be wrong or right. I surely do not have all the right answers. When your feet turn outward then you most likely wasting time on the ground. If you look on your video, draw a straight line from the outside of your ankle up through your body. If you have your hips outside that line, then your body has to push the hips back in and then push forward. You are using significant power just to push the hips back straight. This can be due to your glute meed and it being to weak to handle the force application. It is like the wall for your hips and it needs to hold not collapse for proper sprint form. If you lay down and put a band around your ankles, bend your knee slightly and lift the one leg. This will help strengthen that muscle. There are more exercises but I don’t want to overbear you. LATIF- Sorry if you care about me answering this question, just trying to help. Feel free to give input on right or wrong, as it would also help me if I am wrong and can be corrected. Love your programs I have bought and they have helped my team so much!
Thanks Coach W
February 2nd, 2011 at 6:05 am
coachw – thanks man, i will try this at next practice. bending the knee and lifting the leg, does this work the hip flexor? I asked one of the personl trainers at my gym too, he says it might be tight hip flexors or weak adductors, whats your thoughts? can i have your email and ask you more
February 2nd, 2011 at 2:21 pm
kyla and coachw: None of us have all the right answers. We just do the best we can. I never have a problem with people posting responses. This site isn’t about me, it’s about all of us helping each other get better. I agree with all you’re telling kyla. I would also add that while it is likely, first and foremost, a strength (or lack of strength) issue, it is/could be a mobility issue. That is, tight hips, piriformis, etc. I would spend more time doing mobility work via what coachw mentioned, as well as basic hurdle mobility work and foam rolling.
February 2nd, 2011 at 2:25 pm
Tim: I’ve thought about your question for a couple of days. I wanted to give you a great answer. I just don’t have one. You simply can’t do anything fast and expect kids to learn the skill of sprinting, execute movement patterns and/or avoid injury if they’re doing strength training before practice. If the AD is holding kids hostage and thinks he is too Big Time to work with you, you’re pretty screwed. You either have to resign yourself to not coaching the football players or find another program. I feel for you brother, but I don’t see another way. Anyone reading this who wants to weigh in, feel free.
February 2nd, 2011 at 5:01 pm
Kyla- no problem I am always willing to help coaches because it helps the kids. My e-mail is p_wilber@yahoo.com. As Latif had mentioned, it could also be a mobility issue. Our team does hurdle walks religiously to help improve the hip flexor and such. The hip flexor and glute meed are not the same muscle, but they work alike. I had a girl who was terrible with this and she was a 13 flat in the 100. We worked her religiously with the hip flexor and glute meed and the next year she went 12.6. All of the muscles in your core area (which I say is between knee and armpits ha) are extremely important to work. I am lucky enough to have a hip weight machine where we can work 4 diffrent excersises on one machine. You can do these exercises without that machine, but it may take imagination. Get some therabands and you can rock out some great exercises! Feel free to contact me if you have questions.
February 2nd, 2011 at 5:09 pm
TIM- I completely feel your pain! Even though our programs racks out state competitors every year, I still get our football coaches telling football players not to run. They just lift heavy and slow in the offseason and then complain about how slow our football team is. We get to playoffs and go against a fast team and all of a sudden we can’t catch the running back. I had to tell myself to stop caring and just worry about the kids that are out. Just tell the football kids that it is not going to help them get faster. If you want or if it’s possible, you could have them come in the morning before their class. I actually had a fellow coach quit and go to a different school to coach. I know it’s hard but hang in there.
February 2nd, 2011 at 7:44 pm
Well Latif, after reviewing the info in the manual and DVD’s over and over and over, I pretty much knew what answer you were going to give me. The AD is holding the kids hostage and it is painful because this Freshmen class had better times at the middle school level just last year in the 4 x200 than our high school 4 x200 team that included two seniors. I have the kids sold on T&F and they have bought into everything that I have said. I have a few choice words about the situation that I’m in, but I’ll remain professional. I’ll do what I can with the lesser talented kids that do not have his class and try to develop them. Thanks for keeping it 100 Latif. Much success to you and your squad.
February 2nd, 2011 at 8:01 pm
Coach W, your description is all too familiar to me. Bench & Squat that’s it; I’m not kidding, but the complaint about a lack of speed on the field is a constant. With the performances we have had just this Indoor season, I fooled myself into thinking that the AD (and his clones), would see the results and would be on board. Yeah, Right! I’m considering going down a level to our feeder middle school. If that doesn’t work out, then I will hang it all up after this season. Thanks for the input and much success to you and your squad.
Coach Tim
February 3rd, 2011 at 2:24 am
latif – what basic hurdle mobility drills can i do, whats advance?
coach W – wow, 12.6 is crazy! tell me more about these hurdle walks and 4 exercises? please. i will email you.
February 4th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
KYLA- yeah just email me. It is in my above comment section. Also 12.6 is good but only 12.4 and under will actually place at our state meet.
March 9th, 2011 at 1:07 am
Do someone have an email addres of one of Eric Cressey, Mike Robertson or Wil Fleming? Or tell me how the HS strenght and conditioning certification works please!!
March 9th, 2011 at 1:56 pm
Hi Johan,
To obtain the High School Strength & Conditioning Coach certification, you must complete an exam. This exam is hosted online (through a 3rd party testing agency) and you can access it from your home computer at no additional cost. You must also pass a criminal background check, as we want to protect the children we are potentially enabling coaches to work with. Again, this is run through a 3rd party (http://www.ssci2000.com/) and the cost is included in the cost of the certification.
The certification is through the International Youth Conditioning Association (IYCA), which has been certifying people to work with children since 2003 and is the leading authority in youth fitness and athlete development. You can learn more about the IYCA here http://iyca.org/
Upon successful completion of the HSSC exam, you will be sent a physical certificate with those credentials listed. Additionally, you can opt to be listed in the IYCA Trainer Database as a certified High School Strength & Conditioning Coach.
To sign-up for the High School Strength & Conditioning Certification go to:
http://www.athletesacceleration.com/highschool
Please don’t hesitate to let me know if there are any more questions I can answer for you.
Thanks Johan.
-Pat