Advanced Sports Medicine and Athletic Training Certificate of Achievement

The Advanced Sports Medicine and Athletic Training Certificate of Achievement is designed for students pursuing a career in a variety of sports medicine professions, including athletic training, physical therapy, chiropractic care, massage therapy, and/or coaching. The advanced certificate is a continuation of the Sports Medicine and Athletic Training Fundamentals Certificate. The certificate continues to build theoretical knowledge, laboratory skills, and clinical experience. Using these skills, students design and monitor preventative and rehabilitative plans that incorporate learned techniques of preventative taping, various therapeutic modalities, stretching, strengthening, and sport-specific training. 

Students will observe and assist certified athletic trainers in the evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation of injuries of Cabrillo College student athletes. Students spend hours in the athletic training facility or various sports venues during practices and games to learn hands-on clinical practice. In addition, students will become certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED), which are a requirement for jobs in healthcare, recreation, and public safety. 

Upon completion, students will explore pathways and career options available in athletic training and sports medicine that reflect their personal and professional goals in athletic training, physical therapy, physical therapy assistant, physical therapy aide, chiropractic, massage therapy, and rehabilitation approaches.

The Advanced Sports Medicine and Athletic Training Certificate of Achievement is projected to have an enrollment of 20-30 students/year with 10-15 completing the certificate annually.

Cabrillo College is seeking approval from the Chancellor’s Office to restructure our current Sports Medicine and Athletic Training Fundamentals Certificate of Achievement into two separate certificates: Fundamentals and Advanced. The Sports Medicine Athletic Training program is designed to train and educate students to work in the fields of pre-medicine, athletic training, physical therapy, and a variety of sports medicine professions. Participation in kinesiological classes develops students’ critical thinking, personal growth, research abilities, manual therapy skills, and preparedness to work in a clinical and/or athletic setting. 

The Advanced Sports Medicine and Athletic Training Certificate of Achievement is designed to stack upon the Fundamentals of Sports Medicine and Athletic Training Certificate of Achievement and prepare students to move onward to a degree. These stackable certificates and the pathway to transfer will help students complete a baccalaureate degree in Athletic Training or a similar major. The Sports Medicine Athletic Training program provides students with the skills necessary for entry-level positions in physical therapy clinics and the foundational preparation for students interested in athletic training programs. These skills are also valuable to students interested in such professions as fitness trainer, coach, or teacher in the physical education and kinesiology field. Students will learn anatomy and exercise physiology, be able to identify common athletic injuries and causes, practice preventative taping techniques, learn various therapeutic modalities, and be able to apply specific stretching, strengthening, and rehabilitation techniques for preventive and rehabilitative care. In addition, students will become cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) certified, and learn how to write subjective, objective, assessment, and plan (SOAP) notes and injury reports.

Based on all available LMI data, there is an undersupply of sports medicine workers compared to the demand for this cluster of occupations in the Bay region and in the SC-Monterey sub-region (Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties). There is a projected annual gap of about 38 students in the Bay region and 4 students in the SC-Monterey sub-region. Jobs in the sports medicine/athletic training occupation cluster typically require a master's degree, which is a recent change from the previous bachelor’s degree requirement. Students completing a community college certificate and degree would not be immediately employable as Athletic Trainers, but our certificates in Sports Medicine Athletic Training will make our graduates more prepared and experienced to achieve their desired transfer and/or career goals.

The LMI report also provides student outcomes data on employment and earnings for programs on TOP 1228.00 - Athletic Training and Sports Medicine in the state and region. It is recommended that this data be reviewed to better understand how outcomes for students taking courses on this TOP code compare to similar programs at colleges in the region and across the state.

The goal is for students who complete the pair of certificates (Fundamental and Advanced) to be employed within a year of program completion or to advance to a bachelor’s program. Their potential starting salary is between $35,000-$60,000/year in jobs such as Physical Therapy Aides, Personal Trainers, Massage Therapists, or Sports Medicine Clinicians. To advance to higher-paying jobs, it is critical to give community college students the necessary educational and professional experience to achieve success in higher-level certificate and degree programs at Cabrillo and beyond. Career opportunities upon completion of a postgraduate degree offer a higher salary with opportunities for hospital emergency departments, physician offices, intercollegiate athletics, professional sports, secondary schools, sports medicine clinics, performing arts, corporate settings, community outreach, law enforcement and the military, occupational and industrial settings, and health- and fitness-related jobs.

There are 21 required units in the certificate including physiology, inorganic chemistry for health occupations, kinesiology, and nutrition. 

The Advanced Sports Medicine and Athletic Training Certificate of Achievement is an interdisciplinary program in the Kinesiology Department at Cabrillo College. The majority of core and elective classes are in Kinesiology and adjacent science departments. Likewise, the Advanced Sports Medicine and Athletic Training Certificate of Achievement can be a stepping stone for students to pursue other degrees beyond Community College, including other health professions. 

The Kinesiology Department collaborated with Strong Workforce Development and local healthcare professionals to launch the program in Fall 2019, and through advisory group and department meetings, have made the decision to split our certificate into two progressive certificates

There are no other similar programs under this TOP code in the Cabrillo service area.