Athlete Development Specialist vs Athletic Trainer Career Comparison
There are various types of job titles in athletic coaching and training. Perhaps one of the most well-known job titles is an athletic trainer, and then there are athlete development specialists. While both lie in the sphere of sports management careers, the ground realities are different.
But what exactly do these professionals do? What are their differences and similarities? And what sort of career path and education do they require? Let’s find out.
Key Takeaways
- The core focus of athlete development specialists is around holistic Athlete Development including academic, career, and mental growth, while athletic trainers are usually specialized in treating and preventing sports injuries.
- While Athlete Development Specialists can do with a degree in Psychology or Sports Management, Athletic Trainers require specialized degrees in the field. Adding certifications to your portfolio can be a plus for specialists but some are mandatory for trainers, such as, BOC and State Licensure.
- Athlete Development Specialists can grow into roles like Director of Player Development, and Athlete Trainers can progress into Sports Medicine Director or Head Trainer. The career path for athletic trainers is often faster in comparison to specialists.
- Athletic trainers make up to $65,000/annum, while athletic development specialists earn around $65,000/annum, based on the level of education and expertise.
- The core job responsibilities of an athletic development specialist involve working at training centers or offices, offering one-to-one coaching. Contrarily, athletic trainers are often found in gyms, medical rooms or on sidelines – indulged in injury treatment.
How to Become an Athlete Development Specialist
Becoming an Athlete Development Specialist requires focused education, certification, and hands-on experience. Here’s a streamlined path:
If you’re aiming to become an athlete development specialist, you’ll need a combination of relevant education, certifications and expertise. Here’s how you can gather that, step by step:
Step 1 Earn a Relevant Degree
The first step towards your dream career is earning a relevant degree; one in sports management or psychology can do best. If you want to quickly advance into better roles, a master’s in sports management with majors in athlete development can certainly get you an edge over others. Some recommended programs include:
- Limestone University: BS in Health Sciences (Pre-Athletic Training) – the degree revolves around foundational knowledge in athletic training and health sciences, preparing students for advance-level roles in the field of athlete development.
- Maryville University: Online Bachelor’s in Sports Management – the degree helps students build skillsets in sports management, including athletic program design and data analytics.
- University of Florida: MS in Sports Management (Athletic Development Specialization) – the degree is often focused around performance management, athlete development strategies, and coaching techniques that can prepare you for the real-world application.
Step 2 Obtain Certifications
Gaining relevant certifications can often help strengthen your profile. Though it’s not mandatory, you should consider securing industry-recognized credentials such as:
- Athletic Development Specialist Certificate – PAADS – it helps acquiring knowledge in building and managing athletic performance programs for both the individuals and teams.
- Certified Athletic Development Specialist – IYCA – helps enhance your knowledge in the field of youth athletic development with core focus around conditioning, strength and long-term progression.
- Athletic Training – NATA – helps gaining professional training in rehabilitation, prevention and performance enhancement to work in sports settings effectively.
Step 3 Gain Experience
Before you land a proper job, it’s important to secure internships or entry-level positions in order to build some practical, hands-on experience. You can find great such opportunities at fitness centers, sports teams, or performance institutes.
Step 4 Develop Core Skills
Developing soft skills such as mentoring, leadership, and communication is equally critical. These skills can prepare you for creating and leading personalized athlete development plans as well as maintaining strong relationships with fellow athletes.
Step 5 Stay Up-to-Date
The trends in industry keep changing and so, it’s important to keep track of the latest updates. The key here is to continually engage with workshops, certifications and education.
With the right combination of experience and qualifications, you can certainly build a promising career as an Athletic Development Specialist – helping athletes enhance their well-being and performance.
What Are the Requirements for Becoming an Athletic Trainer?
