NCAA Football Coaches, Certification and Research: Why the Disconnect?

Background/Purpose: Research has demonstrated the disconnect between research conclusions and coaching practices on the field even when coaches are certified (Judge & Craig, 2010). While the status of coaching practices, for example stretching practices, have evolved over time, why aren’t coaches, especially those achieving certification, evolving at pace? The purpose of this study was to understand the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) certification administered by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) in terms of impacting coaching practice on the field with respect to evidence-based stretching practices. Method: A 31-item survey instrument was used to collect data from 103 males and one female coach ranging in age from 24 to 67 years (M = 42.59, SD =9.47). The questionnaire was designed to gather demographic as well as specific usage pre- and post- stretching by the coaches. Results were computed using all responses collectively to produce descriptive results for the whole sample. Subsequently, items of interest were analyzed by key demographic variables (ie. age, division, and certification) and applicable frequency counts were compared statistically via Pearson’s chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis analysis in order to assess potential differences. Significance was set a priori to alpha < .05 for all analyses, and all statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 20.0. Analysis/Results: The results of the Pearson's Chi Square analysis demonstrated significant differences in the answers to three questions of interest based upon the CSCS certification status of the individual. The majority (90.9%) of non-CSCS certified coaches strongly agree (p < 0.05) that post-activity flexibility helps to improve performance.  The overall responses were demonstrated to be significantly different (χ2 = 8.851, p < 0.05) likely driven by the higher percentages of non-certified coaches that responded with strongly agree or agree. Significant differences in responses to flexibility preventing injuries were reported by CSCS certification status (χ2 = 16.924, p = 0.01).  The majority of the non-CSCS certified individuals (p < 0.05) reported strongly agree (53.2%) whereas among CSCS certified individuals the most frequent answer was undecided (36%).  Conclusions: Study results show significant differences among CSCS-certified and non-CSCS certified individuals with respect to stretching practices and beliefs, however, results also show that both CSCS-certified and non-CSCS certified coaches do not necessarily adhere to evidence-based practices. Further research concerning the disconnect between coaching, certification, and evidence-based practices in areas beyond stretching is warranted to fully understand the issue.