Collegiate Strength and Conditioning

[T-Slow]

@James_Smith

Problematically, it goes both ways because as we know there is so much incompetence in the field of “S&C” that I cannot blame those not in the profession who might overstep their bounds with such questions, idea sharing, this is what so and so does, and etcetera.

The simple fact that there is no legitimate qualification process for coaching in general in CONUS is why those of us in the industry are not thought of at the same level of professionalism as those who must pass rigorous selection/qualification procedures (ergo lawyer, MD, PhD, and so on). while every profession has it’s percentage of ‘how the hell is this person doing this job’ I have to imagine that the profession of coaching in general has a large percentage of such individuals.

Of course I can’t complain because I do not possess a post-collegiate degree, nor did I receive an undergraduate degree in a related field. Here I sit self-taught in the field of physical preparation with a bachelors in music performance.

Ironically, some of the most respected individuals in their related fields, in CONUS, have unrelated undergraduate degrees, if they have post-high school degrees at all:

• If I recall, Charlie studied history or English at Stanford,
• Pfaff has an undergrad in science education
• I don’t believe Louis Simmons completed high school,
• I’m fairly certain that John Smith has an unrelated undergrad from UCLA
• my superior Buddy Morris has a communications degree from PITT
  and so on.

Due to the inadequate collegiate (as well as most certifying organization) curriculums we must educate ourselves if we are to assist our athletes to the fullest and take the comments from the peanut gallery with a grain of salt.

You raise such an interesting point!

Of the few magazines I subscribe to, there is one constant. The quality of information is inversely proportional to the quality of the paper it is printed on. The best magazine I subscribe to comes folded an envelope once a month (or two) on Xerox copier paper, hole punched, and almost entirely lacking in colour photographs. Of course, there is no advertising allowed, so the information is of high quality.

Funnily enough, as you stated it seems to work the same in the track world (and many others). The quality of coaching appears to be inversely proportional to the number of official certifications held by that person, the very thing that is supposed to impress (like glossy colour paper). It’s usually the first thing I look for- if you aren’t certified up the ass, I’m interested! If you are, see you later. Liberal arts degrees seem to be really good at teaching people to think.