A top strength and conditioning team is coming to Victoria in December to lead a one-day certification course.
For the first time on Dec. 4, the University of Houston-Victoria will host the eight-hour level 1 certification course by Mike Boyle’s Certified Functional Strength Coach organization. Boyle is the leading functional strength coach and most sought speaker in the world on strength and conditioning, said Raymond Tucker, associate professor of kinesiology and chair of the department of kinesiology, health studies, counseling and nursing.
“Participants in this course will be face-to-face with some of the top coaches in the world,” Tucker said.
Participants must read study materials and pass an online exam before attending the practicum. Then during the Certified Functional Strength Coach workshop at UHV, they will learn how to perform exercises the correct way and must demonstrate at the end that they can coach those exercises.
“It’s experiential learning. That is why this course is one of the best certifications out there,” Tucker said. “With other ones, all you have to do is past the tests. With this one you have to learn the exercises and demonstrate the ability to coach them.”
The certification course costs $650 per person and is open to UHV students and others in the community who have signed up. In addition to the actual course, students who enroll become members of the Michael Boyle organization’s network, giving them access to training videos and other resources and information for three years, Tucker said.
Several UHV students are already signed up, including Katelyn Tynes, a senior from Palacios, who was selected by UHV faculty members for a scholarship that is covering her admission to the course. Tynes was chosen based on her academic performance and an application. After graduation, she wants to be a coach.
“I’m definitely honored and grateful for the opportunity,” said Tynes, who is majoring in kinesiology. “If it wasn’t for the scholarship, I wouldn’t be able to do this. It gives me an opportunity to invest in myself and invest in my career.”
Tynes and UHV kinesiology major Natanael Salinas of Bloomington also were recently selected by UHV faculty members to receive free memberships in the National Strength and Conditioning Association. They were selected based on their applications, including their GPAs and letters of interest. Some of the benefits of membership include access to research articles, workshops, webinars, conferences, discounts on merchandise and discounts on tests.
“This strength and conditioning course will give me the credentials and knowledge I need to train athletic individuals,” Salinas said. “That’s important to me because it opens my scope to more clients I could potentially train in addition to people I could work with who are trying to lose weight.”