Texans strength and conditioning coach Dan Riley has compiled a ...
Texans strength and conditioning coach Dan Riley has compiled a ...
Texans strength and conditioning coach Dan Riley has compiled a ...
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3. Cy Fair<br />
10535 Jones Rd<br />
Houston, TX 77065<br />
281-970-5656<br />
I want to become a <strong>strength</strong> <strong>coach</strong>. What advice do you have for me<br />
I answer this question every week with a young person who shares my passion for<br />
the <strong>strength</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>conditioning</strong> profession. I am brutally honest with my opinions <strong>and</strong><br />
blunt with my advice. I have a professional obligation to provide the facts. Most of<br />
these young unemployed professionals are optimistic in their ability to obtain fulltime<br />
employment as a <strong>strength</strong> <strong>coach</strong>.<br />
Almost every one of the young people I talk to is better educated <strong>and</strong> better<br />
credentialed than I was when I started my first job at West Point. It is frustrating to<br />
tell an enthusiastic young professional that the odds of becoming employed in the<br />
near (or distant) future as a full-time <strong>strength</strong> <strong>coach</strong> are not very good.<br />
There are thous<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong> thous<strong>and</strong>s of eminently qualified c<strong>and</strong>idates who will never<br />
have the chance to work as a <strong>strength</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>conditioning</strong> <strong>coach</strong>. It is not because they<br />
aren’t qualified. It is because there aren’t many full-time jobs. Year after year the<br />
number of qualified <strong>and</strong> unemployed <strong>strength</strong> <strong>coach</strong>es multiplies.<br />
I ask young people to document the number of full-time <strong>and</strong> assistant <strong>strength</strong> <strong>coach</strong><br />
positions available at the college <strong>and</strong> professional level. They eventually realize there<br />
isn’t that many positions compared to the thous<strong>and</strong>s of capable c<strong>and</strong>idates.<br />
You may decide to pursue a career in <strong>strength</strong> training, regardless of the odds<br />
against you. To give yourself the best chance of becoming employed I’d suggest you<br />
obtain an undergraduate <strong>and</strong> graduate degree in Physical Education.<br />
It is a must to get some h<strong>and</strong>s on experience at the college level. If you are good<br />
(<strong>and</strong> lucky) you may eventually get hired part-time <strong>and</strong> possibly full-time. Use the<br />
college you are working at as a podium to generate some exposure for yourself. If<br />
you are lucky it may lead to something.<br />
My advice to young people interested in pursuing a <strong>strength</strong>-<strong>coach</strong>ing career is to<br />
also consider preparing for an alternate career.
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