Offering opportunities to obtain certifications and presentations on current findings in the field, the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s Texas clinic will open its doors to Texas A&M students for the first time in May.
Mike Greenwood, NSCA state director and A&M health and kinesiology professor, said this clinic will be unlike others as the research presentations will attempt to debunk common misconceptions surrounding strength training.
“For the first time I am bringing research presentations to this clinic,” Greenwood said. “There are lot of things that are going on in strength and conditioning that are wrong out there – people are being injured because of improper technique – and that is what we are trying to do, help educate to avoid some of those complications.”
At the clinic, Kyle Levers, kinesiology graduate student will present “Little League to The NCAA: Youth Sports Performance Development and Specialization,” which aims to inform students about developmental injury risks.
“I will be talking about youth athlete development all the way through college,” Levers said. “I am looking at different ways youth athletes are starting to specialize a lot earlier, what that means in terms of injury risks and how we prevent that.”
Levers said the goal of the clinic is to improve the way strength and conditioning training is being implemented.
“Our job with this clinic is to take the research, what is currently out there, what we have learned and how does this apply to you,” Levers said. “How can you better yourself as a coach or strength and conditioning specialist?”
Greenwood said the conference will also provide Aggies with opportunities to receive personal training or strength training certification.
Richard Kreider, head of the health and kinesiology department, said while the conference is not just for kinesiology majors, the certifications offered are especially valuable for those students.
“The NSCA is the most respected and largest fitness organization in the world, that I am aware of,” Kreider said. “They have some very prestigious certifications. The difference between their’s and others, especially in the strength and conditioning area, is that you have to have some training in the field to be eligible to even sit for the exam.”
Levers said having a certification with a strong reputation is important in avoiding legal complications.
“It is always better to have a certification from a liability stand point if you are a personal trainer or if you are coaching athletes,” Levers said. “You want to have some respectable certification because you are liable for the people you train.”
The research and career opportunities presented at the conference betters the field as a whole, Kreider said.
“The more science you have behind your programs, the better outcomes your clients are going to have,” Kreider said.
The clinic will be held May 30-31 at the Physical Education Activity Program Building.