Disclosure: my perspective in this article is that of someone who has recently made the switch over to tactical as I am now approaching the half-year mark. I’m not here to speak in absolutes or as an authority figure regarding TSAC but simply to provide insight into what the transition into this world has been like for a coach who recently left the collegiate realm.
It’s no secret that the US Army’s Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) program and tactical strength and conditioning, in general, is one of the hottest trends in the industry right now, and with good reason! Conceptually, H2F in its current state addresses many of the core needs/concerns that have plagued many collegiate/professional S&C coaches – excessively long days/weeks, poor compensation, terrible work/life balance, minimal time off – to name a few. More and more, we’ve seen strength coaches be outspoken about their dissatisfaction with the often-ridiculous expectations and demands placed upon them by people who lack even a fundamental understanding and appreciation of what it is they do, with some coaches simply choosing to leave the industry as a whole. Previously, this hasn’t been a problem for collegiate athletics for a few key reasons:
Strength & Conditioning is an extremely oversaturated industry and for every coach that wants to leave you have twenty more willing to take that job for the same or less pay and the same or more responsibilities.
With administrative staff lacking objective means of hiring qualified professionals beyond the basics (certs, years of experience, who you know), coaches can be replaced ad libitum without a proper understanding of how they impact the objective (e.g., health, performance, and wins).
Up to this point, there hasn’t been a consistent, viable alternative for S&C coaches looking to continue doing what they love but in a setting that more aligns with their values and needs – so they often stay in positions in the collegiate setting despite being unhappy.
With the US military looking to aggressively expand with the latest contract (over 300 SCCs being added across the country), many coaches that have felt either stuck or wanting something different have viewed this as the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. I’ll be the first to admit that while this job has been a welcome change for me, personally, it is not without its shortcomings, and it is not for everyone. So, in that spirit… Let’s Talk Tactical! The Good. The Bad. The Unknown.
The Good
I’ll preface this portion (as well as the subsequent sections) by saying that depending on the type of person you are, what motivates you, and what appeals to you, some of these may or may not resonate well. The topics I chose to elaborate on are a combination of ones that I have received numerous questions about and those that have appealed to me personally.
There are likely two main reasons most coaches are looking to make the transition and I’ll address the one that appears to be of greater importance to most – the work-life balance. To put it bluntly, I don’t know that you’ll find another job in this industry that affords you the ability to have a personal life to the extent that this setting does. As a contractor, the forty-hour workweek is a strictly upheld rule in this environment; whereas in the collegiate/pro realm it is likely indicative that you’ve almost made it through Wednesday.
In a standard workday, I’ll get in at 6:00 am, assist with training from 6:30-8:30 am, take care of any additional tasks I have that day (NCO education courses, meetings, technique classes, etc.), and I’ll be out the door at 2:00 pm. Beyond 2:00 pm, my day is mine to do with as I please; no one is going to call/text me telling me I need to come back into work for something that could easily wait until tomorrow, and you’ll never be needed on the weekends (beyond training events that you’re invited to). On top of that, you get the added benefits typical to any other profession like paid time off, sick days, and every national holiday off to boot. This structure has afforded me the ability to pursue personal hobbies, explore/hike, travel, attend family/friend events that I would’ve otherwise missed, and just given me enough time for myself so that it allows me to be fully present and productive when I am at work. As this was the primary driving factor behind my decision to leave collegiate S&C, I can say emphatically that TSAC has not disappointed when it comes to the claims it makes regarding work-life balance.
Second to the work-life balance on most coaches “Needs Analysis” is the compensation piece. Without diving into specifics, it is common knowledge that these jobs pay you enough so that you don’t feel like you’re living paycheck to paycheck or feel the need to start a side hustle. While I know some in the industry thoroughly enjoy side hustles and I have nothing against them, I can’t stress enough that if you’re working a side hustle to help make ends meet and provide for yourself and your family then you don’t have a side hustle, you just have two jobs. However, as I’ve stepped into a job where my primary income stream affords me the ability to live a sustainable lifestyle, I’ve found myself still engaging in various side projects out of preference rather than out of a necessity to pay off loans, live in a half-decent apartment, or make sure I can afford groceries for the week.
I know many in the collegiate realm like to fall back on the argument that things are better than they were “x” amount of years ago and that is undoubtedly true. However, it is still objectively and laughably behind the 8-ball when it comes to how College S&Cs are compensated for the work done and the hours worked relative to any other industry where you need a Master’s degree simply to get an entry-level full-time job. Within TSAC, you’re compensated as a full-time professional and the difference that makes on both your personal and professional life has been profound in my experience.
