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How To Choose A Strength and Conditioning Coach

Brian Sipotz • Feb 07, 2012

This article was brought to my attention by a colleague, and it turns out to be a great follow-up to our Responsible Strength and Conditioning Practices post.  The article was written by Sean Skahan for hockeystrengthandconditioning.com.  Sean is the strength coach for the Anaheim Ducks of the NHL, and shares our mentality regarding appropriate training for sport performance.  His article offers a step by step approach to selecting the most appropriate strength coach for you or your child.  Although he references hockey specifically, the trend of bigger, stronger athletes is true across the board, so this approach can be applied to training for any sport.  Enjoy Sean’s article!

 How to Choose a Personal Trainer/Strength and Conditioning Coach for Your Son and/or Daughter

 Sean Skahan

      Today’s hockey players are becoming bigger, stronger, and faster while becoming more fit than they were in years past.  In addition to young players participating in other sports, they are also participating in strength and conditioning programs either at their own school, with their team, or with private training companies that are in the communities. 

      Strength and conditioning for sports has now become a common necessity that really wasn’t around until recently.  It has now become a business as there are now several training facilities within every neighborhood.

     With the sports training market becoming very saturated, there are several to choose from when it comes to choosing one for your son or daughter.  Like any other businesses, in my opinion, there are some very good ones, some average ones, and some not so good ones.  What I have listed below are some quick guidelines on making a selection for a strength and conditioning coach/personal trainer or company.  These are based on observations and opinions about today’s hockey players and performance:  

 1-       Make sure that the trainer(s) has a degree from a 4-year college/university.  A master’s degree would be a plus.  Preferably, their degree is in Exercise Science, Kinesiology, Biomechanics, or any other major related to Exercise and or Sports Medicine. 

 2-       Make sure that the trainer is certified by a reputable certification agency.  For Strength and Conditioning Coaches or Personal Trainers who work with hockey players, the Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach (C.S.C.S) certification from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is probably the most reputable certification.  Another good certification is any certification provided by the National Academy of Sports Medicine (N.A.S.M.). 

 3-       Ask for testimonials and/or references from athletes that they have actually coached.  They should be able to provide current or past testimonials from people who have trained with them.  If they can’t provide you with any testimonials, ask for references.  If they can’t give you any references, find another trainer.  Also, make sure that the trainer actually trained and worked with an athlete who they say they may have. 

 4-       Don’t get caught up in the bells and whistles about the facility.  Most of the good strength and conditioning coaches and personal trainers out there can get results without the high-tech equipment which may be considered “hockey-specific”.  Also, they may not need a large facility the size of a Wal-Mart. 

    In today’s world, it is easy for anyone to get a personal training certification from a non-reputable source and then partner up with someone with a lot of money and start up a sports training business.  I would always prefer an individual or company that started out with close to nothing and then grew their business by getting positive results from their athletes and clients.  As a parent who is paying for the child to participate in a strength and conditioning program, you must do your homework when trying to choose one.  Hopefully these guidelines and recommendations will help you make the right decision.

© 2006-2011 HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction without permission prohibited.