The answer to the question “how to become an athletic trainer” is easier compared to an athletic development specialist. This job has more to do with physicality, as we talked about in what athletic trainers do. An athletic trainer education also needs to focus on that, and there are specific degrees. However, if you’re wondering how long it takes to become an athletic trainer, then you can expect a 4-year degree and then a few months of internship and certification programs.
So, a total of 4 years followed by a few months of certification and licensing exams. Therefore, here are some of the best athletic trainer programs available in the nation today:
Degrees:
- Kansas State University – Bachelor’s Degree in Athletic Training and Rehabilitation Sciences
- University of Central Florida – Master’s in Athletic Training
- University of Louisville – Online BS in Sport Administration
- Hardin-Simmons University – Online Master of Athletic Training
Then, you’d need the following certificates to work as an athletic trainer or in a similar profession. These certifications are provided by accredited departments and universities. But here are the two best licenses to work as an athletic trainer anywhere in the United States:
Certificates:
- National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) – Athletic Trainer Certificate
- International Youth Conditioning Association – Athletic Trainer Consultant Program
Thus, it’ll prepare you for the necessities, challenges, and requirements of the athletic training field.
Related: All About Athletic Director Career Path – Degrees, Skills, Jobs
What Skills Are Needed for Each Role?
The skillset required for pursuing a career as an athletic trainer or an athletic development specialist are significantly different, given these are entirely different roles in athlete performance and care. Here’s a quick comparison of the core skills you may require to grow in each profession.
Athletic Development Specialist
- Mentoring and Communication: specialists must have a command over building relationships and know how to communicate with athletes effectively, offering both personal and professional guidance.
- Program Design: you must have expertise in developing personalized athletic development programs in alignment with the physical and mental needs of each different individual.
- Psychological Resilience: you should be capable of handling performance pressures as well as know how to prepare athletes for building mental toughness.
- Leadership: strong leadership skills are key in guiding young athletes through their developmental journeys, both personal and professional.
Athletic Trainer
- Rehabilitation and Injury Prevention: the core job responsibility of an athletic trainer is to manage rehabilitation, diagnose injuries, and prevent any such thing from happening in future by implementing exercise programs.
- Physical Assessment: you must have skillsets required for the evaluation of athlete’s physical condition and a thorough understanding of the biomechanics of movement.
- First Aid and Emergency Response: you must have good expertise in providing immediate medical care in case of emergencies of injuries, etc.
- Collaboration: since athletic trainers usually work closely with physical therapists, physicians and coaches, it’s important to build collaboration skills for better teamwork.
The skills expected to be in demand in the field of athletic development includes, coaching, mental toughness, data analytics, and sports psychology, reports, National Strength and Conditioning Association. So, if you’re really aiming to land such a role; get started to build these skills. Here’s a piece of advice from the expert at Vanderbilt University.
“…From my own experiences in college sports over the past 30 years, I’ve seen improvements in both preventive care and recovery treatments of athletes extend both the safety and the careers of athletes at a much higher rate. These evolving techniques and professional application are an essential part of an athlete’s training cycle. They also ensure coaches are informed on safely managing athletes’ re-entry to practices and competitions reducing the risk of reinjury…” Darren Ambrose, Head of Women’s Soccer Coach.
Athlete Development Specialist vs Athletic Trainer Job Descriptions
Be it athletic development or training, there are unique and key features of each category. And the key aspects require experts to manage and execute strategies for them.
However, both the athletic trainer and the development specialist have very different job responsibilities. So, let’s analyze the job descriptions and responsibilities of the two professions:
Athlete Development Specialist
An athlete development specialist focuses on the personal and professional development of an athlete. Their job description might also depend on particular athletes or organizations. However, here are some of the athletic development specialist’s responsibilities:
- Designing and implementing training regimens;
- Create a training program for physical and mental progression;
- Create and develop athletic/team plans;
- Assist and help trainers with athletes’ skill enhancement;
- And build psychological resilience among athletes/teams.
Then, an athlete development specialist may have additional responsibilities depending on the athletes they work with or the organizations they work for.
