Not Many, But MOST Coaches & Trainers You See In S&C Are Unqualified.
But the reason they get away with bad is because they know you don't know what to look for.
“Most ‘trainers’ you see are unqualified, lowly held accountable guys & gals who used to play sports, who are leveraging the low barrier of entry associated with our field.
‘Nice’ people sell really shitty training every day because they know you don’t know what to look for.”
-Ray Zingler
It’s the most frustrating aspect of our industry for sure.
And not because it affects me personally.
I am not selling a garbage product to consumers who are looking for cut rate rubbish that doesn’t actually get them better.
I am selling a much higher quality product, targeting a much higher quality consumer.
The reason it’s frustrating, though, is because of what it does to our industry.
Strength & Conditioning is the bedrock of athlete health & performance. Nothing is more important than what we do.
Yet we are regarded, largely, as “trainer dudes who like to exercise as a hobby, so they’ll probably give us a discount.”
And it’s because the garbage outweighs the good.
And the reason it outweighs the good is solely because any former D2 bum in between jobs (he got dat dere degree doe, bruh!) can grab some cones and join our industry.
There are really shitty doctors out there.
Horrendous PTs. I see their crap, made up on the fly drills being prescribed to kids (who shouldn’t be injured in the first place) every single day.
But because of their “titles” they are widely regarded as “qualified”.
I know MANY great S&C’s that would absolutely SMOKE your run of the mill PT when it comes to knowledge, exercise prescription, & coaching.
But the S&C is hamstrung by the dipshit with a duffel bag at your local part, while the PT is covered with a security blanket because the trusty US Government said “he’s probably good, bro!”
The knock isn’t on doctors.
The knock isn’t on PTs.
The knock is on trainers and coaches who aren’t qualified to train or coach.
And just so you know, not many, but MOST of the trainers and coaches you see in S&C, whether it be public or private sector are not good.
They are horrendous.
“Coach X is just the best, Timmy loves him!”
No, he’s not. He sucks. You just don’t know what to look for so your perceptions (which lie) have led you to believe he’s better than he really is.
It is critical to proceed with caution when seeking a trainer or coach for your child.
Inside and outside of school.
It’s unfortunate, but most are bad.
Bad, bad.