National Diploma in Personal Training, Health Management and Team Fitness

eroo

http://www.coachingireland.net/

Anyone have any experiences, good or bad, regarding this course? Anyone here ever done it? Am looking to get qualified as a PT and 3rd Level is not an option unfortunately.

Other courses I've been looking at:
http://www.ntc.ie/ehspt.php#courseschedule
http://www.portobelloinstitute.ie/pagecarrier.aspx?pageid=98

I was also looking at the courses on offer at Setanta College but they all require certification in coaching a sport(i.e. IRFU Coaching Level 1 etc)

I'm open to any suggestions too. I would very much appreciate any help you folks could give me.:)

Zamboni

eroo wrote: »

http://www.coachingireland.net/

Anyone have any experiences, good or bad, regarding this course? Anyone here ever done it? Am looking to get qualified as a PT and 3rd Level is not an option unfortunately.

I do not think this course has any accreditation. I am sure the content is fine but you need to ask yourself will it be recognised?

eroo wrote: »

Other courses I've been looking at:
http://www.ntc.ie/ehspt.php#courseschedule

This has accreditation and is recognised by most employers.

eroo wrote: »

http://www.portobelloinstitute.ie/pagecarrier.aspx?pageid=98

A 12 day course with a personal trainer certificate?
I would not pay someone with that qualification unless they had some other experience/qualifications.

Some of these places have no intention of training people and they offer nothing but useless certs for extortionate sums of money.

eroo

Zamboni wrote: »

I do not think this course has any accreditation. I am sure the content is fine but you need to ask yourself will it be recognised?

Thank you for the reply Zamboni:)

As for the first course.. it is accredited and claims to be recoginsed nationally and internationally.

http://www.coachingireland.net/main/page_faqs.html

mushykeogh

It doesnt say who it is accredited by, not a good sign, i dont think this would be accepted by potential employers in the fitness industry. The ntc course is widely accepted in this country and setanta is accredited by hetac, the same body that issues qualifications for i.t.s and universities.

maxxie

try Litton lane training, offer widely recognised ITEC diplomas in gym and studio instruction. Venues in Dublin are DCU and Westpark.

eroo

mushykeogh wrote: »

It doesnt say who it is accredited by, not a good sign, i dont think this would be accepted by potential employers in the fitness industry. The ntc course is widely accepted in this country and setanta is accredited by hetac, the same body that issues qualifications for i.t.s and universities.

Yes it mentions nothing about who it is accredited by. Might give it a wide berth then!

Zuppy

The NCEF cert is written on UL paper so it comes with university credit. I think the address is www.ncef-info.com, can't remember but its close to up in Limerick

eroo

ZuppyLurk wrote: »

The NCEF cert is written on UL paper so it comes with university credit. I think the address is www.ncef-info.com, can't remember but its close to up in Limerick

Had forgotten about that one.. must go have another look! Cheers..

aye

Zamboni wrote: »

A 12 day course with a personal trainer certificate?
I would not pay someone with that qualification unless they had some other experience/qualifications.

Some of these places have no intention of training people and they offer nothing but useless certs for extortionate sums of money.

Most personal training courses are intensive courses with full days over the weekends, they are designed with the intention that the student has a fitness instructor qualification, so are designed to be done in minimal time.
the necf course has the same timeline even.

http://www.ncefinfo.com/personal_training.html

I would say do a fitness instructor course first. I did the ncef one, found it good, intense, and its well recognised.

Zamboni

aye wrote: »

Most personal training courses are intensive courses with full days over the weekends, they are designed with the intention that the student has a fitness instructor qualification, so are designed to be done in minimal time.
the necf course has the same timeline even.

I think you're actually agreeing with me then.
Surely the Portobello qualification should have an entry requirement of a prior fitness instructor qualification?

aye

Zamboni wrote: »

I think you're actually agreeing with me then.
Surely the Portobello qualification should have an entry requirement of a prior fitness instructor qualification?

I do agree that it should, its too intense and too much information coming in from scratch. I'm just saying that most if not all personal trainer courses are prob 12 days of classes. I do think that an instructor qualification beforehand is needed so the basics of fitness are understood.

eroo

Just thought I'd mention that www.coachingireland.net is no longer showing up!?