Athletic Trainer
Athletic trainers deal with the physical aspect of training the athletes. These people are usually coaches and scouts who help athletes through specific areas needing improvement. But, their responsibilities might also include:
- Assess the athlete’s physical condition and performance;
- Implement rehabilitation programs;
- Collaborate with healthcare professionals;
- Create specific training programs according to athletes;
- And educate on injury prevention.
An athletic trainer will rely mostly on the data provided by the analytics team, as well as the requirements of the particular athlete.
What are the Career Paths of Athletic Trainers vs Athlete Development Specialists?
The scope of the career paths of athletic trainer vs athlete development specialist, like their trainees, are dependent on the specialty they want to pursue. Let’s review the kind of career progressions these roles have.
Athlete Development Specialist Career Path
Athletic development specialist jobs are usually taken up by people who have at least a bachelor’s degree in sports science or any related field. Then, their path leads them to become interns or assistants in the same capacity.
Here are some of the key phases/points toward becoming a full-time athletic development specialist:
- A bachelor’s degree in athletic development specialist;
- Additional training and certificates/licensing to work as an athletic development specialist;
- Working as an internet or associate/assistant to earn said license/certification;
- Then, they work their way up the ladder in any organizational hierarchy.
This depends on the personal work ethic as well as the organization one works in. However, this is how it usually goes for athletic development specialists, from a degree to a full-time job. The average salary of an athletic development specialist is around $79,998 to $104,685/annum.
Athletic Trainer Career Progression
Athletic trainers aren’t always professionals who were formally educated, as these are also people who have prior experience in the industry. However, today’s requirement would be a bachelor’s degree in athletic training or kinesiology or a degree of a similar ilk.
Here’s how the journey goes nowadays:
- Begins with a bachelor’s or associate’s degree in athletic training or kinesiology;
- Entry-level jobs and internships in training or any athletic capacity;
- Pursuing a master’s degree while in an entry-level position (optional but recommended);
- And pursuing positions like head athletic director, rehabilitation expert, or team/athletic coach.
Their job titles can be personal trainer, fitness trainer, or sports medicine director. However, it depends entirely on the person/student pursuing the degree. The average salary of an athletic trainer is around $59,757/annum.
Related: How to become a sports coach
Where Do Athlete Development Specialists and Athletic Trainers Work?
Athletic development specialists and trainers work in different settings. They could be working independently, or an organization could employ them. It all comes down to personal preference and persuasion.
However, here are some of the most common places where athletic development specialists and trainers work:
- Colleges and universities;
- Fitness centers and athletic programs;
- Healthcare and training facilities;
- Employed by professional sports teams;
- Employed by national or international sports stars;
- And in rehabilitation centers and performance centers.
These are some of the most common places where athletic trainers and development specialists work. However, some developed trainers and development specialists work as freelancers and free agents, too.
Challenges and Future Prospects
Challenges
- Creating a balance between physical training demand and the mental health.
- Staying up-to-date with the unstoppable innovations being made in sports science and technology.
- Athletic trainers are often required to make critical decisions and that too very quickly.
- It is crucial for athletic development specialists to stay adept with the latest advancements.
Future Prospects
- Jobs for athletic trainers are expected to grow by a major 11% by the end of 2034, driven by an expanded demand in healthcare settings.
- With an increased focus towards holistic athlete care, including data-driven performance analysis and sports psychology, the demand for athletic development specialists is continuously growing.
Which Should You Choose?
Now, the factor that might help you decide which one you should go for is the athletic development specialist’s salary against the athletic trainer’s salary. Athletic trainers earn anything from $59,797/annum whereas athletic development specialist earns a minimum wage of $91,483/annum.
However, your choice should depend on which way you want to go instead of how much you might earn. Your interest and your priority should align with the choice as both can be equally rewarding careers. So, let your interests influence your choice.
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