If you want to work with athletes as a part of a sports activities drugs staff, you would possibly think about a profession as a licensed athletic coach (ATC). As an allied well being skilled, an ATC has totally different abilities and duties from these of a private coach. Their schooling focuses on the medical features of bodily coaching and athletic actions.
An ATC works with docs and different allied well being personnel to stop damage, present emergency care, help in analysis, and supply therapeutic interventions and rehabilitation for athletic accidents. In addition they work with non-athletes to advertise wellness and participation in wholesome bodily actions. The settings the place they work embody secondary faculties, faculties, sports activities drugs clinics, {and professional} sports activities applications.
Training
To develop into a licensed athletic coach, you could first full a university athletic coaching program that’s accredited by the Fee on Accreditation of Athletic Coaching Training (CAATE) and acquire a bachelor’s diploma or an entry-level grasp’s diploma. Nonetheless, that is in transition and the Nationwide Athletic Trainers’ Affiliation says {that a} grasp’s diploma can be required sooner or later. Licensed applications are discovered at a whole bunch of faculties and universities throughout the U.S.
The themes you’ll examine in your faculty program have a medical focus. They embody anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, train physiology, athletic coaching, vitamin. stopping damage, assessing accidents, therapeutic modalities, first assist, emergency care, psychosocial methods, and healthcare administration. You may additionally do a scientific rotation with an athletic staff.
Certification and Licensure
When you graduate from an accredited program, you may sit for the certification examination performed by the Board of Certification for the Athletic Coach. The take a look at isn’t solely of information, but additionally in your capability to use it, make selections, and carry out acceptable actions. The examination covers quite a lot of matters inside the 5 domains of athletic coaching:
- Prevention of athletic accidents and selling wellness
- Recognition, analysis, and analysis of athletic accidents
- Fast care and emergency care of athletic accidents
- Therapeutic interventions, rehabilitation, and reconditioning of athletic accidents
- Healthcare administration {and professional} accountability
As soon as athletic trainers go the certification examination proving abilities and data inside every of the 5 domains, they’ll use the designation ATC.
Earlier than you follow, you could make sure you receive a state license or go the opposite regulatory necessities for the state the place you’ll work. It’s essential to get persevering with schooling credit and recertify periodically.
Typical Day
The everyday day for a licensed athletic coach varies with the extent of athletic competitors, employment setting (conventional, scientific, industrial, company) and different institutional necessities.
In case you are working in an athletic setting, you could start earlier than follow, making use of preventative measures similar to tape, wraps, and braces for the athletes. Throughout follow, you’ll be energetic in evaluating accidents and sending athletes to the physician or following standing orders to deal with minor accidents.
Your abilities embody prevention, recognition, and rehabilitation of sports activities accidents. Whether or not these happen throughout follow or competitors, you develop a therapy program below the supervision of a licensed doctor. As soon as an athlete is injured, you’re employed with the participant, their household, and the medical staff to speak when and the way they’ll return to follow and competitors.
Outdoors of an athletic setting, an ATC may go in a clinic, hospital, or enterprise and supply wellness companies, guide remedy, and sickness prevention teaching and educating.
