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A Simple Guide for Strength & Conditioning Coaches,Part 1

The Strength & Conditioning Internship: A Simple Guidefor Strength & Conditioning Coaches, Part 1ByMark WattsPublished:February 27, 2012Posted in: Sports Training, Training

Organizing and implementing a quality internship program can enhance the overall goals of yourstrength and conditioning program, which has limited budgets and resources. Nowadays in ourprofession, if you look at any strength and conditioning job board on the internet, most, if not all, of thepositions listed are for unpaid internships. Some young aspiring strength coaches can be a littleunrealistic with their career paths. Very rarely will someone get hired out of college in a full-timeposition without any experience. Internships are essential for any young strength and conditioningcoach. A quality internship program can assist your university while also helping our profession.

In this article, we will discuss some of the mistakes a strength and conditioning coach can make whendeciding to implement an internship program. We will also introduce three distinct phases whenorganizing an internship program including recruiting quality interns, retaining those interns, and theoverall development during the course of the internship. Lastly, we will introduce specific steps in orderto help interns become better coaches.

RecruitingFinding good, quality interns to help your program takes careful planning and diligent follow-up.Attaining young coaches will consist of more than posting an internship on a few websites. Strengthcoaches must ensure that they can accommodate an internship program, provide the resources, and

actively recruit the best possible candidates for the internship.

Generating positionsThe first step with incorporating an internship program at your school or company is to make sure allyour bases are covered when dealing with liability. Make certain you are permitted to have volunteerassistants and that you’re permitted to serve as an internship site supervisor. You may need to sign acontract for the intern’s host institution or a release from liability for any assistants. If your university orcompany requires a background check, criminal record check, Act 34, or something else, you will needto find out how that will be funded.

Generating revenueEven an unpaid internship will require you to use resources from your athletic department. If you areadvertising an unpaid internship, you can find some ways to raise money to help your volunteers withday to day living expenses or professional development opportunities. Opportunities will be different forevery college or university.

1. Professional development money: Using unused funds from your professional developmentfund (if you have one) may be used to help with the intern’s professional development. Paying forconferences, clinics, or certifications for your interns out of this budget can provide adequatecompensation to interns.

2. Money from academic programs: At some small colleges, strength coaches will be required toteach lectures or activity classes. Funds from the exercise science program or physical educationmajor may be used for conferences, clinics, guest speakers, and similar opportunities.

3. Student governed organizations: By serving as an advisor for the “exercise science club” or“barbell club,” or other organizations, you can tap into money from the university studentorganizations. The students themselves will need to do the necessary paperwork, create aconstitution, and handle other formalities. That money can help some of the student assistantsand subsequently the volunteer assistants with such things as travel expenses, gear, and clinics.Anything that can enhance your strength and conditioning program will positively affect yourinterns.

4. College or university apparel: It is amazing what college kids will do for T-shirts. Giving T-shirts (even old ones) to your interns can serve as a reward for their work and also help athletesand sport coaches know who they are. Having strength and conditioning T-shirts is optimal, but ifyou don’t have the means to purchase T-shirts, simply ask every head coach of the teams youwork with to order a few extra for your interns. It will be a positive thing when your athletes see thesupport of strength and conditioning coaches wearing their team’s shirts.

5. Hosting a clinic: Coaches get bombarded with emails promoting every clinic that occurs.However, hosting a small clinic that makes a small profit can benefit the interns. Unless you needthe money from clinics for major equipment, use that money for the current or future interns. Thereare many strategies for having a successful clinic. One strategy is to encourage your interns totake ownership of the clinic. Make sure they know where the money is going and that it wouldbenefit them to help with all aspects of the clinic including promoting it beforehand.

6. Competitions: If you have the facilities and equipment to host a powerlifting, push-pull,Strongman, Olympic lifting, or CrossFit competition, it may not be a bad idea. Although it will be alot of work, you may end up with a decent profit. Also, exposure for your program can also helpwith recruiting student athletes and volunteers and creating networking opportunities outside ofyour usual circle of colleagues.

7. Camps: Depending on your college or university, having speed and agility camps over winter orsummer break can not only supplement your budget but also provide additional experience foryour volunteers.

Overall, there are numerous ways to help fund the intern positions. Be creative and any amount canhelp in recruiting and in the development of young coaches starting out in the profession.

