Ok, here’s the scoop. I’m a personal trainer, work for a corporate gym, have a B.S. in Exercise Physiology and I’m thinking of using my continuing ed bonus this year on a USAT coaches license. Does anyone have any experience with this cert? With a 4 year degree does anyone really care if I spent another weekend in Boston learning tri stuff?
Just my .02. I think the coaching license, like certifications in many professional fields has moved from being a differentiator to a requirement. My suspicion is that many of us know very little about what’s involved with your exercise physiology degree, but we can easily see what’s behind the USAT or USAC coaching license and the various levels.
My thought is that it’s analogous to heart rate and power. Either is an effective training tool. Put them both together and…
USAT Level I certification is pretty much a “me too” entry-level deal. Doesn’t mean you know diddly-squat about triathlon coaching. All it really means is that you went through a background check and attended a class.
Other than the insurance coverage, the real value is that it lets you advance onto higher level certifications.
Level II & III carry a lot more weight in terms of signifying that you might actually know how to coach.
Mark
I’m a personal trainer, work for a corporate gym, have a B.S. in Exercise Physiology
To me, none of that means you can make someone faster at triathlon.
Does anyone have any experience with this cert? With a 4 year degree does anyone really care if I spent another weekend in Boston learning tri stuff?
I have the certification, but I don’t use much from the weekend when coaching my athletes. A 4 year degree in ex. phys. doesn’t mean you know how to coach athletes to make them faster. I evaluate coaches based on how much athletes improve under them, not what degrees/certifications the coaches may have, but I know most of the athletes that I have worked with like the fact I have the certification. It may be useful to you in appealing to triathletes.
Just my .02. ** I think the coaching license, like certifications in many professional fields has moved from being a differentiator to a requirement**. My suspicion is that many of us know very little about what’s involved with your exercise physiology degree, but we can easily see what’s behind the USAT or USAC coaching license and the various levels.
My thought is that it’s analogous to heart rate and power. Either is an effective training tool. Put them both together and…
I could not disagree more. I think if you look out at the top coaches in the tri-space, a great many are NOT USAT certified. USAT Level 1 doesn’t mean squat. Level II and you know what you are doing, but it is relative to the coaches experience. Level III - yes, I’m listening, but these folks not only have the coaching chops but they also have incredible experience. Still there are many others who have the experience and proven coaching skills and don’t bother with USAT.
I would say depends on what your goals are.
What type of athlete do you want to work for? If ITU, you better get the USAT cert just to get the facility useage waived or funding if they are national level.
If you are already good at what you do, you don’t need it. But I think if you are breaking into this career, it opens the door for you to get access to clients. OR go do the IM cert class.
From what I’ve seen, having “USAT coach” appeals to almost more athletes than “I’m not certified but do you know who I am”. Besides if your already world class, you aren’t begging for athletes. Your roster is filled and likely on wait list.
So if your a trainer and asking if it’s needed, yes you need it. Your likely not good enough at Tri coaching, yet.
I’m a personal trainer, work for a corporate gym, have a B.S. in Exercise Physiology
To me, none of that means you can make someone faster at triathlon.
Does anyone have any experience with this cert? With a 4 year degree does anyone really care if I spent another weekend in Boston learning tri stuff?
I have the certification, but I don’t use much from the weekend when coaching my athletes. A 4 year degree in ex. phys. doesn’t mean you know how to coach athletes to make them faster. I evaluate coaches based on how much athletes improve under them, not what degrees/certifications the coaches may have, but I know most of the athletes that I have worked with like the fact I have the certification. It may be useful to you in appealing to triathletes.
Not to sound like an arrogant tool and I’m sure you didn’t mean it as an insult, but I’m pretty sure spending thousands of dollars, and studying peer reviewed material, writing an original thesis on pseudo myocardial myopathy in endurance athletes marked by biochemical markers such a cardiac troponin and stroke volume might… might give me a slight understanding of how to increase VO2max, lactate threshold, muscular endurance… Things like that. It doesn’t mean I necessarily know how to make people listen to me, or have the best understanding of x’s and o’s. But my question was more of since I already spent 4 years, 12 lab sciences, countless hours of study, and $40,000 on a formal education, is it worth dropping another $600 on a certification that takes a whole two days to earn.