Chelle1

Hi there,

Been reading your posts - I am a secondary PE Teacher who completed The National Diploma in Personal Training, Health Management & Team Fitness with School of Sport. Before taking this course I did a lot of research on fitness/personal trainer courses and found School of Sport by far the best. The NTC course does not cover resistance training to the same level of School of Sport and is only four months long - too short if you ask me. With regard to recognition, all the main insurance companies recognise School of Sport as a training institution - I am presently insured with a British company as a personal trainer and working in this area part-time. Others on my course are now working in Westpoint, Westwood Clontarf and Kildare County Council Leisure Centres. I also checked out the NCEF course - it may be accredited by UL but there is no pathway to any third level courses in UL nor will you get any exemptions on any of UL's courses. www.coachingireland.net leads to School of Sports main site - www.schoolofsport.com. Hope this is some help to you.

Zamboni

Chelle1 wrote: »

Hi there,

Been reading your posts - I am a secondary PE Teacher who completed The National Diploma in Personal Training, Health Management & Team Fitness with School of Sport. Before taking this course I did a lot of research on fitness/personal trainer courses and found School of Sport by far the best. The NTC course does not cover resistance training to the same level of School of Sport and is only four months long - too short if you ask me. With regard to recognition, all the main insurance companies recognise School of Sport as a training institution - I am presently insured with a British company as a personal trainer and working in this area part-time. Others on my course are now working in Westpoint, Westwood Clontarf and Kildare County Council Leisure Centres. I also checked out the NCEF course - it may be accredited by UL but there is no pathway to any third level courses in UL nor will you get any exemptions on any of UL's courses. www.coachingireland.net leads to School of Sports main site - www.schoolofsport.com. Hope this is some help to you.

FTR being able to get insurance is absolutely no indication of how good a course is.
If SOS if so good they should go and get accredited by a decent body.
Accreditation is not everything but at the very least it gives legitimacy from a marketing perspective for the organisation.
Jesus there is a certain body that claims accreditation by FAS.
Ha! Who gives a fiddlers fook what FAS think.

You know what I might go and set up a personal trainer instructor course.
With no regulation in the industry and nothing but conflicting information out there it's a piece of piss money earner.

*jumps the bandwagon and registers getyourPTcertfor2000yoyos.ie*

Chelle1

I'm sure you must be a reputible trainer for an insurance company to underwrite your students. With regards to being accredited or recognised - being recognised by FAS does not mean much in todays climate but I did follow up the accrediting organisations and I found all accrediting bodies for courses had direct links with the course training institutions, eg. the director of the training college was also a director of the accrediting body - it might as well be the one. Also, every training institution claimed to be accredited by a different body, which to me asks the question "who are these accrediting bodies and how useful are they". What I liked about School of Sport was that the tutors had immense exprience in their areas of teaching, the college was fully equipped with everything (weight training areas, studios, large classrooms, internet access etc.) and the course covered more than anything else on the market. I would recommend if any person is interested in attending a fitness instructor/personal trainer course, visit the facilities and ask questions in person. It's good to see where your training will take place and who will be training you. Due to the fact that this industry is unregulated I took it on myself to research each provider in more detail than most people might - I still found School of Sport the best out there.

Zamboni

Chelle1 wrote: »

I'm sure you must be a reputible trainer for an insurance company to underwrite your students. With regards to being accredited or recognised - being recognised by FAS does not mean much in todays climate but I did follow up the accrediting organisations and I found all accrediting bodies for courses had direct links with the course training institutions, eg. the director of the training college was also a director of the accrediting body - it might as well be the one. Also, every training institution claimed to be accredited by a different body, which to me asks the question "who are these accrediting bodies and how useful are they". What I liked about School of Sport was that the tutors had immense exprience in their areas of teaching, the college was fully equipped with everything (weight training areas, studios, large classrooms, internet access etc.) and the course covered more than anything else on the market. I would recommend if any person is interested in attending a fitness instructor/personal trainer course, visit the facilities and ask questions in person. It's good to see where your training will take place and who will be training you. Due to the fact that this industry is unregulated I took it on myself to research each provider in more detail than most people might - I still found School of Sport the best out there.

I completed a research dissertation in this area a year ago and you make a number of unsupported claims about directors being connected which I could call you up on but not arsed.

