Community Coaching Scholarship for Training and Certification
Rocket is hosting a USA Weightlifting Level 1 coaching course July 16 & 17, 2022. The two-day course will be held at Rocket, participants will then test to be certified as a coach through USAW. For insurance purposes, this certification qualifies you to coach both Weightlifting and group fitness classes at gyms like Rocket. (It does not certify you to coach CrossFit, which requires you to take their certification to coach any class that calls itself CrossFit.)
We have two full scholarship opportunities to train and get certified for coaching Weightlifting and group fitness classes.
* One scholarship is through USA Weightlifting, and is specifically for Black Weightlifting coaches. We will help you with their application process.
* One is through Rocket, and is open to POC, LGBTQI, or other historically under-represented people in the fitness world, who want to coach group fitness classes.
WHY USAW?
We love Weightlifting, and we love USA Weightlifting. USAW has consistently been on the right side of the social issues that matter to us. And Weightlifting? It's just the best. But also, coaching The Snatch and The Clean & Jerk is arguably the hardest coaching we do in our classes, so we feel that if someone is trained well in those, that's a better start than most. But perhaps most importantly, this cert is accepted by insurance companies for coaching group fitness classes, and that's a must for gyms like Rocket.
WHO CAN APPLY FOR THE SCHOLARSHIPS?
These scholarships are available to people who actually want to be coaches. Not necessarily full time, but at least part time, or to run a cool project, or something. But it's for people who want to coach. Why? Because increasing the diversity of coaches in general, and in Seattle in specific, is important. It is NOT a job offer at Rocket, nor is there an expectation that you should want to coach for us. It's not about that at all, it's about the larger coaching community in general. So if you're needing credentials for insurance, and experience in order to be employable, this is for you!
The scholarship from USAW, which we will help facilitate, is specifically for Black coaches. The one from Rocket is open to a wider variety of historically under-represented folks. We very specifically want to help foster all sorts of inclusivity, so we have more leeway. BIPOC? Queer? Adaptive? Older? Bigger? Smaller? (Look, just not someone you'd typically expect to see on a fitness poster, from an industry that is overly into thin, young, buff white folks, okay?)
However, this is intended for people for whom the cost is actually an obstacle. Historically there have been lots of obstacles that have made fitness spaces unwelcoming. The tool we have here is money, so we would like it to be used for people for whom money is an actual obstacle. That said, if you're looking for a safe space to get certified and inspired, but money isn't an obstacle, you should register yourself! The more the merrier.
WHAT IS INCLUDED?
1. For both: The July 16 & 17 USA Weightlifting trainer certification. (Which meets the insurance requirements for group class coaching.)
2. For Group Fitness coaching: 3 months of working with coaches at Rocket to learn how to actually coach. Being certified is an insurance thing. Being qualified and ready is an experience thing. You will work with our coaches to learn what goes into coaching, how to manage a class, how to break down moves, how to handle scaling and the "quirks" that pop up in every class. You will get experience shadowing, working directly with members and eventually running classes under the watchful - and hopefully helpful - eyes of our experienced staff. Think of it as free grad school for coaching. This will be done on your schedule, so that it can work around your life.