Amy Hawkings

During the past five years as a strength and conditioning coach I have worked with clients of all ages and abilities. This diverse athlete population has reformed and developed my coaching skills immensely. I have learned to be creative with my programming and cueing, ensuring that every session is appropriate and accessible, while remaining challenging, fun, and goal oriented. The role of an S&C coach is to give every client as many tools as possible to reach their goals. Physical or developmental limitations should never be a barrier to people striving towards health and performance goals.

One of my most significant periods of development was working as a strength and conditioning coach for the Canadian Sport Institute in Calgary. While there I had the opportunity to work with the National Sports School (NSS) and teach grade 11 and 12 physical education classes. My role was to teach the foundations of strength training. I was incredibly excited to work with the sports school students because I knew they excelled in their respective sports at a national level. At the end of the year I felt so proud of how the students grew into multifaceted athletes with strong fundamental movement skills. This gave them confidence and inspiration and transferred into their individual sports. It was so rewarding to watch them step outside their comfort zones and find joy in developing new skills through game-play and teamwork.

When I reflect on that year with the NSS students, I can see that they parallel any class in any school. In every class there are students at various levels of skill and knowledge, some feeling uncomfortable and unsure and some naturally excelling. My ability to show my students consistent kindness and remain open-minded allowed me to find ways to meet the needs of every student. Since then I have had many leadership roles including community support worker, adapted strength coordinator and rugby coach. I am confident the skills I have developed will directly translate into teaching. Knowing that students look up to their teachers, I strive to be a positive and approachable leader so they can learn as much from me as possible. I imagine each student as having a toolkit that I have the opportunity to fill with tools such as skills, techniques and knowledge. Every student needs the right tools to help them overcome their specific barriers. I am driven to continue learning how to be an adaptable and dynamic leader that has the understanding to fill each student’s toolkit and help them achieve their goals.