Augustana is set to offer a strength and conditioning major starting this fall semester.
The major is designed for students who are interested in strength & conditioning careers or personal training.
The program is on track to be the first accredited strength and conditioning program in the state through the Council on Accreditation of Strength and Conditioning Education .
Dr. Andrea Powell is assistant professor of exercise science and sports sciences and the director of the strength and conditioning program.
“The major is for those students that want to enter the workforce right away, or who will maybe go on to a graduate program in exercise science or biomechanics," Powell said. “Strength & conditioning professionals can work in a college setting, high school setting or any sort of sports performance facility. If someone wanted to go into personal training, they would also fall under this umbrella.”
Parker Fitzgerald is from Harrisburg and hopes to someday become a sports performance coach. He is set to be one of the first to major in the program.
“I’m very excited to learn about the different techniques and exercises that I can teach other athletes in the future and those that I can apply to my own training plan as I continue my collegiate athletic career,” said Fitzgerald. “I am a runner on the Augustana Men’s Cross Country and Track & Field Teams, so learning something that I can apply to myself is truly amazing.”
Powell is working to ensure that Augustana’s strength & conditioning major will be accredited, and she’s making great strides — the program is in the middle of its year-long self-study, which will be submitted in October.
“I think creating this accreditation standard is meant to elevate the profession of strength and conditioning,” Powell said.
“We are the first line of defense on the preventative side of things. When you're thinking about youth athletes and ACL tear prevention, that is the role of a strength & conditioning coach. When we're talking about athletes, you have your sport coaches and they're the Xs and Os, but then you have the strength coaches — they're the ones who are getting them ready to play, to be physically ready to do their sport and do it well, decrease injury and enhance performance.”
To learn more about Augustana’s strength & conditioning major, visit augie.edu/SC.