The High School Strength & Conditioning Specialist Certification is the IYCA’s comprehensive Certification for trainers and coaches who want to maximize performance and minimize injuries with high school athletes.
This Credential is a product of years of innovation and current research. The High School Strength & Conditioning Specialist Certification combines:
- The IYCA’s Revolutionary Approach To Long Term Athletic Development. The IYCA HSSC provides you with a complete approach to athletic development that takes into account the real world considerations of training high school athletes ranging from sports specialization to the differences in the needs of freshmen and seniors.
- Hands On, Practical Experiences From Some Of The Industry’s Top Coaches. We’ve enlisted Eric Cressey, Mike Robertson and Wil Fleming as Co-Authors of this Certification to share their insight and experiences gained from coaching thousands of High School Athletes.
- Real World Programming. Gain access to actual, proven training programs for high school athletes designed by the industry’s top coaches to better empower you to implement your own effective training approach.
Any Fitness Professional or Coach who works with high school aged athletes should be High School Strength & Conditioning Coach Certified.
This Credential specifically addresses the needs of today’s high school athlete:
- A growing emphasis on Sports Specialization has created new challenges for strength coaches.
- Dated programming has led to more injuries and limited performance improvement.
- The different needs of Freshmen versus Seniors and considerations for In-Season, Pre-Season and Off-Season training.
If you’re coaching or training high school athletes, you’re dealing with these considerations and many others. The High School Strength & Conditioning Coach Certification will better equip you to serve those athletes and help you keep them injury free and performing their best.
There are a number of benefits to becoming a Certified IYCA High School Strength & Conditioning Specialist, including:
- The ability to develop and implement the right programming for high school athlete, regardless of age, gender or sport.
- The confidence that your programming is based on real world evidence and specifically designed to maximize results for each athlete you coach.
- Positioning as a ‘higher quality’ fitness professional that is specifically prepared to work with High School athletes and make them better with each and every training session with evidence based programming.
- A tool to improve your business or career by being a specialist in a high need area that will immediately allow parents, coaches and administrators to know that you are uniquely prepared to coach high school athletes to perform at their best.
- The ability to get better results, maximize performance and minimize injury in the young athletes you serve.
- The power to better empower your athletes to successfully develop from novice Freshmen to Seniors preparing to compete at the collegiate level.
While there are many other benefits to becoming a Certified IYCA High School Strength & Conditioning Specialist, the bottom line is this: it will make you better at what you do and allow you to better help the athletes you serve.
When you decide to become a Certified High School Strength & Conditioning Specialist you’ll gain access to the following materials:
Comprehensive HSSC Textbook – The official textbook delivers practical concepts supported by the latest research. This textbook covers the following content areas:
Chapter 1: Program Administration for the High School Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Chapter 2: Strength and Power Training for the High School Athlete
Chapter 3: Speed and Agility Training for the High School Athlete
Chapter 4: Mobility Training for the High School Athlete
Chapter 5: Coaching the High School Athlete
Chapter 6: Sample Strength & Conditioning Programs
A 2 DVD Set that details:
- Warm-up Design for High School Athletes
- Strength Training Technique & Implementation
- Mobility Drills Head to Toe
Done-For-You Programs to review and model.
Multiple days of in-season and off season programming samples for:
- Football
- Track & Field
- Baseball
- Volleyball
- Soccer
- Basketball
Once your register to become a Certified High School Strength & Conditioning Specialist, you will be directed to create your IYCA account if you do not already posses one.
You can test when you are ready.
You may take up to one year to complete your Certification, and review the materials as often as you like. You will immediately know the results after you take your test. Most students finish within 2-3 weeks.
Exam Requirement – Passing a 75 multiple choice, non-proctored online exam with 70% or higher. One attempt at the exam is given. Results are known immediately.
Retest Fee – $50 retest fee applies if the passing requirement is not met at the end of the second exam attempt.
Completion Time – Approximately 2-3 weeks (complete within one year of purchase)
Earn the credential of IYCA High School Strength & Conditioning Specialist.
How does the Certification process work?
When you register to become Certified, you will be immediately directed to create your personal IYCA account.
Once you login to your IYCA account you will gain immediate access to your Youth Athletic Assessment Specialist Certification Exam and step-by-step instructions how to successfully complete your certification. You will also receive an email confirming your order.
How long will it take to complete the Certification?
Typically 2-3 weeks upon beginning studying is average. If you have completed other IYCA Certification programs, you can likely complete the program more quickly. When you enroll, you will also be given access to take your certification exam online. There are no additional fees to take your test. You have 365 days following your enrollment in the HSSC Certification program before you must test. You are given one attempt to pass the test. You will have 2 hours to take the test. It is 100 questions, primarily multiple-choice. If you do not pass the exam you can purchase a retest for $50.
Are any Certification study materials mailed to me?
If you ordered the physical certification you will receive them within 10-14 business days in most cases.
When do I receive my Certification?
After you successfully pass your test, we will register you in our global database as a Certified High School Strength & Conditioning Specialist. It can take up to two weeks for your certification to be mailed to you.
Do I have to be IYCA Youth Fitness Specialist Certified as a prerequisite for this Certification?
No. There are no prerequisite Certifications to become HSSC Certified.
Does it matter where I live? Can I complete the program if I live outside of the United States?
IYCA Certified professionals come from all corners of the World. With the online learning platform it’s easier than ever before to study for and complete an IYCA Certification. You can study at your own pace and complete the Certification no matter where you reside. The only consideration is that all Certification materials are in English.
Mandatory Background Check
Our highest priority, alongside providing a healthier lifestyle for our youth, is their safety. Therefore we feel in order to maintain an environment with the highest level of security, we must maintain certain standards for our applicants and members. For this reason, we require that a criminal background check be performed by our third party screening organization.
If you already hold an IYCA certification and have undergone a background screening from us, you do not need a new one for subsequent certifications.
After you purchase your exam, you will be sent an email with links to complete consent to the Background Screen. There are fees associated with the screening, depending on your country. If you are in the United States, there are no additional fees (the IYCA will cover those fees). Please be aware that if you live outside the US, additional screening fees apply (click here for international screening fees).