At the college level, as far as I know there are no laws governing the educational requirements of strength coaches. As long as a strength coach can produce results, he or she can gain employment. (BFS Editor in Chief Kim Goss was a strength coach for the US Air Force Academy for eight years, and at the time his college degree was in journalism, not physical education.) Although most college coaches delegate strength and conditioning to their strength coaches, often they will have some influence on the training protocol.

Why get certified? First, let me refer you to a video clip that we have online at www.maxcast.com/BFScertification. Dr. Rabinoff is a full professor at Metro State College in Denver, Colorado, who has served as an expert witness in over 300 lawsuits. In this video clip he discusses the reasons why he believes certification is important.

Our position at BFS is that certification provides evidence that an individual was qualified to perform what he or she says they are qualified to do, and that thr instruction follows the standards of care in the industry. And one way that we ensure this is by having our certification clinics provide hands-on instruction, plus an assessment of the coach in which they not only have to be able to properly demonstrate key exercises, but also that they can coach them. It’s not simply a multiple-choice or true/false exam as you’ll find with many certifications. Says Dr. Rabinoff: "I would prefer that any certifications involving strength and conditioning have a practical portion to ensure that coaches know how to teach these activities. I haven’t seen any of the certifications being questioned in a court of w as to their validity, but lawyers are becoming very sophisticated. So although it hasn’t happened, it doesn’t mean that it won’t in the future."