It's a relatively new area and SOS is trying to make a name for itself which is fair enough.
The NTC and NCEF have some years in the bag already. Good ITEC and bad ITEC are ploughing along and there are some UK courses beginning to branch up over here. Each of these courses has pro's and cons ranging from course material, actual facilities to quality of lecturers.

SOS is not the best out there and the reason I can say this is because the criteria that different courses and facilities should be judged on simply do not exist yet bar personal opinion (which is also why I always laugh when I see a NCEF v NCEHS battle take place).
The best a person who wants to work in in fitness instruction can do (from an employment perspective) is to pick a course which is widely recognised by employers.
Unsurprisingly the NCEF and NCEHS are the two most recognised due to the fact that most of the actual employers are ex graduates of these courses. This does not make them the best either but it is merely the way it is.

The point I was making earlier would be that in order to compete on better ground the SOS could do with accreditation as it is definately a factor that some prospective students take into consideration (after location & cost).
Your other point in relation to the fact that are numerous accreditation bodies does not indicate whether those bodies are legitimate or not, it only points to the already obvious point that there should be a central body that has this responsibility that is independent of ALL course providers. Ideally linked to the ISC or the DAST but at this time the likelihood of either is diminished.

(By the by I think you're shilling and I wouldn't be surprised if your name is George) :pac:

Chelle1

You "could not be arsed"? Some professional you are.

You have your own personal opinion on courses in Ireland and so have I. Maybe you should open your own training college - or maybe you already have? I am very happy with my choice and I am sure people who sat other courses will say the same. Get off your pedestal (or dissertation) you are standing on and be a bit more respectful when directing your comments.

Chelle (not George!)

itsallaboutheL

Some professional you are.

You have your own personal opinion on courses in Ireland and so have I. Maybe you should open your own training college - or maybe you already have? I am very happy with my choice and I am sure people who sat other courses will say the same. Get off your pedestal (or dissertation) you are standing on and be a bit more respectful when directing your comments.

Chelle (not George!)

It was a reply based on personal opinion directed at OP (exactly what OP asked for).... but if you want a hand removing that chip from your shoulder i might be able to help (my overhead strength is going up a bit lately)

Zamboni

Chelle1 wrote: »

You "could not be arsed"? Some professional you are.

You have your own personal opinion on courses in Ireland and so have I. Maybe you should open your own training college - or maybe you already have? I am very happy with my choice and I am sure people who sat other courses will say the same. Get off your pedestal (or dissertation) you are standing on and be a bit more respectful when directing your comments.

Chelle (not George!)

How respectful would you like me to be a four post member who within those four posts has only plugged one course provider and made unsupported allegations against others?

mushykeogh

Chelle1 wrote: »

I am presently insured with a British company as a personal trainer and working in this area part-time. Others on my course are now working in Westpoint, Westwood Clontarf and Kildare County Council Leisure Centres. I also checked out the NCEF course - it may be accredited by UL but there is no pathway to any third level courses in UL nor will you get any exemptions on any of UL's courses.

Id hazard a guess and say these people are working in these gyms on the basis of having a previously aquired and reputable qualification elswhere. I still cant find out who this course (school of sport) is accredited by?

bigmac1

i did a previous course in the school of sport and found it to be a total waste of time. as for the tutors there is only one, he does everything from massage to personal training to websites.

one day we spent the whole day watching dodgeball. as i said a waste of time and money

STAY AWAY

aye

Chelle1 wrote: »

I also checked out the NCEF course - it may be accredited by UL but there is no pathway to any third level courses in UL nor will you get any exemptions on any of UL's courses.

em why would it get you an exemption on other courses?

littlemite

yea i was going to do that course and i rang the guy he seemed to know his stuff and impressed me over the phone and had answers for all my questions and i was really going to go for it but luckly enough i met a friend who was doing the course and said it was very badly run and would not reccomend it to anybody as it was a shambles, so thankfully i never got taken in by all the talk

muscleman

bigmac1 wrote: »

i did a previous course in the school of sport and found it to be a total waste of time. as for the tutors there is only one, he does everything from massage to personal training to websites.

one day we spent the whole day watching dodgeball. as i said a waste of time and money

STAY AWAY

Not sure where your coming from - I did a personal trainer course in school of sport and we had four tutors overall and we never got the chance to watch dodgeball! Too busy training!

munstermal

muscleman wrote: »