Generating a staffFinding young quality coaches will require more than just advertising your internship opening.Recruiting interns that fit your program and match your philosophy will take a little more planning.

Here are some steps that will help ensure this:

Set a limit to how many interns you will have.

Create an application date.

Conduct a formal interview process.

Set a schedule before agreeing to take on the intern.

Communicate all expectations up front.

What can separate your internship program from others could be simple and cost effective. Assumingyou will not be paying your interns, there are plenty of ways you can compensate their time anddedication to your program. Strength and conditioning coaches need to be creative whencompensating interns for their time and effort. Sure, the two most important rewards from completingan internship are receiving required credits for graduation and a positive recommendation. That in itselfshould be the top priority of any young aspiring coach at the conclusion of his internship. But there areways that you can separate your program from others. Just like internships are competitive from theapplicants’ perspective, you as a coach should be competing for the best, qualified young coaches youcan find.

Five ways to make your unpaid internship more appealing1. Housing: If you can offer housing for your interns, you will automatically be one of the more

desirable internships posted. Housing can simply be a vacant dorm room, a shared room withanother assistant, or rent assistance. Contact the university housing department or any reputablelandlords in the surrounding area.

2. Meals: Working with your campus dining facilities to secure a meal plan for interns can make aworld of difference for a young aspiring coach. Convincing the university to “give” you meal plansmay be much easier said than done. It may, in fact, need to come from the athletic department’sbudget. But finding a way to offer fourteen, ten, or even five meals per week can make aninternship “doable” for someone.

3. Part-time job: Assisting your volunteer coaches with a continuous campus or local job can alsobe a positive for your program. Of course, you as a strength coach will have to find jobs thatcoordinate hours with your busiest lifting times. You will need to have some flexibility, and youmust make sure the volunteer coach understands the importance of his performance andreliability at this part-time job. Again, there are a multitude of young people already working part-time or full-time just for the opportunity to volunteer and someday become a strength coach. Manyof the applicant’s reservations may be eliminated if he knows he has a part-time job in addition tothe internship. Partnering with a local pizza shop or campus maintenance crew can be a win-winsituation for all parties involved.

4. Certifications: Being certified from any organization will not guarantee you a job in strength and

conditioning. However, not being certified may prevent that person from getting a job. Youngcoaches with limited experience probably need to get certified to keep them in the hunt to takethe next step professionally. Paying for a certification test at the conclusion of the internship canbe a great incentive for a young coach.

5. Professional development opportunities: A few ways to enrich the internship may includebringing in guest speakers or clinicians to the university, paying for admission to clinics orconferences, or taking professional development trips to other college strength and conditioningfacilities.

About the Author

Mark Watts is the director of strength and conditioning, a physical education instructor, andassistant football coach at Denison University. He has been a strength and conditioningcoach at the collegiate level for the past twelve years and has previously coached athletes atthe United States Military Academy, Ohio State University, the University of Tulsa, AlleghenyCollege, and Clarion University.

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The Strength & Conditioning Internship: A Simple Guidefor Strength & Conditioning Coaches, Part 2ByMark WattsPublished:March 5, 2012Posted in: Sports Training

A Simple Guide for Strength & Conditioning Coaches,Part 2

RetentionI was introduced to the writings of Patrick Lencioni via an audio interview with Joe Kenn onelitefts,com™. After reading Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Death by Meeting, and others, I cameacross his sixth book, Three Signs of a Miserable Job. This book not only helped me with my ownprofessional development, but it also laid the groundwork for head coach/assistant coach relationshipsfor our internship program. Lencioni’s model included three points—anonymity, irrelevance, andimmeasurement.

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Anonymity: Is the intern recognized for what he’s doing, and do athletes, sport coaches, andadministrators know who the interns are?

Ensuring that your athletes, sport coaches, and even your colleagues know who your interns are is animportant part of them having a positive experience. By simply including a short bio of the interns onyour website, in your department newsletter, or outside the weight room can help ensure that athletesand coaches get to know and feel comfortable with your interns and treat them like coaches.

Irrelevance: Does the intern know that his job is important and that what he does on a daily basismakes a positive difference to the athletic department, the teams he works with, and the individualathletes he coaches?

Although it isn’t easy and it takes a great deal of trust from you as a supervisor, empowering yourinterns to take responsibility in your program can make a world of difference in how you train yourathletes.

Immeasurement: Does the intern know whether he is doing a good job or not, and how and when ishe evaluated?

