Top Qualities of a Strength and Conditioning Coach

A strength and conditioning coach performs a vital service for their athlete clients. Among their job functions, this type of fitness coach is focused on helping clients boost their performance. This could involve developing training to boost their strength, power, endurance, or speed—or to address several of these areas.

If you’re already a strength and conditioning coach or looking to become one, you may be wondering what qualities can help you raise to the echelon of this field. We’ve come up with seven. 

7 Top Qualities of a Strength and Conditioning Coach

In transparency, several qualities or traits can make you a top-notch strength and conditioning coach. That said, seven stand out as being near the top. They are:

• A passion for exercise science. Have you ever talked to someone who is passionate about their field of work? Their passion is contagious. The way they speak about the topic makes you want to sit up and pay closer attention. If you have this same passion for exercise, sports nutrition, and human performance, you may find that your clients listen to you with a bit more enthusiasm. Your passion becomes their passion, resulting in some amazing training sessions.

• A deep understanding of exercise physiology. One of the top duties of a strength and conditioning coach is to develop training programs for higher-level athletes. Foundationally, this requires knowledge of human kinetics or the physical, physiological, and mechanical aspects of exercise. It also requires understanding how the body responds to various strength training and conditioning techniques. This helps you develop a safer, more effective strength and conditioning program.

• A team member mindset. Even if you’re training an individual athlete, most are part of a sport team. Having a team-based mindset lets them know that you’re in it together. It tells them that you’re looking out for them like their other teammates, and you’re not going to let them down. This goes a long way in building trust with your clients. Developing this type of mindset is also important for working with others involved in the athlete’s sport and training. This includes their head coach, assistant coach, athletic trainer, and any other trainers for their sport.

• Effective communication skills. A good coach can translate how a specific exercise or training method translates into improved athletic performance. This helps your client recognize the value of each aspect of their strength and conditioning training. Part of being an effective communicator also involves listening. What are the client’s fitness goals? Do they want to boost their sports performance or are they more interested in injury prevention? This information helps you tailor your training program to their wants and needs. 

• The ability to motivate. You can be working with the most elite athlete in a particular sport and still need to motivate them from time to time. They’ll have days when they don’t feel like training or don’t want to give it their all. It’s up to you as their strength and conditioning coach to turn this around. If you want to motivate your clients, remind them of their goals—which you learned through using your communication skills. This is just one example of how these different skills complement and build upon each other.

• Being able to solve problems. Your client is training, but not getting the results they should. Or maybe they face certain challenges in a specific part of your program. You must be able to solve these types of problems for them to get better results. Interestingly, this skill is not just important for being a good strength and conditioning coach. Research has also found that student-athletes tend to be more confident with their problem-solving strategies than same-aged peers who are not athletes (1). 

• Knowing your scope of practice. If you want to be a great coach, it’s natural to want to help your clients in any way you can. But staying within your scope of practice is critical to protecting yourself as a fitness trainer. It can also keep you from risking your business. If a client needs services beyond what you can offer as a strength and conditioning coach, refer them to the appropriate professional. This includes disease diagnosis and treatment. Let a professional in that area use their skills to help your client using their knowledge and skills.

How to Develop These Qualities to Become a More Effective Coach 

Some of the qualities mentioned you might already have. Others may need to be developed to take you to the next level as a strength and conditioning coach. Going to the next level can not only make you a better coach but also help you earn the highest salary in this role.

One way to develop your qualities or skills is with continued practice. This is especially important if you are new to coaching. Work on the areas you want to improve and, with time, you will get better. 

Another option, and one that can shorten your learning curve, is to find a mentor. Seek out a successful strength and conditioning coach and ask for their advice. Let them tell you what works and what doesn’t based on their experience. The benefit of this approach is that you get to learn from their mistakes without having to make them yourself. 

A third option is to take a strength and conditioning course. This type of course can enhance your knowledge of strength and conditioning strategies. The greater your knowledge, the better your ability to problem-solve your clients’ challenges. You also learn the best methods for motivating and communicating with your athlete clients, as well as gaining clarity on your scope of practice.

Highlighting Your Skills on Your Strength and Conditioning Coach Resume

If you want to work with top athletes or sport teams as a strength and conditioning coach, it’s important that you include your top qualities and skills on your resume. You can do this in a dedicated “skills” section. Or you might scatter them throughout the document, such as in the experience section.

Even if you’ve never worked as a strength and conditioning coach, you can share the skills beneficial to this role that you used while in other positions. Maybe you were a sport coach for your child’s team. Talk about how you motivated the team members or what type of training you did. Or perhaps you’ve worked as a personal trainer. Certainly, many of your skills in that role would also be beneficial as a strength and conditioning coach.

Also, include on your resume if you are certified. Being a certified strength and conditioning coach proves that you’ve met certain standards with your education and skills. It also says that you take your career seriously enough to take the additional steps needed for professional certification.

How to Become a Strength and Conditioning Coach

ISSA offers Strength and Conditioning Coach Certification. This online course teaches the most effective techniques for strength and conditioning coaching. It also helps you build your coaching skills—making you a more successful strength and conditioning specialist.

References

• Senduran, F., & Amman, T. (2015). Problem-solving skills of high school students exercising regularly in sport teams. Physical Culture and Sport. Studies and Research, 67(1), 42–52. https://doi.org/10.1515/pcssr-2015-0021