As it stands, the two biggest factors our ability as SCCs is judged on are the improvement in ACFT scores and the reduction in soldier profiles (military lingo for injuries). While I’ll be the first to tell you that I do not think an improvement in ACFT scores is indicative of soldier preparedness, this does mean that proving your worth and getting buy-in can be rather simple. If you’re stepping into a unit that did not previously have an S&C coach and has been doing workouts consisting of poorly executed Olympic lifts, burpees, push-ups, and running so much even Forrest Gump would think you’re overdoing it, you’ll see massive ROI from small changes.
The caveat to this is that you’ll need to get the battalion and brigade leadership on board with your plan and that part is easier said than done. Remember that most of those who are currently in high-ranking positions came up in a time without H2F and were performing somewhat barbaric workouts that led to the need for H2F (in 2018 alone, the cost of patient care reached over $500,000,000 among active-duty soldiers). Much like the sport coach who claims that their team needs to perform *insert arbitrary exercise/workout here* to be successful, so too will these officers be hesitant (and sometimes defiant) to change up the training that, in their mind, is essential to developing soldiers. Nonetheless, at the end of the day, we have some clearly defined, relatively easy metrics to improve that can assist us in demonstrating our value or expertise with relative ease.
The last positive I’ll mention is one that’ll be a welcome sigh of relief to any coach that has dealt with a team that is less than enthusiastic about strength & conditioning. Put simply, S&C Coaches are celebrities on base; even if they won’t always listen to us. Soldiers of all ranks enjoy engaging with us both inside and outside of training and as someone in their mid-20s who had never stepped foot on a military base before this, it’s made the transition into this world a lot smoother. With how well-received I’ve been, the extent to which soldiers/officers have reached out to offer assistance in getting me situated, and their overall willingness to provide me with any information I may inquire about, I can genuinely say the transition has been much less bumpy than I anticipated. While I can’t guarantee this experience to be mirrored across every Installation and every brigade/battalion, it does seem to be a common sentiment shared by those who have been in the tactical realm longer than myself.
So, this is probably presenting you with a rose-tinted perspective of what it’s like to work in the tactical sector. However, like many jobs, we have two more points to cover, as the title suggests. So, before you drop everything and go jumping all-in on the next tactical job you see, make sure you tune in for Part 2 of this article where we focus on ‘The Bad’
It’s no secret that the US Army’s Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) program and tactical strength and conditioning, in general, is one of the hottest trends in the industry right now, and with good reason! Conceptually, H2F in its current state addresses many of the core needs/concerns that have plagued many collegiate/professional S&C coaches – excessively long days/weeks, poor compensation, terrible work/life balance, minimal time off – to name a few. More and more, we’ve seen strength coaches be outspoken about their dissatisfaction with the often-ridiculous expectations and demands placed upon them by people who lack even a fundamental understanding and appreciation of what it is they do, with some coaches simply choosing to leave the industry as a whole. Previously, this hasn’t been a problem for collegiate athletics for a few key reasons:
Strength & Conditioning is an extremely oversaturated industry and for every coach that wants to leave you have twenty more willing to take that job for the same or less pay and the same or more responsibilities.
With administrative staff lacking objective means of hiring qualified professionals beyond the basics (certs, years of experience, who you know), coaches can be replaced ad libitum without a proper understanding of how they impact the objective (e.g., health, performance, and wins).
Up to this point, there hasn’t been a consistent, viable alternative for S&C coaches looking to continue doing what they love but in a setting that more aligns with their values and needs – so they often stay in positions in the collegiate setting despite being unhappy.
With the US military looking to aggressively expand with the latest contract (over 300 SCCs being added across the country), many coaches that have felt either stuck or wanting something different have viewed this as the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. I’ll be the first to admit that while this job has been a welcome change for me, personally, it is not without its shortcomings, and it is not for everyone. So, in that spirit… Let’s Talk Tactical! The Good. The Bad. The Unknown.
The Good
I’ll preface this portion (as well as the subsequent sections) by saying that depending on the type of person you are, what motivates you, and what appeals to you, some of these may or may not resonate well. The topics I chose to elaborate on are a combination of ones that I have received numerous questions about and those that have appealed to me personally.
There are likely two main reasons most coaches are looking to make the transition and I’ll address the one that appears to be of greater importance to most – the work-life balance. To put it bluntly, I don’t know that you’ll find another job in this industry that affords you the ability to have a personal life to the extent that this setting does. As a contractor, the forty-hour workweek is a strictly upheld rule in this environment; whereas in the collegiate/pro realm it is likely indicative that you’ve almost made it through Wednesday.
