NSCA Convention - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

I have maintained for several years that Strength & Conditioning is a field crying out for definition. The four days here in Las Vegas at the NSCA Convention did nothing to dispel that notion. I am convinced that there is no profession, no field, only confusion. The convention program and the exhibits only confirmed that for me. What is strength and conditioning? This was definitely not a convention for coaches. It looked more like a personal trainer convention. As Dan Baker President of the Australian Strength & Conditioning Coaches Association and strength coach of the Brisbane Broncos said “death by personal trainer.” I have nothing against personal trainers, but they have a different mission than coaches. They may do physical exercise but the application is significantly different. I personally think that when the NSCA reached out to personal trainers it was for purely monetary reasons, it was a way to increase membership, get more people certified and raise more money. Personal trainers have their own organizations and that is where they should be. In talking to many of my colleagues that I respect they feel the same way. I really think the NSCA has lost their compass, they are trying to be all things to all people; it would be good see them revisit their mission or even redefine their vision. It seems to me they are trying to be a muscular ACSM.

I do think the research section is very positive, but once again to have the research sections conflict with presentations is not wise. Create a research track where the presentations are not in conflict with other presentations. Perhaps instead of the preconvention presentations that should be designated research day.

I come to conventions to learn and to share and interact with other professionals. Venues like Las Vegas do not facilitate this. Too big and too spread out. Some of my fondest memories of past NSCA conventions was gathering in a corner of the lobby and talking training with other coaches. Fortunately here I was able to visit with Jim Radcliffe and his wife. Also got to spend some time talking about all of this with Rob Newton, Dan Baker, Jeremy Sheppard and Harry Brennan. Dan and Jeremy are very involved with the Australian Strength and Conditioning Association; in that organization there are no personal trainers, just coaches who are working with athletes. Go to their site, http://www.strengthandconditioning.org it is as it should be, a focus on coaching and applied research. This is a good model.

Specific Recommendations:
Have a beginner’s elementary track, a personal training track, a coaching track and a research track.

Do not put two good speakers at the same time so that you have to make a choice.

Stop the commercial announcements, subtle or overt. I come to learn not to here infomercials.

Eliminate the From the Field or call it like it is, label it product demos or infomercials.

Have a theme for each convention, so that there is a central focus. Information dumps do not help anyone.

Have the convention at less expensive venues. Las Vegas is too expensive. Choose a central location and even perhaps consider having it in a permanent location.

Comments

[pmchugh]

Vern: interesting comments on NSCA. I have always wanted to attend but never have. Part of the problem seems to me that many personal trainers see themselves as coaches. They open up store fronts and promise improvements in sports performance that will allow kids to play at a higher level. But a true coach's job is much more complex then just that. Part of the problem may also be that too many coaches are not interested in keeping up to date with the issues of strength and conditioning and are more then willing to delegate those responsibilities to an outside expert. So maybe the issue should be to define the term and responsibilities of an athletic coach too. It is interesting to me that the English use the term manager and trainer on their teams to delineate between two different roles. Maybe we should look towards that model for a definition.

[phillip bazzini]

Interesting comments and post that I am a little sensitive to having had personal training background but converted to full time S & C coach.

Some months back we had an opening for a S & C coach starting at $30 an hour, 27 hours a week guranteed. With ads on the NSCA site, Craigslist, NY Times, faxes to local colleges, and ads in the big New Jersey paper we got 60 resumes. Only 2 resumes were from bonifide coaches. One was hired and he has turned out great.

My point is where are all these coaches who are passionate, knowledgable, and love to work with young athletes? Send us your resume!

The demand for sports training programs far exceeds the supply of decent coaches where I live, despite countless Velocity's and Parisi's within driving distance from our location. We have no choice but to interview personal trainers...

Phillip Bazzini
CourtSense Tennis School
Tenafly, NJ

[Sul]

Seems like Everyone wants to start their own sporting business and make big $$$ and train the pro's or charge people $80.00 - $250.00 an hr. to personal train, it's just silly.

Watching Jr. and High School kids develop their skill and progress in life is fun and I believe the real reward (and you more seasoned guys can speak to this) is when 5,10,15 yrs. later those kids come back and thank you for your teaching/coaching.

[Jonathan Hewitt]

A couple weeks ago we were asked to test a HS women's basketball team as well as put them on a program. We agreed to do it pro bono since we live in a very rural area. To my pleasant surprise we had 25-30 athletes show up for the testing and for the program. However the down side is that a lot of these girls are playing multiple sports right now and will not have teh time or energy to perform the program. It was apparent during the testing and instruction that these kids were hungry for someone to teach them and train them in a manner that would improve their sport performance not just make them more tired.

[Paul Davis]

As always, Vern provides some great insight into what is happening in the real world. I'd like to add that I believe this problem also reveals a weakness in the U.S. higher education system in regards to teaching/training/developing coaches. I have now taught a coaching effectiveness class at a state university for 3 years, and when I ask the class how many have taken a biomechanics or anatomy class only a few hands go up. All of my students played HS sports, and many are current university athletes. When I discuss movement and functional strength training, it is a foreign concept to them. The "strength" industry has brainwashed people into accepting the idea that you must make muscles BIGGER in order to improve athletic performance. Yet, I get many students who, will tell me that heavy lifting as a HS athlete either led to injury, or did little to foster improvement - except in lifting. But, there are also some students who are stubborn and want to fight me, adamant that one MUST perform Olympic lifts, lift heavy, get big, etc. to get "better". (These are the ones I choose to compete against myself at age 44 on the agility ladder, or test and see if they can do unloaded one-legged squat - and typically they are slow and stiff.) From what I read from Vern in his travels around the globe, our educational system seems very different from that in other cultures, where coaches and SC professionals have a better understanding of movement demands, kinetic chain, recovery, etc. and work together to improve performance, not just bench, squat, and hang-clean PR's.

[Paul Davis]

As always, Vern provides some great insight into what is happening in the real world. I'd like to add that I believe this problem also reveals a weakness in the U.S. higher education system in regards to teaching/training/developing coaches. I have now taught a coaching effectiveness class at a state university for 3 years, and when I ask the class how many have taken a biomechanics or anatomy class only a few hands go up. All of my students played HS sports, and many are current university athletes. When I discuss movement and functional strength training, it is a foreign concept to them. The "strength" industry has brainwashed people into accepting the idea that you must make muscles BIGGER in order to improve athletic performance. Yet, I get many students who, will tell me that heavy lifting as a HS athlete either led to injury, or did little to foster improvement - except in lifting. But, there are also some students who are stubborn and want to fight me, adamant that one MUST perform Olympic lifts, lift heavy, get big, etc. to get "better". (These are the ones I choose to compete against myself at age 44 on the agility ladder, or test and see if they can do unloaded one-legged squat - and typically they are slow and stiff.) From what I read from Vern in his travels around the globe, our educational system seems very different from that in other cultures, where coaches and SC professionals have a better understanding of movement demands, kinetic chain, recovery, etc. and work together to improve performance, not just bench, squat, and hang-clean PR's.

[St patrick]

All of my students played HS sports, and many are current university athletes. When I discuss movement and functional strength training, it is a foreign concept to them.