Not sure where your coming from - I did a personal trainer course in school of sport and we had four tutors overall and we never got the chance to watch dodgeball! Too busy training!

dont know what year you did the course muscleman, but i can back up the dodgeball claim, the course has prob gone downhill from your time

the tutor is a nice guy but the course is a bit of a mess

muscleman

munstermal wrote: »

dont know what year you did the course muscleman, but i can back up the dodgeball claim, the course has prob gone downhill from your time

the tutor is a nice guy but the course is a bit of a mess

Completed the course June last year (2008). Bigmac said he did a previous course and I take it you were on the same one - we either trained together or you took the course before 2008. Sorry guys - you are entitled to an opinion but I think its sour grapes. My course days ran for 7 hours, not sure I could watch dodgeball for that long!

munstermal

muscleman wrote: »

Completed the course June last year (2008). Bigmac said he did a previous course and I take it you were on the same one - we either trained together or you took the course before 2008. Sorry guys - you are entitled to an opinion but I think its sour grapes. My course days ran for 7 hours, not sure I could watch dodgeball for that long!

lets just say that our paths may have crossed and its not sour grapes just dont like to be taken for a ride

oh and we were told we could go when dodgeball was over so it was one of the shorter days

Chelle1

mushykeogh wrote: »

Id hazard a guess and say these people are working in these gyms on the basis of having a previously aquired and reputable qualification elswhere. I still cant find out who this course (school of sport) is accredited by?

Just wonderin' why you think they would have done the School of Sport course if they had already aquired a reputable qualification elsewhere?

Zamboni

To be honest this whole thread just looks dodgy now.

All these <5 post wonders commenting on a new enough course make me wonder...

mushykeogh

Chelle1 wrote: »

Just wonderin' why you think they would have done the School of Sport course if they had already aquired a reputable qualification elsewhere?

I qualified back in 1998 as a fitness instructor and have taken numerous additional courses, especially when i ws trying to improve my job prospects. Some courses were hugely beneficial, others were poor choices that offered very little. It would be easy to imagine a newly qualified instructor goin for a course if they thought that would be in abetter position to work with athletes/sports people. Do you not agree?

Roper

I reckon most fitness instructors/personal trainers would be just better off forgetting about training athletes and just focussing on the clientelle they've been trained to teach. I was talking to a really successful PT last week who has his own studio and 100 or so clients paying him more money than I can concieve of and I asked him if he worked with athletes. He said he just knows his market.

Who runs School of Sport anyway? Isn't it some kickboxing lad? My girl was looking to do a cardio kickboxing course a while back and I got in touch with them for her. She was refused because she didn't have an NCEF or similar and (paraphrasing) "wouldn't have the necessary knowledge of physiology". Just for the record she trains an athletics team and has coached martial arts for years. I almost laughed. I asked at Setanta who are strict about who can take the course and they would take her on any one of their courses based on her experience.

So I suppose my question is how is School of Sport qualified to run a course in "Team Fitness"? Running PT weekends and running a Team Fitness course are world's apart. Even the website address sounds a lot like Coaching Ireland.ie which is the new name for the NCTC. Are they trying to hang onto some coat tails?

OP are you really interested in coaching a team? Is that the point of doing the course? A bit of advice if I may. Everyone wants to do it but they all do it backwards and with totally the wrong motivation. They look at the course first and then the job later. How many teams out there need volunteers to run training sessions? Loads. Everyone has this ideal in their head of training Drago with heart rate monitors and muscle biopsies and they all forget the hours spent standing on the sidelines trying to get a pre-season player who has had a few at the weekend to do one more sprint. Nobody actually wants to do the work, and most of all, nobody wants to do it for free. To get where I am now (which isn't very far) I have trained more than a thousand people. I've also stood on the edge of tracks and pitches, collected cones, blown whistles, spent hours preparing sessions and even more hours trying to be patient. After I did all that, THEN I went and did a course so I could stick some letters after my name.

You want to train athletes? Go and do it then. You won't get paid, but that's okay. It's an in to the world you want to join. You may actually decide after a while that you absolutely don't want to do it. (it'll probably be the first time an athlete tells you to fvck off) After you've had that, Coaching Ireland (that's the real government agency) only recognise one course AFAIK and that's Setanta and you'll be accepted into that if you're actively coaching.