About the CSCCa

Possibly the greatest single factor to have affected competitive athletics during the past two decades has been the incorporation of organized strength & conditioning programs into high school, collegiate, and professional athletic programs across the country. Strength & Conditioning programs have made competitive athletics more explosive and more exciting, as athletes have made great improvements in strength, power, speed, speed endurance, and body control. During the early 70's, several universities, realizing the importance of the role of strength & conditioning, created a new position--the strength & conditioning coach. During the latter part of this decade, the National Strength Coaches Association (NSCA) was formed. There were only a handful of coaches in attendance at its first meeting. This organization was created primarily to be a support mechanism for the collegiate strength & conditioning coach. The organization was very helpful in providing education and professional enhancement for its members, as well as in promoting camaraderie among those individuals who had chosen to make a career in this new and exciting field.

Over time, the NSCA began expanding into other areas. High school strength coaches were evolving, and the association sought their membership. This was a great sign that the role an organized Strength & Conditioning program could play in improving and maximizing athletic performance was finally being acknowledged and valued across the country. In addition, the value of the strength & conditioning coach was finally being recognized as dedicated strength & conditioning professionals who believed in proper exercise prescription were able to convince athletic administrators and head/position coaches of the various sports of the value of their role. The NSCA sought new ways to further expand its membership and began providing education and certification for personal trainers as well. In addition, many athletic trainers, physical therapists, teachers, researchers, and even medical doctors joined the association to acquire dual-certification as a CSCS (the organization's certification title), hoping to increase their marketability. The name of the organization was even changed to National Strength & Conditioning Association to reflect a broader base of membership.

As the NSCA expanded its membership, the original group--the collegiate strength & conditioning coach--for which the association was first organized, became a very small subgroup within a vast organization. In addition, the NSCA's certification test to acquire a CSCS, does not identify all the requirements to become a collegiate strength & conditioning coach. Many strength & conditioning coaches believed that the prevalence of those CSCS certified from all walks of life significantly reduced the value of this certification for the collegiate strength & conditioning coach.


As a result of these and other concerns, on May 20th, 2000 a group of full-time, collegiate strength & conditioning coaches from around the country met in Las Vegas and organized a new professional organization. This new organization was named the Collegiate Strength & Conditioning Coaches association (CSCCa). It was designed to represent and promote the collegiate strength & conditioning coach. The following is a brief overview of the association's goals:

• Regaining our identity as professionals as collegiate strength & conditioning coaches and having a full-time strength & conditioning coach at every university/college and eventually at every high school with a competitive athletic program. We strongly discourage dual certification (sport coach, athletic trainer, physical therapist, personal trainer, teacher/researcher, etc.) because each of these areas in and of itself is extremely broad and vast in scope, making it impossible to stay current on applicable research, skills, techniques, etc., while performing duties in more than one area. In addition, dual certification potentially decreases the quality and quantity of jobs available to the full-time, collegiate strength & conditioning coach.
• Complete unification of all collegiate strength & conditioning coaches.
• Encouraging loyalty to the association and to fellow strength & conditioning coaches/members of the association. This includes providing assistance to those members who have lost their jobs, through the posting of job openings, free of charge, on our website, as well as promoting networking among CSCCa members themselves. 
• Improving the respect, salaries, status, and job security of the collegiate strength and conditioning coach through making athletic administrators aware of the value of the strength and conditioning coach, as well as the level of education, experience, and expertise necessary to become a full-time strength and conditioning coach.
• Providing opportunities for professional development for all collegiate strength & conditioning coaches (knowledge, research, skills, techniques, philosophies, etc.) in educational settings (clinics, symposiums, seminars, National Conferences, newsletters, internet, etc.), as well as through the sharing of experience and expertise among the strength & conditioning coaches themselves. The association will do everything possible to keep collegiate strength & conditioning coaches current on the latest research and its application in the field.
• Bridging the gap between exercise science/research and its practical application in the field of strength & conditioning by providing opportunities for students to complete practicums/internships/residencies/graduate assistantships under a head or Master Strength & Conditioning Coach with the SCCC certification.
• Promoting/opposing legislation and policies within the NCAA to serve the best interest of the student athlete and the collegiate strength & conditioning coach.
• Providing effective communication, as well as promoting positive relationships with the media, the public, as well as other professional organizations.

Although appreciation was expressed for the NSCA at this initial meeting for all it has done to contribute to the growth and development of the strength & conditioning and health and fitness profession, the collegiate strength & conditioning coaches in attendance at the foundation meeting voted unanimously to form this new association, designed specifically to meet the needs of all full-time, collegiate strength & conditioning coaches.

Update: At the 2006 National Conference, the membership voted to expand the organization's membership base to include strength and conditioning coaches of professional athletic teams. The CSCCa welcomes all full-time strength and conditioning coaches of professional athletic teams (NFL, NBA, WNBA, NHL, MLB, etc.) who would like to become a part of this unique organization.