Key Takeaways
- Online sports science certifications can enhance a fitness coach’s knowledge and career prospects.
- Only choose accredited programs from reputable sources to ensure the certification is valued by employers.
- Top certifications include ISSA Sports Science Specialist and ACE Sports Performance Specialist.
- Studying online offers flexibility and lower costs compared to in-person courses.
- Gaining sports science certifications can open up new job opportunities and improve career growth.
Fitness coaches have a lot to offer. They help not only the general public but also individuals who are specializing in a particular sport and need to remain in good physical condition. If you have been working in this field and want to expand your reach and grow the impact you can have on people, adding a sports science certification is an appealing opportunity.
But what type of certification should you pursue, and where should you get it? This page will dive into some of the details to help you make important decisions for the future of your career. You’ll learn about not only the best online sports science certifications but also the opportunities that holding one of those certifications could open up for you moving forward.
Related:
- Exercise Science Degrees
- Best Certifications for Exercise Science Graduates
- Exercise Science Careers in Sports Teams
- Exercise Science Careers Without a Master’s
The Importance of Sports Science Certifications
Working as a fitness coach, you always want to do what is best to provide your clients with outstanding support and lead them to the best possible results. Even if you have years of experience, there is always more than you can learn and more areas of expertise that you can develop. By going through the top online sports science courses, you can pick up one or more meaningful certifications to help grow your career and drive you to new heights.
These certifications are important for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, they provide you with more knowledge than you had before and strengthen your understanding of specific areas of sports science. That alone is worth your time and effort, as it will make you a better fitness coach and give you more tools to work with a wider range of clients.
Additionally, adding this certification to your resume is going to open up possibilities that might not have existed otherwise. For example, you might come across an open position at a facility that requires you to hold one or more of the main certifications in this space. If you already have the certification they are looking for or one that is quite similar, you’ll be positioned to pair that with your other experiences in the industry to put together a strong application.
What to Look for in Online Certifications
As with everything on the internet, you have to be careful when looking for the leading sports science online programs. Sure, there are plenty of great programs out there, but if you look long enough, you’ll probably find some junk, as well. The whole point of this is to add value to your career, so you need to make sure any program you select is worthy of your time and attention.
As a starting point, only consider looking at accredited online sports science certificates. Without accreditation, you simply don’t know what you are getting into – and the certificate probably won’t hold much value with future employers or clients, either. This is a starting point, and you can then look at other factors from there.
In addition to accreditation, also make sure that the certification is coming from a known and trusted name in the industry. This is one case where basing your decision at least partially on a brand name is going to be a smart move. The known names in this business, some of which we will see below, are going to always have an up-to-date curriculum that is put together by experienced, knowledgeable faculty. It would be a shame to waste your time on a curriculum that doesn’t really elevate your level of knowledge, so go with a major player in sports science certification to get it right the first time.
Explore This Top Five
Creating a list of the top 5 sports science online certifications is challenging because there are quite a few excellent options on the web today. However, the five below are recommended online sports science courses, and each has the potential to drive you forward in your career.
- ISSA Sports Science Specialist. From one of the leading names in the industry, this program delivers extremely valuable information on a range of topics, including nutrition and biomechanics.
- ACE Sports Performance Specialist. If you are already working in the field of athletic performance or would like to take your career in that direction, this is a program worthy of your attention.
- NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. The area of strength and conditioning is a huge niche within sports science, and those who are qualified through this kind of certification can help build strength and improve athletic conditioning for a range of clients.
- NASM Certified Sports Nutrition Coach. Nutrition is a major piece of the puzzle for anyone who wants to improve their conditioning, performance, and recovery. This is another certification that comes from a trusted and respected name in the business.
- ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist. Creating exercise programs is both an art and a science, and getting it right will be easier once you have gone through this challenging but informative program.
Online vs. In-Person Sports Science Certifications
If you decide to pursue your sports science certification line, you’ll be able to pick from some of the best digital sports science programs that are available. Why would you opt to do this online rather than in-person? The online model offers a number of advantages that simply can’t be matched by in-person programs.
There is just so much to like about getting any kind of education online, including a sports science certification, and it all starts with convenience. With an online model, the materials will always be available to you whenever and wherever you would like to get to work. As compared to attending classes in a physical location at a set time, there simply isn’t a comparison – the online method is the way to go for any busy professional who wants to fit in this additional education with everything else they have going on in life.
You will also find that online programs typically come with lower prices than in-person alternatives. There is less overhead for the provider of the course to deal with when it’s all done online, so that is a major advantage and something you will appreciate when trying to fit this educational endeavor into your budget.
What Can This Step Do for Your Career?
Meeting popular online sports science qualifications through the use of a program that provides you with certification can help your career in numerous ways. Once you have completed one of these online sports science training programs, it will be time to add that accomplishment to your resume and use it to pursue additional opportunities that may now be open to you. Whether you plan to stay in your same position while trying to grow a larger list of clients, or you want to head out into the job market and seek a bigger role, the new certification you’ve achieved can only help.
Even if you don’t have a specific goal in mind currently for where you’d like to have your career take you, adding a certification or two to your credit can only help open doors. It would be a shame to have to turn down a future promotion, for example, because you don’t have the certification that is needed to hold that position. Get ahead of the game, and your future prospects will only be brighter.
As you can see from the information above, there are many outstanding online programs to consider in this area. By taking the essential online sports science courses when they are convenient for you, and wherever you have access to the internet, you’ll have much more freedom as compared to enrolling in a traditional school in a physical location.
Take some time to review the websites of some of the programs we listed above and reach out to any that seem like a good fit. The sooner you start seeking a certification, the sooner you can complete the program and start moving your career to a higher level. Good luck on this journey!