From the high school and collegiate level to
private and public fitness centers and health
care facilities, the need for a certified strength
and conditioning coach or specialist has skyrocketed
recently in North Dakota and across the nation.

Someone aspiring to be in that career field must
first pass the national strength and conditioning
exam from an accredited higher education program.
Opportunely, the University of Mary’s Biomechanics-
Strength and Conditioning program just became the
first school in North Dakota and one of only 18 across
the United States to earn accreditation. Two-thirds of
the programs are located outside the Midwest.

“The market for strength and conditioning
specialists is expanding across the country. Many
programs and schools are hiring these professionals
to help the athletes get ready for their sport or
activity,” says Dr. Rachel Johnson Krug, chair of
athletic training and kinesiology at the University of
Mary. “We are excited to be accredited and want to
see our students be leaders in the field.”

A certified strength and conditioning specialist is an
entire sports medicine team packed into one health
care professional, according to program officials.

“Just as we have seen the recent need for athletic
trainers at the high school and collegiate level treating
injured athletes, now there is a huge demand for
certified strength and conditioning coaches across
the country in our high schools that allows teams at
that level to be proactive and help athletes prevent
injury through proper strength and conditioning,”
says Alicia Wells, University of Mary’s strength and
conditioning program coordinator and instructor.

“Typically, sport coaches or teachers most likely had
weightroom supervision added onto their already
busy schedule. This stress can be alleviated by hiring
a certified strength and conditioning specialist to
assume this role. Now, with competition so high for
athletic scholarships at the collegiate level and the
NCAA’s new name, image and likeness policy, high
school athletes and their schools are demanding
there be a strength and conditioning specialist on
staff running workouts that are scientific-based
with the primary goal of enhancing the athlete’s
performance and proactively helping prevent injury.”

Certified strength and conditioning specialists can
take the burden from team coaches so they can focus
on what they do best, which is coach. Now, the athlete
works with the strength and conditioning coach to
properly build strength, conditioning and endurance,
while helping prevent injury.

Adding to the highest standards required by
the Council on Accreditation of Strength and
Conditioning, accreditation is the student’s access to
state-of-the-art technology and equipment within the
University of Mary’s program.

Numerous cameras mounted at various angles
on the ceilings and specific machines finely capture
and measure vertical and horizontal movement,
while computer programs spit out the data onto
desktop computers and monitors. Students can
learn from scientific research and train to become
the best strength and conditioning specialist before
they graduate, guaranteeing employers a highly
specialized skillset.

For more information, visit www.umary.edu/
academics/undergraduate-programs/biomechanics,
email enroll@umary.edu or call 701-355-8030.