SCCC Certification Process and Requirements

The most comprehensive certification of its kind, individuals with the SCCC Certification possess the knowledge, skills, techniques, and expertise necessary to be an effective strength and conditioning coach on the collegiate or professional level.

The deadline to sign up for the exam is March 15

The following is a summary of SCCC Certification Requirements for individuals who were full-time strength and conditioning coaches on either the collegiate or professional level as of September 1, 2000:

• Current CSCCa membership
  Membership dues of $100/year
• Certification fee
  One-time certification fee of $200.
• Bachelor's degree
  Completion of a Bachelor's Degree from an accredited institution. Sealed, official transcript verifying attainment of a Bachelor's Degree required. Transcripts issued to students, copies, or online transcripts will not be accepted. Transcripts must be sent directly from the University's Records Department in an official, sealed envelope.
• Current CPR certification
  Copy of the front and back of CPR card obtained through the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, or the National Safety Council, which must be current on the date of the exam, must be faxed, mailed, or emailed to the national office.We will not except any CPR card obtained online. The CSCCa strongly encourages all Strength and Conditioning Coaches to maintain First Aid and AED certification in addition to CPR certification.
• Pass written certification examination
  Passing score of 73% or higher on the CSCCa written certification examination.

Individuals who were not full-time Strength and Conditioning Coaches on either the collegiate or professional level on or before September 1, 2000, or students studying to become Strength and Conditioning Coaches, must complete the following requirements in addition to those listed above:

• Current CSCCa membership
  Membership dues of $50/year
• CSCCa approved internship/practicum
  Completion of a consecutive 8-9 month CSCCa approved internship/practicum, under a CSCCa Approved Mentor. $300 Practicum/Internship fee.
• Internship Completion Verification Form
  Internship completion verification form signed by mentor.
• CSCCa Practical (Oral) Certification Examination
  Passing score on all stations of the CSCCa Practical (Oral) Certification Examination, administered by a panel of Master Strength and Conditioning Coaches. This includes explaining and defending an off-season training program designed by the individual for a specified sport.

To be eligible to take the SCCC Certification Examination, an individual must be a currently practicing, full-time, strength and conditioning coach on the collegiate or professional level, or a student preparing to become a full-time strength and conditioning coach on this level. Even though this policy may seem unfair and exclusionary to some, it serves a valuable purpose. Our goal as an association is to identify, educate, serve, and prepare those individuals who want to be solely full-time Strength and Conditioning Coaches of collegiate and professional athletic programs. We hope to send a message to all institutions that a full-time Strength and Conditioning position is extremely important and should be provided at every institution with an athletic program. The various positions of strength and conditioning coach, sport coach, athletic trainer, physical therapist, teacher/researcher, personal trainer, etc., are each so broad and vast in scope that it is impossible to be effective and competent in more than one of these professions simultaneously. Each of these professions has its own organization and certification, designed specifically to meet its unique needs. With its certification process, the CSCCa is providing a door, through which only those individuals who want to be full-time strength and conditioning coaches on the collegiate and professional level can pass.

A few Strength and Conditioning coaches have questioned the need to take the CSCCa certification examination (SCCC) if they already have certification from another professional organization. In order to establish unity within, as well as credibility of, this association, it is absolutely necessary for every member to take and support its own certification examination. The CSCCa simply cannot recognize and give credence to the certification from another professional organization when it has a certification of its own, which is far more comprehensive and specific to this unique profession. CSCCa members want to distinguish themselves from all other professions, as well as all other professional organizations. Again, this can only be accomplished by having every strength and conditioning coach within this organization take the CSCCa certification examination. In addition, it is difficult to imagine being a member of a certifying professional organization and not having its certification, while holding some other professional organization's certification. Finally, the SCCC certification is rapidly becoming the preferred certification by many institutions.

Click here for the SCCC Certification Handbook.