As coaches, we hold our colleagues and athletes to a certain standard and expect results. It goeswithout saying. We should also hold our assistants to the standards we set forth for them. Whether anintern receives a letter grade from his host institution or a volunteer receives a formal evaluation inwriting, it is an essential part of the experience. More on evaluations will be discussed later.

The three biggest mistakes coaches make when taking onstrength and conditioning interns:

1. Not having the time to train and develop the interns. The more assistants you have, themore work it will be for you to delegate and train the interns on how you need things done. This iswhy retaining interns for multiple semesters or having them volunteer as graduates after aninternship can assist you with the development process.

2. Not treating your interns like coaches. If you treat these young aspiring strength coaches asgophers and only let them observe, wipe down benches, and perform menial tasks, they won’tlearn to act like coaches. In the short term, this may not negatively affect your program directly, butover time this will cause problems. A good portion of your interns will move on to other positions.Their knowledge base (or lack thereof) is a direct reflection of your program.

3. Allowing interns that aren’t meeting your expectations to continue the internship. You, asthe head strength coach, need to have the courage to fire volunteers. Too many young coachesfeel like they’re “doing you a favor” by working for you for free. Oftentimes, a strength coach mayfind himself in a position where he may even need those volunteers because of a lack in staffing.It is imperative as the head strength and conditioning coach to not allow inappropriate behavioror below average performance for very long.

About the Author

Mark Watts is the director of strength and conditioning, a physical education instructor, andassistant football coach at Denison University. He has been a strength and conditioningcoach at the collegiate level for the past twelve years and has previously coached athletes atthe United States Military Academy, Ohio State University, the University of Tulsa, AlleghenyCollege, and Clarion University.

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A Simple Guide for Strength & Conditioning Coaches,Part 3

The Strength & Conditioning Internship: A Simple Guidefor Strength & Conditioning Coaches, Part 3ByMark WattsPublished:March 12, 2012Posted in: Training

DevelopmentAs the head strength and conditioning coach, the development of your assistants is a direct reflectionof you as a professional. Ensuring that these young professionals aren’t only better coaches but betterpeople because of their experience with you should be a point of emphasis and a point of pride. Thereare a few key steps when developing interns into future assistant coaches. Those steps can besummarized into four specific processes that can include but aren’t limited to acclimation, education,evaluation, and placement.

AcclimationIntroduce your interns to your specific policies and procedures. This could include reviewing youremergency action plan, introducing them to the administrative staff and sport coaches, and going overthe day to day operations. Make sure they understand the code of conduct for your program, the athleticprogram, and the university. All interns should also be made aware of your expectations as the headstrength and conditioning coach. They should fully comprehend what is acceptable behavior and exactlywhat their role is going to be within your program.

EducationTeaching your athletes as much about strength & conditioning in general, as well as specifics, to yourprogram is one of the main reasons your intern has chosen your institution in the first place. There is afine line between ensuring your interns know how you want things done in your program and makingsure they learn to think for themselves and start to develop their own coaching philosophy. It is helpful ifyou choose a few subcategories to focus on then teaching these to your interns. Exercise techniqueshould take up the bulk of instruction when educating your interns. Other areas of knowledge shouldinclude, but may not be limited to: program design, speed, agility, landing mechanics, proper warm-up,flexibility, weight room maintenance and scheduling, and energy system development, to name a few.Most interns finishing their undergraduate or graduate degrees will have a rough knowledge of thescientific foundations of our profession such as exercise physiology, and biomechanics. Where mostinterns will struggle will be the practical application of this knowledge. This is why experience for youngcoaches is so vital.

EvaluationEvaluating your interns is an important process in their development that should happen multiple timesduring their tenure. Communicating the evaluation process at the beginning of the internship caneliminate any misunderstanding or conflicts. The evaluation process can be as formal or informal asyou as the head coach would like. Just make sure that it’s consistent for all interns and that your praisesand critiques are clear. Quantifying your evaluation can assist in ranking, categorizing, and trackingyour interns’ progress. Comparing interns with one another and with their own past evaluations can helpstandardize the process. We use three categories with our internship evaluations—knowledge,initiative, and communication (KIC).

Knowledge base: This deals with the intern’s basic knowledge of drill and exercise technique,program design, and weight room maintenance. Any skill competence of your required internship maybe included. This is the most objective and testable category. We have instituted three distinct levels foran intern’s knowledge base that will be discussed later.

