I’m 24 and done with school (non sports related major) and would like to start a career in what I am passionate about. What programs/certifications would you recommend? I have looked into ITCA and USAT, but I would like to get your opinions. If anyone has any personal experience I would really appreciate it.
Better still…get a really good mentor and work under them.
Learn from the coaches here.
- Get a coaching licence
- Get a powermeter dealership
- And only accept the sub 10 finishers
I personally will only work with a coach that has a related degree, such as sports science, or 10 years coach experience with a variety of levels of athletes. USAT Level 1 coaching certificate is pretty easy to get. Get up to Level II and now you are talking.
Call me a coaching snob but I’m paying money to someone who will help me achieve a big goal, whether IM or whatever your next big challenge is. I want to have confidence they know what they are talking about and have more background on what will work for me, not just what worked for them.
if you’re going the mentor route - a good idea - find someone who actually coaches a squad.
My first inclination is that this is obviously some sort of viral marketing gimmick for the new itca certification. But I like to think the best of people so I’ll answer like it is a real question.
The itca certification is brand spanking new and is offered by one of the less respected personal trainer certification organizations. My own opinion about many of these places is that the purpose of the organization is to create a market for the books used to study for the certification exam.
but beyond my own opinion, the ITCA is a BRAND NEW certification and I doubt anyone would care if you have one. Although it may give you an edge in marketing and networking with the personal trainer type crowd.
As others said, the usat certification is not terribly hard to get. However it seems like a rational step down the road to becoming a coach. Last I knew, you had to be level 1 before you can apply for level 2 certification but I know a lot of people seem to get around that requirement.
Lots of people want experience, so go get some. Start coaching someone, do it for free if you have to, but get some experience. A lot of what you learn as a coach just comes from experience. The rest comes from learning new things and applying it to your experience. If you can find a local or distance coach just to talk stuff over with, that will be helpful as well. To help with that there is a usat coaches listserv for certified coaches that has some interesting discussions from time to time.
easy
- do a triathlon or two
- get your coaching license
- coach
just like 85% of the current tri coaching community…“L” platters
.
I took the volunteer route. I coached 50 Ironman participants for free for a season for Team in Training. I was one of 5 coaches so having the team of us working together was very insightful, I got to see several different coaching styles all at once and decide which one’s I could use and which I didn’t like.
With a group of 50 athletes you get a ton of experience in a very short amount of time. All walks of life and all abilities. I’m doing it again this year, but they are going to pay me a small per-aathlete stipend this time around. It’s a great way to see how you like it, I would reccomend it to anyone thinking of giving coaching a try.
Dave
Besides the USAT certification(s) consider adding a few of the personal training certifications too. It wouldn’t hurt to have that training under your belt too.
Be a good triathlete yourself.
Read everything you can get your hands on.
take night classes in business management (from accounting to marketing)
start small and work your way up.
just like 85% of the current tri coaching community…“L” platters
At least spell the insult right…oh wait, it came from Sutton…in
that case it may or may not be spelt right.
-Jot
FYI… “spelt” = spelled
Irony…
Who cares about spelling if the fact is undisputed?