Non-Fencing-Specific Education and Certification

[qatet]

Well, I've left my former coaching job, have moved half-way across the country, and am in the middle of settling in and looking for some kind of gainful employment. Because that's not enough to think about, and because I'm in rather a bit of coaching withdrawal, I'm starting to turn my mind to other kinds of education and certification that are useful to coaches. I've been poking around on various sites (Human Kinetics, NSCA, etc.), looking at the courses and certificates that they offer and they look fascinating, but then, I've been in school for 23 of the past 30 years and all coursework looks fascinating (and rather comfortingly familiar!).

What other kinds of courses and such have you pursued? Further physical education? Business? Have you found that either the information or the credentials have proved useful? If you had extra time, what would you pursue?

[RITFencing]

There's an organization called the Positive Coaching Alliance that certifies coaches of any sport; they deal with environments and sports psychology.

[Allen Evans]

I have been a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association for some time (NSCA). I was moderately interested in pursuing certification through them as a certified trainer, but don't have the time. I've been supplementing my fencing education with reading in sports training and and exercise.

AE

[MdA]

I don't know. I don't have a lot of non-fencing specific education...anymore.

[MyrddinsPrecint]

EMT training. Would be useful, not that I either have it or am looking to persue it...

[AaronK]

I have been a member of the NSCA for a number of years- I currently have a CSCS credential (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist) from them. I have found the knowledge gained in preparation for the certification useful, though it has served more as a source of frustration because of the amount of dis-information I have to wade through thanks to the diet/exercise and related industries.

I have taken a course in teaching elementary Phys. Ed. which I found very helpful because I find more and more that I am teaching a broader curriculum than just fencing (in my fencing classes) and having experience in non-fencing related phys ed. has been helpful. I took it at the time because I was pursuing a degree in art ed. and felt very confident to teach, though wasn't sure how to go about planning PE goals or lesson plans (more than just create a list of skills and rules to teach).

[qatet]

Aaron, how did you go about preparing for your CSCS. Did you use the materials that HK or NSCA makes available? (And does anybody know if those materials are one and the same? They're bundled completely differently.)

[AaronK]

qatet,

The most helpful reference was the NSCA practice exam, though I have the textbooks: Essentials of Strength and Conditioning and Essentials of Personal Training. I ordered the materials through the NSCA (if I remember right).
The DVD that comes with the practice exam is really essential to study unless you have extensive practical experience with training/spotting free-weights.
I had a few other books that I was reading at the time that were helpful in certain areas: Periodization: Theory, Methodology and Training by Tudor Bompa; Explosive, Power & Strength by Donald Chu; a few books on plyometric training published by HK (Which I bought at local bookstores).

I have to recommend Optimizing Strength Training (by Kraemer and Fleck) if you were actually going to do any periodized training with athletes/students. The linear periodization models in Bompa don't really reflect the needs of a year-round sport such as fencing (and practically everything else nowadays). The book above deals with developing dynamic, flexible workout schedules that achieve the same benefits of periodized programs, but do not follow a linear progression. The information in Bompa isn't bad (nor is it inaccurate) but the material is dated- the frequency of major competitions has increased dramatically from the time Bompa's material was written.

[parryDoh]

I have alot of down time at work and started using this time to increase my education in different areas of interest. Im currently concentrating on the USFCA's Moniteur program. For future studies im looking into fully online course for certified Personal Trainer. I am weary of online colleges though...

http://www.pennfoster.edu/fitness/index.html