Characteristics of strength and conditioning coaches in Canada

Abstract

The formal field of strength and conditioning (S&C) is relatively young in Canada when compared to the United States of America (USA). Identifying the characteristics of Canadian S&C coaches will serve as an evaluation and point of comparison for future strategy and direction. The primary purpose of this study was to gather information about the demographic characteristics of S&C coaches in Canada including age, sex, minority status, salary, education, and certification. Secondly, this study compared expert and non-expert Canadian S&C coaches. While the demographics of S&C coaches has been examined in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the USA, this study was the first to our knowledge to examine characteristics of Canadian S&C coaches. The criteria and study of expert coaches has been done on Canadian sport coaches but not for S&C coaches. This research aimed to combine both concepts of defining the characteristics of Canadian S&C coaches while also categorizing them as expert and non-experts based on a working definition of coaching expertise.