College Football Training Camp: How to Be a Part of the Action

If you love football and want to be involved in the excitement, becoming an athletic trainer, strength and conditioning coach, sports psychologist, or other professional could be a great career path for you. Here are those and other top sports jobs that are involved in college football training camps.

Top 8 College Football Sports Jobs

1. Coach

Our initial impression of college football coaching jobs may be what we see on TV: the games and press conferences. The vast majority of the coach’s responsibilities are less glamorous, though, and many of them are behind the scenes. 

A key task of the coach is recruiting since that effort helps bring together a great team. Coaches lead daily conditioning and provide mentoring to players as needed, among other activities. 

While some schools will want their coach to have a master’s degree or doctorate, you will at least want a bachelor’s. You could go through the US Sports Academy and get a National Coaching Certification or work toward any other certification. You will want to get CPR certification too. 

You will also typically need experience coaching; most head coaches at college football training camps have previously worked in assistant college coaching jobs. 

2. Athletic Director

Another college football training camp role is that of the athletic director. In this position, you will be managing not just football but all sports programs for the college. 

Physical education, sports management, and education administration are all strong majors for a bachelor’s degree. You will generally need a master’s degree as well for college athletic director jobs, and a Ph.D. can solidify your chances.

3. Referee

Becoming a referee is similar to becoming a coach: you have to work your way up the ranks. Referees will typically need to get experience with junior or pee-wee leagues. You can then move up to high school – where conference recruiters might see you, allowing you to transition to college football. 

Finally, an important part of this competitive field is networking. Attend your local chapter of the National Federation of State High School Associations to better position yourself for high school football opportunities. Go to workshops and officiating camps to get to know some college football referees.

4. Strength and Conditioning Coach

Those with college strength and conditioning jobs are often former athletes. If you have not yet participated on the field, demonstrate your strength by competing in weightlifting or another sport; show your leadership by coaching a school team.

Generally, to get the strength coach position or other college strength and conditioning jobs, you need a relevant master’s degree. Certainly, you need to have at least a bachelor’s degree. Starting out in college, the ideal majors are physical education, athletic training, exercise physiology, and exercise science. Once you have your degrees, certifications are also incredibly helpful.

5. Athletic Trainer

In this role, you are essentially in charge of getting athletes better so that they can get back off the sidelines. 

For education, you will need a bachelor’s degree in athletic training at the bare minimum. A master’s degree will also be helpful in getting hired for college athletic training jobs. You also must have basic life support certification, although that is often tied into degree programs. 

Finally, you want to get certified and licensed through your state.

6. Physical Therapist

A college football physical therapist is charged with minimizing pain, enhancing strength, expanding range of motion, and bolstering speed and agility.

For this position, earn a bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology or a related field. With that complete, you will want to get a doctor of physical therapy (DPT) degree as well. Between the bachelor’s and DPT, you may want to get a master’s in a related subject.

It is also smart to enhance your credibility through certification by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties (ABPTS). 

7. Sports Psychologist

By helping athletes with coping strategies, thought patterns, communication skills, and personal relationships, sports psychologists help players stay healthy and focused on college football training camp. 

For educational preparation, you will need a bachelor’s degree. It is best if your major is in psychology or, even better, sports psychology. Then it is time to get a master’s degree in the same field. You will become a much stronger candidate by getting a Ph.D. too.

Once you have your education, seek board certification. Finally, apply for internships.

8. Sports Photojournalist 

Want to capture thrilling moments at college football training camp? Your pictures can tell the story of this career. 

The initial step to attain this career could simply be a one-year certification program; to work at the collegiate level, though, you are better served with a journalism or photography bachelor’s degree.

Landing Your Dream Training Camp Position

All the above career paths can be great ways to experience college football training camps. While networking can be helpful, you want to know when jobs become available — and apply through the best possible channel. An industry survey found that 89 percent of sports employers view JobsInSports.com applicants as “pre-qualified,” while 93% said they were “more likely” or “far more likely” to offer our members a position. 

Be a part of the action and join our network today.