Heartline Fitness

Bringing a strength and conditioning professional into your high school has many benefits to both the school and the students. A professional can assist coaches to improve their teams, they can help to improve the health of the whole student population, and they can help your school to manage injury risks.
Benefits to Your High School

1. Improved Curriculum When you bring a professional trainer into your high school they can act as a consultant to review and improve current processes for
   training on athletic teams and in general physical education classes.
2. Professionalism Strength and conditioning, especially for young athletes, have become much more competitive than in the past. Science has improved on how
   professional athletes workout and a professional can integrate these practices into your high school like so many other schools have.  A professional can also act as
   an extra coach and help to increase professionalism within the athletic department.
3. Reduced Liability This person acts as an independent entity demonstrating your high school’s focus on the children’s safety. A full-time professional can also put
   risk-management procedures into place. Together, this reduces a school’s liability by demonstrating its due diligence in the areas of reducing injury risk and overall
   increase in the study body’s health and athleticism. In light of recent issues at schools like the University of Maryland and the University of Oregon, this issue may be
   the most important reason to have a professional certified strength coach on staff.

Benefits to Students

4. Recruiting for College Through the use of a strength and conditioning professional, the students are better able to improve their athletic development. This develop-
   ment can be carried over into positions on college teams or even to the pro-sports arena.
5. Reduced Injury Rates Overall the students will experience improved performance due to changes made in training plans. A professional will also help to design programs
   that will reduce the number of injuries in the athletics department, which means more play time for all those great kids.
6. Increased Confidence Redesigned programs can also help improve the health of students and athletes. Redesigned programs can take gender differences into consideration
   for training techniques. Last but not least, working with a certified professional can give kids the confidence boost they need to perform at their best.

 
Who Are You Looking For?
Your strength and conditioning professional should have an education degree from an accredited institution stating that they are knowledgeable in the area of strength and conditioning.
You are looking for a certified professional, someone holding the following credentials or certifications:

• A certification from an accredited association or other group such as the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)
• CPR
• First Aid
• AED (automated external defibrillation)

 
In conclusion, a professional strength and conditioning staffer can benefit both your high school and students in many ways. The most significant changes will be made through the redesign of current fitness and training programs. Changing these programs will lead to a reduction in student injuries and create a safer environment for your kids to develop on the field and in the classroom.
This article is a reprise of an article published in the NCSA Coach, Vol. 4, Issue 1, the National Strength and Conditioning Association.