Taking initiative: As a strength and conditioning coach, there will come a point when you will just needthings to be done. Your interns need to transition from a point where they listen to what needs done andaccomplish the task at hand to a point where they know what needs done and accomplish those tasksahead of time without being told. Having the weight room set up for the next group, modifying exercises

for injured athletes, and initiating pre-workouts and warm ups are just a few examples. Once you enableyour interns to perform as coaches, they must empower themselves to act like coaches. The longer theintern has been working for you, the less you should talk about the day to day operations and the moreyou can teach young people how to coach. More on coaching coaches will be discussed later.

Communication skills: Young, college-aged people have different communication skills than peopleof my generation. In this day and age, the written word via text and email is the preferred method formany coaches. The ability to build a positive rapport with student athletes and to effectivelycommunicate what needs done and how it needs done is imperative. Effective communication in asports performance setting depends on confidence, clarity, and consistency. The ability tocommunicate is what separates good coaches from average coaches and is a characteristic thatyoung coaches undervalue. Some young coaches may not yet understand this simple fact. Being strongand fast doesn’t make you a good strength coach; helping your athletes become stronger and fasterwill.

This is what we have referred to as our KIC evaluations. There are a multitude of characteristics youcan use to evaluate your interns. You may have noticed that we didn’t include fundamental attributessuch as character, trustworthiness, dependability, reliability, or work ethic. In my opinion, if any of thesebasic attributes aren’t present, the internship shouldn’t happen. Don’t allow a young person to intern foryou if you can’t trust them, they have questionable character, or you have the impression that they won’twork hard.

The level systemClassifying interns and making the evaluation process more objective can help the overall experience.Here’s an example of our level system, specifically for the knowledge portion of the KIC evaluation.How you implement the system or what you do with the classification is entirely up to the individualcoach.

Level 0: The intern doesn’t know basic exercise technique.

Coaches considered to be at Level 0 are unable to teach basic and fundamental movements, conducta proper warm-up sequence, and don’t know basic pre-habilitation circuits. Most strength coaches atthe Division I level and higher will never need to hire an intern or graduate assistant at Level 0. If anintern starts in your program at Level 0, he absolutely can’t be permitted to continue as an intern withoutprogressing to Level 1 within a week, maybe two at the longest. It’s absolutely imperative that internshave the knowledge base and, more importantly, the desire to learn your program’s exercise techniqueand the teaching progressions associated with them, all your warm ups, and any pre-workout or post-workout circuits.

Level 1: The intern knows basic exercise technique and can explain it thoroughly and demonstrate itproficiently.

The majority of interns that we see achieve Level 1 status relatively quickly, especially if they have thepassion for strength and conditioning. Unfortunately, many interns stay at Level 1 for the majority of theirinternship. Progressing from Level 1 has been a major point of emphasis in our program. Level 1interns are proficient at explaining and demonstrating exercise technique and often times can leadwarm ups and small group teaching progressions if needed.

Level 2: The intern can visually identify proper technique execution and technique discrepancies in anathlete.

Being able to identify a technique discrepancy is an important step in a young coach’s development.He may not know exactly how to address the problem at this point, but acknowledging proper form andidentifying improper form is an extremely important step.

Level 3: The intern understands the direct or indirect causes of technique discrepancies and cansuggest technique adjustments (for an acute affect) and help formulate corrective strategies (for acumulative affect) with the strength coach’s approval.

Most technique discrepancies are due to one or a combination of several different factors. Lack ofknowledge or experience performing the specific exercise, postural alignment issues, tight or weakmuscle groups, and improper loading can all be factors negatively affecting technique. Knowing thecause and initiating a plan to fix it is one of the most important assignments we have as strengthcoaches. “Fixing” the issue may be addressed immediately or conversely take weeks or months to fix.Regardless, this is the level we want all our interns to get to.

PlacementThe two main goals of an internship in any profession are to gain valuable experience and to acquirethe skills necessary to attain a position in the field. As a head strength and conditioning coach, yourability to find positions for your interns is almost as important as preparing them for those positions. It isimportant for your interns to understand that successfully completing an internship may not necessarilymean acquiring a full-time position. Strength and conditioning internships may lead to paid internships,graduate assistant positions, or part-time positions in the private sector. A few basic components toplacement can keep you and your interns focused on what the overall goals will be.