Like others have said already, I think USAT 1 coaching is a door opener, and if you are to be involved with USAT and ITU athletes and races, you should get that certification just to get in the door. Since you already spend a lot of time/money for a formal education, why let a $600 be a barrier to something you want to do.
You’d be better off taking that degree and coaching ncaa gig.
Unless you have foot in door, or a super talented marketer yes it would help you to get USAT cert. It’s funny thouh, you wouldn’t be able to use you BS degree to get ceu’s since you got the degree before your level 1 class.
Yet a BS in exercise physiology is far better to improving athletes than level 1 class. Whoever said that wouldn’t help as a Tri coach, don’t listen to them. That’s far more important to helping athletes than anything in level 1 program.
Level 1 doesn’t teach you coaching, it simply gets you into the door and insurance covered.
Correct, it was not meant as an insult. I’m sure you learned how to increase velocity at VO2max, LT, etc., but that’s only part of coaching triathlon. A few other things beyond that include the following: managing the coach-athlete relationship, understanding the technical aspects of the different sports (technique, gear, skills, etc.), getting the athlete into a good performance mindset on race day, managing race nutrition/fueling, and that’s just a few things.
As I said before, my athletes like the fact that I have the certification. Many athletes look for certified coaches because it shows a certain level of commitment to the sport. If you’re not known as a tri coach, then it could be tough to find athletes to coach and the certification could be a way for you to get your foot in the door.
With a recent degree in Exercise Physiology, you will most certainly find the USAT coaching certification process to be a complete waste of your time and money.
i would agree and disagree. Agree that the information presented will be very basic.
Disagree in that if you have a BS in hand and asking if USAT cert is needed, your likely too green/raw to be able to pull it off on your own.
So that’s when it’s important to get in system and take advantage of networking, insurance. You won’t likely “learn” anything but I think in this case, he needs an “in”. If your asking if it’s worth it, then you likely don’t have the current athletes to say “I don’t need it”.
The networking is really big if you really want to pursue this as a career. If your just doing it for the logo on your biz card, no it’s not “worth it”, other than simply having the in that most need.
What’s sad is that USAT should allow a person like the OP to essentially pay $250 and he’s level 1. The profession needs people who actually study exercise science. Those people have far better chance to be a good coach than anyone else. So to tell that person he’s not better than the half ironman accountant turned “coach” is I think something we could improve upon.
Eta: or what’s worse, his 4 year BS can’t even be applied to ceu credit due to taking them before he became a coach. Cert period is only time ceu’s are allowed to be applied. So only thing his BS degree is good for is the initial application process. Food for thought.
i would agree and disagree. Agree that the information presented will be very basic.Yes, very basic.
I can say this because I have been there.
What’s sad is that USAT should allow a person like the OP to essentially pay $250 and he’s level 1. The profession needs people who actually study exercise science.So true.
And even more, the profession needs coaches that have solid racing and training experience in the sport. Ones who are awesome freestyle and open water one-on-one technique coaches. Ones who know road and tri bike fit cold. Ones who are technically advanced in bike aerodynamics and optimal equipment choices. Ones who know all about how to run fast. The list goes on. Tri coaches like this are, unfortunately, very very rare.
The course is not worth $600. Nor the networking. Get some athletes. Practice your craft. Figure out how to make them fast. Then work from there.
Your degree is a great first step. That is your foundation that most of your competition does not have. Now you just need the hours. Just like training 
If you plan on getting all three certs. Then take the course. And jump through the hoops. If you just want one, don’t bother.
I’ve been doing this full time for seven years with a waiting list, no cert, and no web presence. It certainly can be done.
Best of luck!
Just my .02. ** I think the coaching license, like certifications in many professional fields has moved from being a differentiator to a requirement**. My suspicion is that many of us know very little about what’s involved with your exercise physiology degree, but we can easily see what’s behind the USAT or USAC coaching license and the various levels.
