Doug LarsonScott Caulfield is the Head Strength and Conditioning coach at National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). Scott is responsible for the day-to-day supervision and training of all athletes, interns, and coaches at the NSCA’s 6,000-square-foot Performance Center at the NSCA National Headquarters. Caulfield works diligently to promote the NSCA and its coaches, including work with the Professional Baseball Coaches Strength and Conditioning Coaches Society (PBSCCS), the National Basketball Strength & Conditioning Association (NBSCA), as well as national governing bodies such as the U.S. Anti-Doping Association, United States Olympic Committee, U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, and U.S.A. Hockey.
We enjoyed recording this episode with our friend Dr. Andy Galpin.
Strength and conditioning coaching
Scott shared with us his thoughts on how one can become a strength and conditioning coach, what the day-to-day might look like, coaching differences between high schools, colleges, and major league athletes, coaching salaries, and more.
Both education and experience are crucial to getting S&C jobs. So if you’re starting out, get your education and then find a place to intern or volunteer. Nowadays, a bachelor’s degree is the minimum to get into coaching positions, and master’s degree is the minimum for higher level positions. But besides education and certifications, find internships or volunteering gigs to get experience. Scott volunteered for an entire year with Dartmouth college football team before he got hired by them, which eventually led to other teams hiring him.
Usually, it’s best to start at a high school level. A general rule for S&C coaching is that the higher athletic level and more resources, the more complex work and more intense schedule. Coaching experience depends on resources and culture, and can be a hit or miss. On the day-to-day, besides programming and coaching, S&C coaches deal with stress management, injury prevention, how to incentivize athletes, and more.
Pro tip: Leverage social media to reach out to the right people for your an internship or volunteer work, but be sensible and smart with your approach.
“We don’t care how much you know until we know how much you care.” — Scott Caulfield
Experienced is always the best for us to master what we learn from college.