Lift Clinic Mentorship:
Student Strength & Conditioning Coach
Summer program runs from June to August 2024
Application deadline: April 15, 2024
Jumpstart your Career in Strength & Conditioning
Lift Clinic’s Student Strength & Conditioning Coach (SSCC) program offers the opportunity for students to work under the supervision of top Vancouver Strength Coaches/Kinesiologists, gain experience in team training settings, and work with high school/club athletes (volleyball, basketball, ultimate etc.). Students within the Kinesiology field with interests in strength and conditioning, sports performance and coaching sciences are encouraged to apply!
Application Requirements:
- 10/10 committed to a career in their field of study
- Currently enrolled in kinesiology, physio, chiro, RMT, sport orthopaedic/medicine program
- Demonstrated past experience in client-oriented positions such as student trainer, undergraduate strength and conditioning assistant, personal training, sport coach etc.
- Commitment to 10 weeks of in-clinic mentorship and concurrent case-specific learning
- Able to clearly articulate their goals in relation to the field and within this practicum
Mentorship from Top Vancouver Strength & Conditioning Coaches.
A Commitment to Mentorship and Career Building.
At Lift Clinic we value empowering the next generation of performance and rehab professionals to take steps toward your definition of success. The Strength Coach Practicum Program enables us to “lift” students and new grads like you through education and unique opportunities to gain hands on experience. Beginning with this position, we hope to provide continued opportunities and mentorship for those committed to a long-term career in strength and conditioning or for those who want to work part-time in a clinical capacity while pursuing post-graduate education such as a master’s of physical therapy, chiropractic or massage therapy studies.
See below for the 3 levels of progression within our mentorship programs.
- Establishes strong mentee-mentor relationship with lead strength coaches, taking initiative to lead self-evaluation, term goal setting (3-4 month periods), come prepared for every session, asks thoughtful questions, and seek feedback early and often “what can I do better”
- Takes initiative to study and learn coaching skills including cueing, programming and workout structure/pacing, actively training ‘coaching eye’ (movement and technique analysis in a wide range of exercises)
- Applies coaching skills to their own strength and conditioning program (write program, apply cues, video and analyse your own movements; submit a written reflection at the end of each phase to your mentor)
- Studies exercise lateralization by observing variations, modifications and progressions of fundamental resistance exercises (push, pull, carry, squat, hinge) with consideration for base of support, load placement, tempo, rotational force
- Actively builds rapport with athletes, learning client names and what’s important to them in terms of goals and life, contributes to atmosphere and training environment, demonstrating empathy
- Monitors clients for flags such as pain, fatigue/sleep, mental health etc. and brings this to the attention of mentor/strength coach promptly
- Establishes strong ethical practices and safeguards the privacy, emotional and physical wellbeing of clients at all times
- Advances mentee-mentor relationship while finding ways to give back to mentors and improve their experience; comes prepared and on-time for every session and meeting, revises goals, accurately reflects on abilities and communicates frequently about goals for current mentorship process
- Begins to apply coaching skills, providing basic cueing for a wide range of exercises (warmups, stretches, plyometrics, strength/hypertrophy etc); identifies when cues are not working effectively and brings attention to mentor/strength coach
- Provides a written evaluation of phase 1 + phase 2 programming (assumes a 10-week commitment) for sessions, weekly microcycles and training phases, including comments on when/how to deviate from the program to accommodate client needs
- Applies exercise lateralization to own workouts to increase exposure and practice in a wide range of exercise variations e.g. high bar squat, low bar squat, overhead squat, plate squat, front squat, split squat, RFESS, goblet squat, FFESS, heel elevated squat…; identifies clients who may benefit from lateralization and brings this to attention of strength coach
- Progresses from building rapport to enhancing motivation for clients and helping them to consistently revisit their goals and the linkages with current programming to achieve their goals
- Progresses learning around client flags such as pain, sleep and mental health to understand practical consequences of ignoring these issues and appropriate referral pathways/desired outcomes that we advocate for
- Sustains strong ethical principles and demonstrates leadership in the weight room to create an environment that is fun, safe and respectful of everyone involved (athletes, mentees, strength coaches, sport coaches, parents, staff etc)
- Extending on mentorship relationship development to produce a high quality professional relationship, allowing mentee to continue learning from and occasionally challenge the mentor with new ideas, research etc.
- Applying and extending coaching skills – Leads warm-up and/or 1 training block e.g. group A/B/C per workout; demonstrates and coaches movement/lifting techniques with precision, efficiency and confidence
- Applies program writing skills – for example, writes draft program for Phase 2 in a 10-week cycle to address client goals and build upon phase 1
- Applies exercise lateralization efficiently during the course of a workout to accommodate individual client variations and goals
- Extending on rapport and motivational skills by recognizing and developing these abilities in others (clients, mentees etc) such that these behaviours become intrinsic to the program and not entirely dependent on the mentee/coach
- Makes appropriate referrals to address flags in consultation with lead strength coach, such that clients may see professionals and address issues such as pain, sleep, mental health or medical concerns
- Continues to demonstrate ethical leadership and bring issues/concerns and areas for potential growth to the attention of mentors and Lift Clinic administration
Student Strength & Conditioning Coach Program: Apply Now
Applicants must be available for one or more of Monday through Friday evenings (7:45-8:45pm) from June to August as well as a training workshop at the end of May (TBD).
Application Deadline: April 15, 2024