Become a Strength & Conditioning Coach with ACPE

While there’s no denying that some athletes are gifted with raw talent, talent can only go so far. A Strength and Conditioning Coach is responsible for helping athletes transform their talent into peak performance.

What does a Strength and Conditioning Coach do?

When you hear the term “strength and conditioning,” it’s easy for your mind to go straight to lifting weights or running sprints. In reality, a Strength and Conditioning Coach does much more than that. Unlike your average personal trainer, who will work with clients to help them achieve their fitness goals, Strength and Conditioning Coaches work solely with athletes to give them a competitive advantage.

It takes a more customised and scientific approach to suit the personal needs of the athlete’s physical and mental capabilities.

What does a day in the life of a Strength and Conditioning Coach look like?

The primary concern of strength and conditioning training for athletes is not the aesthetics of their figure but the singular goal of achieving peak athletic performance. As a Strength and Conditioning Coach, you can expect your average day to be comprised of the following:

• Complete a customised training plan

Using evidence-based practices, you’ll create a customised training program for each client to meet their current fitness levels and strength requirements as they slowly build their performance goals. Your clients will range from young athletes to enthusiast athletes or elite athletes. The training plan will consider the athlete’s competition year to provide ample rest and recovery as needed.

• Review your client’s performance data

Your average day will begin by checking in on the athlete’s performance metrics and injury reports to ensure you are aware of their current stats and informed on how best to proceed for your training session.

• Coach your client through hands-on training

As a Strength and Conditioning Coach, it’s your responsibility to train athletes in the following areas — strength and power training and conditioning for optimal performance. Strength and power training will help clients build muscle mass, improve their endurance, speed and reaction time.

A strength and conditioning program is imperative to ensure your client enhances their athletic performance and reduces their risk of injury with ample recovery strategies in place.

• Foster a relationship built on trust

Being a Strength and Conditioning Coach goes beyond just creating training plans. You would also serve as a mentor and motivator, building strong relationships with athletes to promote a positive, uplifting environment built on trust and growth.

• Work closely with athletes to help build their mental resilience

As a Strength and Conditioning Coach, you’ll work closely with athletes to help them handle the pressure of being an athlete and how to handle setbacks. That way, their training will help them in the game and make them an all-rounded individual ready to tackle life’s challenges.

The path to becoming a Strength and Conditioning Coach

To become a Strength and Conditioning Coach, you will generally require a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent. At ACPE, we have a specialised Bachelor of Sports Coaching (Strength and Conditioning) degree where you can hone the coaching, administrative and professional skills required for a fulfilling sports career. You will learn the fundamentals of coaching theory, strength and conditioning methodology, scientific processes, leadership skills and communication techniques.

When you choose ACPE, you can rest assured that you’ll have the ideal blend of theory and practical activities to prepare you for a future career in the sports coaching sector. By choosing this course, you will also gain several supporting certifications to accompany your degree — those will come in handy when updating your LinkedIn to apply for jobs!

Enrol at ACPE and take the first steps towards becoming a Strength and Conditioning Coach

As a Strength and Conditioning Coach, you would use your scientific knowledge and understanding of an athlete’s needs to optimise their performance in the game and throughout their lives, making a lasting impact. At ACPE, we have made a name for ourselves as a knowledge hub with a profound impact on the sports community’s social, educational and well-being. 

As our Graduate Outcomes Survey indicated in 2022, 89.6% of our students reported successful employment after graduating, scoring their experience with our valued teaching staff at 92.7%. If you want to join this number of students and commence your studies, explore our careers guide for our range of sports careers, including a High Performance Sports Manager or Coach Mentor. If you have any questions, contact our team, who would be happy to help.