Description

Inspire The Athletes of Tomorrow
The AFPA Youth Strength Conditioning Specialist Certification is your ticket to providing world-class fitness training to young athletes.Are you passionate about fitness, training, and motivating young athletes to excel and improve their performance?
Do you already have knowledge and first-hand experience from participating in sports throughout your life?
Whether you are a personal trainer, coach, group fitness instructor, or parent, our Youth Strength and Conditioning Certification will give you the best training education, exercises, and programs for establishing a strong fitness foundation and maximizing athletic development in youth.
What’s It Like Being a Youth Strength Conditioning Specialist?

As an AFPA Certified Youth Strength Conditioning Specialist, you have the power to make an impact every day. You’ll gain the expertise needed to:
- Provide a healthy, positive strength and conditioning experience that will benefit youth dually as exercise enthusiasts and athletes
- Develop productive strength and conditioning programs for youth (ages 6 to 18) that safely increase young athletes’ coordination, flexibility, speed, strength, and endurance and provide a proven regimen geared to three developmental phases, long- and short-term training plans and sports-specific programs
- Design and implement a properly designed and supervised training program to assist young athletes to train and compete and to reduce the likelihood of injury
- Demonstrate and teach proper exercise technique for over 111 resistance exercises using weight stack machines, free weights, medicine balls, elastic bands, and bodyweight resistance
- Educate and provide the tools necessary to the young athlete on how to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle into their adult years
- Implement innovative ways to incorporate resistance exercises into physical education classes, sport practice sessions, and exercise facilities
Why AFPA?
Join over 130,000+ AFPA certified professionals worldwide.
With a 27-year legacy of accredited expertise, AFPA is a frontrunner in health, and specialized fitness programs. We’re proud to offer the best variety of flexible, affordable, and accessible programs on the market.-
Study Anywhere At Your Own Pace
Enjoy the freedom to study on your own time from anywhere in the world.
Study guidelines and schedules are provided to help keep you on track. Take the test online when you’re ready!
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Affordable and Flexible Payment Options
Get certified without breaking the bank.
Our certifications cost significantly less than degree programs, so they’re affordable programs with minimum financial risk.
Financing options are available for all AFPA certification programs. -
Kickstart Your Career with Included Youth Resources
Support doesn’t stop once you’re certified.
You get access to 111 guided exercises specifically geared for enhancing athletic development in youth, sample training programs, class outlines, and activities.
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All Learning Materials Included
Your tuition covers everything.
2 Course Textbooks
Training Programs
All Assignments
Online Final Exam -
Business Resources Included
Upon enrollment, we provide you with resources to help you establish, optimize, grow, and build your professional career.
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Unlimited Student Support
Call, email, or chat with our educational advisors as often as you need before, during, and even after enrollment.
The Youth Strength Conditioning Specialist Certification Program Includes:

- All course materials
- 2 certification textbooks
- Ready-to-use youth strength and conditioning programs
- Training activities
- Online final exam
What You Will Learn:
This program will provide you with all of the knowledge, core skills, confidence, and tools that you'll need to begin your journey as a Certified Youth Strength Conditioning Specialist.
How to Effectively Train Young Athletes
Learn the best training methods for working with youths ages 6 to 18. The training programs and exercises provided take into consideration critical factors, such as a child’s developmental stage, motor functioning, and gender-specific considerations, to ensure that the workouts do not hinder development and growth. Regardless of the sport, you will have ready-to-use programs for both short-term and long-term development. Topics include:
- Stages of athletic development
- Monitoring training
- Flexibility training
- Speed training
- Agility and quickness
- Strength and power training
- Endurance training
- Program assessment and prescriptions
- Training guidelines for youth
Exercise Technique and Training Procedures
Working with a specialized population such as youth athletes requires fine-tuning your coaching abilities. In this module, you’ll learn how to appropriately interact with children, teens, and young adults to develop trust and successfully guide them towards to toward reaching their potential! Topics include:
- Understanding children
- Being a teacher
- Developing the fitness workout
- Using equipment safely
- Keeping it progressive
Designing Programs for Bodyweight Training and Equipment-Based Training
You’ll dive into how to effectively prepare programs that seamlessly blends preparatory conditioning and dynamic motivation. See exactly how to stack exercises to create a customized workout experience tailored to the youth athlete. Learning objectives include:
- Free-weight exercises
- Weight machine exercises
- How to incorporate elastic bands and medicine balls into training
- Elastic band exercises
- Medicine ball exercises
- Bodyweight exercises
Developing Strength and Power For All Ages
From the components of the warm-up and cool-down, to machine and free-weight strength training exercises, to medicine ball and elastic band strength training exercises, and other training considerations, you will learn how to structure a variety of different strength and conditioning programs for youth at any fitness level.
- Basic strength and power for ages 7 to 10
- Intermediate strength and power for ages 11 to 14
- Advanced strength and power for ages 15 to 18
Teaching Sport-Specific Power and Strength for Young Athletes
Help your young clients improve in their favorite sport! You’ll learn how to instruct and lead youth towards to toward sharpening their skills in sports such as:
- Training for sport conditioning
- Baseball and softball
- Basketball and volleyball
- Dancing and figure skating
- Football and rugby
- Ice hockey and field hockey
- Soccer
- Swimming
- Tennis
- Track and field
Periodization, Recovery, and Fueling the Young Athlete
Not all work happens in the gym. By the end of this final module, you’ll be able to accurately coach young clients to practice positive health habits to ensure they are properly taking care of their bodies outside of your sessions together. Learning topics include:
- Overreaching and overtraining
- Models of periodization
- Rest and recovery
- Long-Term development
- Basics of healthy eating
- Hydration
- Snack Foods
"There is definitely a lot of information to take in, but I am enjoying all that I am learning! Excited for what the future holds!"
Kimberly S.
Verified Buyer
This Program Is Perfect For Anyone Who Is:
- Passionate about helping youth develop sports-specific fitness skills
- Considering a career change towards to toward one that is more fulfilling
- Already an established health professional, such as a personal trainer, and wanting to diversify or expand their health education
Are There Payment Plans?
Absolutely!
Pick the loan that fits your budget and make payments over three, six, or 12 months. Our payment plans offer instant approval and are safe and secure.
Learn moreDo I Qualify?
To enroll in the Youth Strength Conditioning Specialist Certification, you must
- Be at least 18 years of age.
Have a solid understanding of the English language.
Exam Requirements:
- You need a minimum final exam grade of 85% to pass.
A $75.00 retest fee will apply.
After successful completion, you will earn the title of “Certified Youth Strength Conditioning Specialist” on your certificate.