Coach Education and Training
Despite high rates of sport participation and thus high numbers of coaches in the United States, many of these coaches are lacking adequate education in performance-based education programs. Furthermore, relatively few adequate academic-based coach education programs exist in the United States, as the university- and college-based coach education programs in the United States appear to be participation-oriented rather than performance-oriented. This has resulted in many sport coaches not holding an adequate understanding of the body’s response to sporting activities and appropriate training methods for an athlete’s age and level. Although participation in competitive and recreational sport is an important avenue for individuals to develop a sense of accomplishment or to improve fitness, it is becoming increasingly clear that coach-derived training programs are deficient in principles of strength and conditioning, the development of training plans, recovery enhancement and athlete monitoring.