What They Don’t Tell You About Dieting

29 Mar, 2022
So far I’ve introduced a little about the “non-diet” approach , as well as the Diet Cycle , which many people find themselves stuck in when using a restrictive “diet” approach to food and health. For some of those people, the idea of eating what they love and “giving up” on diet or weight loss doesn’t seem like an option, understandably. We face a LOT of pressure, day after day, to eat “clean” and lose weight. That pressure may come from well-intentioned family, friends, and healthcare professionals who are concerned about our health (more on that later); or from fear-inducing headlines that compare sugar to poison; or from photo-shopped & face-tuned ads on Instagram of celebrities selling their flat tummy tea or shapewear. We are surrounded by Diet Culture, and are forced to engage with it- no matter if it’s coming from our loved ones, acquaintances, coworkers, or even strangers. What exactly is Diet Culture? You might have an idea just from the sound of it... Messaging that promotes diet & weight loss. Right? It’s actually more than that. Here’s a definition from Aubrey Gordon, author of “What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat”: Diet Culture: “A system of cultural beliefs and practices that equates thinness not just with health, but with moral virtue, and which advocates for weight loss at any cost. Diet culture isn’t just a matter of being on a diet, but of the social forces that make dieting (or lifestyle changes or wellness) culturally mandatory for so many of us.” The key phrases are “moral virtue” and “weight loss at any cost”. Diet culture doesn’t only convince us that weight loss is necessary (to be beautiful, to demonstrate our worth, or to be healthy); but it creates this pressure that we are MORALLY obligated to do so. In order to be perceived as good, responsible people, Diet Culture urges us to pursue weight loss at any cost- which could mean sacrificing our social life, a significant amount of money on supplements or meal replacements or programs, our emotional wellbeing, and even our physical wellbeing. Maybe diet and weight loss aren’t so healthy after all… And while this may not be everyone’s experience, we have research that demonstrates the following emotional impacts of restrictive dieting: Dieting is associated with higher anxiety levels (Kwasnicka, 2020) Dieting is associated with poorer emotional and mental quality of life (Burns etal, 2001) Dieting is linked with reduced life satisfaction (Esch and Zullig, 2013) Further, restrictive dieting has actually been found to cause weight GAIN. To be clear, weight gain is nothing to be ashamed about (bodies change!); but if the multibillion dollar diet industry is selling a diet plan for weight loss, they’re not exactly being honest about the likely outcomes. 1⁄3 to 2⁄3 regained weight within 1 year, with almost all weight regained within 5 years (1992 NIH Consensus) Most weight is gained back within 2 years and most gained back all the weight by 5 years (2013 Australian Research Council) A team of UCLA researchers reviewed 31 long term studies on the effectiveness of dieting and concluded that dieting is a consistent predictor of weight gain —up to two-thirds of the people regained more weight than they lost (Mann 2007) This quote from Weight Watchers former Finance Director sums it up pretty well:

Break the Diet Cycle with Intuitive Eating

07 Mar, 2022
Good morning! Thank you to everyone who came out to Break the Diet Cycle presentation. I hope you’re starting today feeling curious about Intuitive Eating and eager to rediscover your favorite foods in a fresh, positive way. I attached the PDFs of the presentation for you to reference, as well as the “HAES (Health at Every Size) Manifesto”, by Dr. Lindo Bacon, author of Health at Every Size. This provides a snapshot of the science behind the weight neutral approach, Health at Every Size, which Intuitive Eating is aligned with. For those of you who couldn’t attend, you may be wondering- what exactly is Intuitive Eating? As I mentioned in an earlier newsletter, Intuitive Eating is a non-diet approach to food and health. The framework consists of 10 principles to help you examine and reevaluate your beliefs & attitudes about your body, your food, physical activity, health, and more. While practicing Intuitive Eating, individuals relearn how to eat in accordance to their natural hunger and fullness cues; food cravings; energy needs, and so on. They begin to trust their body to tell them when to eat, what to eat, and how much to eat. The Ten Principles of Intuitive Eating are: 1. Reject the Diet Mentality 2. Honor Your Hunger 3. Make Peace with Food 4. Challenge the Food Police 5. Feel Your Fullness 6. Discover the Satisfaction actor 7. Cope with Your Feelings without Using Food 8. Respect Your Body 9. Exercise to Feel the Difference 10. Honor Your Health with Gentle Nutrition Intuitive Eating may seem like a straightforward concept, but in a culture that heavily promotes dieting and weight loss as a path to health, happiness, and even moral virtue, it can be hard to break out of the Diet Cycle (seen below). Also known as the “Restrict-Binge Cycle”, this eating pattern is typically kicked off by some diet thought, like “I need to lose weight” or “I need to start eating better”.

Snack Break with Mary

25 Jan, 2022
Snack Break with Mary Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist & Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor at Advantage Strength

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By Brian Sipotz • 03 May, 2018
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