My thought is that it’s analogous to heart rate and power. Either is an effective training tool. Put them both together and…
I could not disagree more. I think if you look out at the top coaches in the tri-space, a great many are NOT USAT certified. USAT Level 1 doesn’t mean squat. Level II and you know what you are doing, but it is relative to the coaches experience. Level III - yes, I’m listening, but these folks not only have the coaching chops but they also have incredible experience. Still there are many others who have the experience and proven coaching skills and don’t bother with USAT.
I don’t see anything wrong with what you wrote. You may be focused on the pointy end of the field and coaches who built their chops before these licenses existed. I believe local athletes looking for coaches will start looking for these licenses, along with other factors like experience and success. One doesn’t have to look far to see other fields that have made similar changes. People without degrees could land jobs as computer programmers in the 70’s and 80’s if they could demonstrate the skills. Good luck with that today. Pharmacists used to have a 5 year BS and a 6 yr PharmD. Now it’s a 5 yr PharmD and the older pharmacists struggle if they want to change jobs. Physical Therapists used to be both 2 and 4 year degrees. Now a DPT is almost required for folks coming out of school. That’s a minimum of 6yrs and sometimes 7. A PMP cert used to be an eye opener for a project manager. Now it’s difficult to land a job without one, regardless of experience and education - because so many do, those that don’t usually don’t make the first cut.
My thought is that coaching move in this direction over time. But I could be very wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time… today… ;-))
Jloewe, (JLo?) If your goal is to be a great (the best) personal trainer in a corporate gym environment - then my answer is no, don’t come to one of our USAT L1s (I’m saying “our” because I’ve lead many in the past). If your goal is to expand into coaching triathlon - then yes, I think you should come.
You’re a professional - the USAT Coaching certification is a logical credential of a professional triathlon coach. There’s a lot of info presented and more that isn’t intended but gets generated from Q&A and discussion. You’d absolutely come away with some value. I guess you could take a nap during the exercise phys section but I wouldn’t for two reasons 1) it’s mostly likely being given by someone who’s been working hands on in the field for a decade or more and they might have some tweaks, some revelations, some discoveries that will either remind you or freshen your perspective on how some of that schooling gets applied real world (just as you’re experiencing that now in your current gig with strength adaptation) and 2) you might be able to add some insight to the group during that time just as a brilliant swim coach (cycling coach, marketer, communicator, clinic leader, etc) who’s in the room could do for you doing a segment that speaks to their field of excellence.
Ian
I would say depends on what your goals are.
What type of athlete do you want to work for? If ITU, you better get the USAT cert just to get the facility useage waived or funding if they are national level.
If you are already good at what you do, you don’t need it. But I think if you are breaking into this career, it opens the door for you to get access to clients. OR go do the IM cert class.
From what I’ve seen, having “USAT coach” appeals to almost more athletes than “I’m not certified but do you know who I am”. Besides if your already world class, you aren’t begging for athletes. Your roster is filled and likely on wait list.
So if your a trainer and asking if it’s needed, yes you need it. Your likely not good enough at Tri coaching, yet.
I agree with Brooks. It depends on your goals. If you want to build a coaching business, it’s definitely worth it for the reasons he mentions. If you’re just looking looking for something to spend your CEU dollars on, and want to focus on building your personal training and strength & conditioning career, my suggestion would be to get your NSCA-CSCS, if you don’t already have it. I’m sure you know the weight that has in the world of strength and conditioning (that’s what most universities want to see in their strength and conditioning coaches, and what the Olympic Trainer Center was requiring a few years ago.)
If your goal is to be a triathlon coach, get the Level 1 cert, network, and find a Level 2 or Level 3 coach who’s philosophy is compatible with your’s, and get them to take you on as an Associate Coach under them as a mentee. I’ve learned a lot more from my mentor in the years since I started coaching than I have from any other source. I wouldn’t have had that learning opportunity without the entry level certification. Plus, the mentor is needed if you want to apply to become a USAT Level 2.