1. Set goals at the beginning of the internship. Ensure that the goals are realistic and specific.Remind the intern of the goals he established to keep him on task from a professionaldevelopment standpoint.

2. Provide as many professional development and networking opportunities as possible.Introducing your interns to as many professionals in a variety of different fields will be essential fortheir coaching future. It won’t just be about how many contacts your interns have met and know buthow many of those professionals know your interns. This goes back to retention and making surepeople know who your assistants and interns are.

3. Be selective and totally honest when recommending your interns. This becomes more than writinga recommendation. This involves helping your interns with the entire process of moving onprofessionally. Also, make sure your interns know what type of recommendation they will receivefrom you. One of the worst things that can happen to your reputation as a professional and yourprogram is having a former intern perform poorly in his next position.

4. Make your interns aware of the differences between your program and the positions in theprograms they’re applying for. Making the jump from a small school to a large Division I institutionwill be a culture shock for most. Working for a coach under the pressure of winning provides amuch different environment than your interns may be used to.

About the Author

Mark Watts is the director of strength and conditioning, a physical education instructor, andassistant football coach at Denison University. He has been a strength and conditioningcoach at the collegiate level for the past twelve years and has previously coached athletes atthe United States Military Academy, Ohio State University, the University of Tulsa, AlleghenyCollege, and Clarion University.

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A Simple Guide for Strength & Conditioning Coaches,Part 4ByMark WattsPublished:March 19, 2012Posted in: Sports Training

Coaching your coaches on how to coachYoung coaches spend a great deal of time on program design, sets, reps, percentages, and every newdrill or exercise that appears on the internet. There are young coaches, graduate assistants, andinterns in our profession who have outstanding textbook knowledge and are very well versed in theory.However, young coaches need to improve on practically applying their knowledge and limitedexperience when coaching a group of athletes.

Coaching in the Weight RoomBefore the set

It is very difficult to coach an athlete on technique before he performs an exercise. Unless, ofcourse, you’re very familiar with the athlete’s technique history or have closely observed the previousset. When coaching an athlete before the set, you should ensure that the athlete is set up in asuccessful body position with the proper hand and foot placement. Make sure spotters or equipmentsettings are set up correctly. This coach-athlete interaction shouldn’t be a mini-clinic.

During a rep

Any communication from a coach to an athlete during the repetition should be short and to the point.Using familiar buzzwords that address one coaching cue or technique correction is optimal. Make surethe buzz words you use to correct technique are consistent between coaches.

Between reps

In the very limited time between reps, you must communicate with the athlete very directly and efficientlyso that they can comprehend and make adjustments if need be. Address one technique discrepancy ata time. We break this communication into three categories:

Reinforce: Positive feedback is extremely important for your athletes. Whether it is reachingproper depth in the squat or lifting with great bar speed, the athlete needs to know.

Reevaluate: Identify on the next rep whether the athlete has addressed the issue.

Recorrect: Don’t settle for “good enough” when evaluating technique. Recorrect the sameproblem or address a second if applicable.

After the set

It may not be necessary to reinvent the wheel after the athlete finishes the set. Most of us who havetrained heavy understand that the last thing we want after finishing a max effort set is a coach giving afive-minute lecture and full demonstration on the exercise we just did. Make sure to give feedback assoon as the athlete is ready. Give the athlete what he needs to improve for the next set and how to fix it.

Final thoughtsOverall, we have identified three distinct phases when developing an internship program. This processwill differ depending on the level, size of school, and staffing situation in which you find yourself. Theseserve as general guidelines and hopefully some may help with your situation. In my opinion, starting aninternship program has allowed a strength and conditioning program in a small college environment toimprove drastically. Overcoming obstacles such as limited space, resources, and budgets can bemade possible with more people dedicated to your specific mission. Young coaches who want to starta career in strength and conditioning need experience, which can help them take the next step whilehelping your athletic programs succeed. It can become a huge undertaking, but the benefits to you, theintern, and our profession can make it worthwhile.

About the Author

Mark Watts is the director of strength and conditioning, a physical education instructor, andassistant football coach at Denison University. He has been a strength and conditioningcoach at the collegiate level for the past twelve years and has previously coached athletes atthe United States Military Academy, Ohio State University, the University of Tulsa, Allegheny

College, and Clarion University.