In a standard workday, I’ll get in at 6:00 am, assist with training from 6:30-8:30 am, take care of any additional tasks I have that day (NCO education courses, meetings, technique classes, etc.), and I’ll be out the door at 2:00 pm. Beyond 2:00 pm, my day is mine to do with as I please; no one is going to call/text me telling me I need to come back into work for something that could easily wait until tomorrow, and you’ll never be needed on the weekends (beyond training events that you’re invited to). On top of that, you get the added benefits typical to any other profession like paid time off, sick days, and every national holiday off to boot. This structure has afforded me the ability to pursue personal hobbies, explore/hike, travel, attend family/friend events that I would’ve otherwise missed, and just given me enough time for myself so that it allows me to be fully present and productive when I am at work. As this was the primary driving factor behind my decision to leave collegiate S&C, I can say emphatically that TSAC has not disappointed when it comes to the claims it makes regarding work-life balance.
Second to the work-life balance on most coaches “Needs Analysis” is the compensation piece. Without diving into specifics, it is common knowledge that these jobs pay you enough so that you don’t feel like you’re living paycheck to paycheck or feel the need to start a side hustle. While I know some in the industry thoroughly enjoy side hustles and I have nothing against them, I can’t stress enough that if you’re working a side hustle to help make ends meet and provide for yourself and your family then you don’t have a side hustle, you just have two jobs. However, as I’ve stepped into a job where my primary income stream affords me the ability to live a sustainable lifestyle, I’ve found myself still engaging in various side projects out of preference rather than out of a necessity to pay off loans, live in a half-decent apartment, or make sure I can afford groceries for the week.
I know many in the collegiate realm like to fall back on the argument that things are better than they were “x” amount of years ago and that is undoubtedly true. However, it is still objectively and laughably behind the 8-ball when it comes to how College S&Cs are compensated for the work done and the hours worked relative to any other industry where you need a Master’s degree simply to get an entry-level full-time job. Within TSAC, you’re compensated as a full-time professional and the difference that makes on both your personal and professional life has been profound in my experience.
As it stands, the two biggest factors our ability as SCCs is judged on are the improvement in ACFT scores and the reduction in soldier profiles (military lingo for injuries). While I’ll be the first to tell you that I do not think an improvement in ACFT scores is indicative of soldier preparedness, this does mean that proving your worth and getting buy-in can be rather simple. If you’re stepping into a unit that did not previously have an S&C coach and has been doing workouts consisting of poorly executed Olympic lifts, burpees, push-ups, and running so much even Forrest Gump would think you’re overdoing it, you’ll see massive ROI from small changes.
The caveat to this is that you’ll need to get the battalion and brigade leadership on board with your plan and that part is easier said than done. Remember that most of those who are currently in high-ranking positions came up in a time without H2F and were performing somewhat barbaric workouts that led to the need for H2F (in 2018 alone, the cost of patient care reached over $500,000,000 among active-duty soldiers). Much like the sport coach who claims that their team needs to perform *insert arbitrary exercise/workout here* to be successful, so too will these officers be hesitant (and sometimes defiant) to change up the training that, in their mind, is essential to developing soldiers. Nonetheless, at the end of the day, we have some clearly defined, relatively easy metrics to improve that can assist us in demonstrating our value or expertise with relative ease.
The last positive I’ll mention is one that’ll be a welcome sigh of relief to any coach that has dealt with a team that is less than enthusiastic about strength & conditioning. Put simply, S&C Coaches are celebrities on base; even if they won’t always listen to us. Soldiers of all ranks enjoy engaging with us both inside and outside of training and as someone in their mid-20s who had never stepped foot on a military base before this, it’s made the transition into this world a lot smoother. With how well-received I’ve been, the extent to which soldiers/officers have reached out to offer assistance in getting me situated, and their overall willingness to provide me with any information I may inquire about, I can genuinely say the transition has been much less bumpy than I anticipated. While I can’t guarantee this experience to be mirrored across every Installation and every brigade/battalion, it does seem to be a common sentiment shared by those who have been in the tactical realm longer than myself.
So, this is probably presenting you with a rose-tinted perspective of what it’s like to work in the tactical sector. However, like many jobs, we have two more points to cover, as the title suggests. So, before you drop everything and go jumping all-in on the next tactical job you see, make sure you tune in for Part 2 of this article where we focus on ‘The Bad’
