Writing a Needs Analysis:
Exploring the Details
Karis Scroggs, BS and Shawn R. Simonson, EdD, CSCS
Department of Kinesiology, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho
ABSTRACT
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The first step in preparing a compre-
hensive periodized strength and con-
ditioning program is the needs analysis
—that is a formal process for deter-
mining the general and specific needs
of the athlete based on their sport or
task. It involves many more pieces than
most consider and is not simply about
goal setting. Depth and specificity of
event requirements and details are
important because there will be vari-
ability in needs and program design
due to the task and level of prior
experience and participation. The
specifics of the task and the particulars
of the individual athlete may lead to the
need for significant study and reading
of evidence-based research. The ben-
efit of a well-developed needs analysis
is that it can lead to better program
planning with greater opportunity for
success.
INTRODUCTION
“need” is the difference
A between the current state and
the desired outcome (41). It
can also be what is required to fill the
gap between the current and desired
conditions (41). A needs analysis is a
systematic process that helps to estab-
lish priorities and guide decision-
making to facilitate program design
and allocation of effort and resources
(3). It encompasses the methods used
to determine what work needs to be
included in the training program. The
needs analysis is a long-term approach
Address correspondence to Shawn R. Si-
monson, ShawnSimonson@BoiseState.edu.
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that ensures that the training plan ties
in with the event requirements,
matches organization and individual
goals and values, and connects each
need with a metric. A thorough needs
analysis requires the determination of
needs, the nature and causes of those
needs, an examination of resources,
and the establishment of priorities
(41). The needs analysis is conducted
to help the strength and conditioning
coach (SCC) identify or design the
optimal program before starting train-
ing (41). It is also performed to opti-
mize efficiency and effectiveness of
training, motivate and educate athletes,
and unify training tasks. The well-done
needs analysis will describe what the
athlete does and what they need to
be successful as well as provide enough
information on which to design a
strength and conditioning program.
DESIGNING A NEEDS ANALYSIS
USING A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH
APPROACH TO THE ISSUE
The literature was reviewed using
Google Scholar and The Journal of
Strength and Conditioning Research to
search for studies to compare how
needs analyses are performed in vari-
ous sports. Keywords, “needs analysis,”
“athlete analysis,” “strength program-
ming,” and “coaching philosophy,”
were searched. The NSCA Essentials
of Strength Training and Conditioning
and Guide to Program Design were con-
sulted (11,13). Because there is not a
comprehensive needs analysis tem-
plate for strength and conditioning
professionals, business and leadership
literature was also consulted. The liter-
ature reviewed was compiled and orga-
nized to produce a standard Needs
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Analysis Template composed of 4 steps
(Figure 1): task analysis, athlete/client
analysis, goals and priorities, and
resources and constraints (41).
TASK ANALYSIS
The purpose of the task analysis is to
evaluate the sport (11). Although
Kraemer et al. only indicate 3 steps
to this component, we propose 6 sub-
parts (Figure 2): event, physiology, bio-
mechanics, injury, environment, and
psychology (13).
EVENT. The event and the relative
information under this category must
be established first because it impacts
the other factors included in the task
analysis. The event analysis ensures
that the SCC understands the event
in all pertinent areas and can speak
fluently about it. Here, the SCC seeks
to understand beyond the physiology
and biomechanics of play and goes
into the basic rules and principles of
play, the duration of play, the number
of plays, and recovery between plays.
An understanding of the tactics used in
the event is also useful. For example,
when coaching soccer, it is useful to
know that there is a running clock as
compared with Olympic-style weight-
lifting in which the athlete alone has 3
attempts of each lift. In soccer, using
the clock can be a powerful tool for the
coach and is relevant for how the SCC
will organize the training plan as a
team with a higher endurance capacity
KEY WORDS:
strength and conditioning; needs
analysis; task analysis
87
 Needs Analysis
Figure 1. Overview of the 4 steps in the Needs Analysis.
will be able to control the speed of the
game and keep it moving faster.
Beyond the single competition, the SCC
also needs to know the season configu-
ration: how many competitions are in a
season and if some competitions are
more important than others, for exam-
ple, overall record determining playoff
appearance as opposed to a season-
ending tournament. Competing in tour-
naments with multiple competitions per
day versus a single competition is also
important season configuration informa-
tion, for example, a wrestling tourna-
ment as opposed to a dual. In addition,
the length of recovery between compe-
titions, such as a week for American
football versus playing a double-header
in baseball. The duration of the season,
when in the year the season falls, and
the presence of a single or multiple sea-
sons, for example indoor and outdoor
track. The SCC must know the duration
of the game, duration of plays, number
of plays, and the number of games
played per week. This information will
help the SSC determine how to help
athletes optimally recover and peak at
the correct time in the season.
Figure 2. Six components of the task analysis.
88 VOLUME 43 | NUMBER 5 | OCTOBER 2021
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PHYSIOLOGY. The second point
under the task analysis is physiology,
of which the energy system profile is
a component. This is important in
determining not only the primary
energy systems used, but also the
ratio and percentages of all the
energy systems combined. The inten-
sity of the sport and/or each play as
well as the work to rest ratio is the
leading factor determining the
energy system used. In addition, the
energy system profile may be differ-
ent for the various player positions,
for example, a soccer midfielder will
have a different energy utilization
than the keeper because they run
more frequently and for greater dis-
tances. Time-motion analysis, by lit-
erature, video study, live observation,
and wearable devices such as heart
rate monitors, motion detectors, and
global positioning systems can be
useful tools in determining the
energy system profile (13).
The SCC will also assess the strength,
speed, power, agility, and endurance
components of the sport. Determining
the percentage of strength, power,
speed, agility, and endurance deter-
mines the percentage of training spent
on each system. Many sports require a
high development of all the energy
systems; therefore, the SCC must
incorporate a congruent training plan,
for example Nordic skiers compete in
sprint and endurance events, fre-
quently on consecutive days. The
SCC must design programs to train
the appropriate, sport-specific energy
systems with sufficient recovery
between days. The SCC should also
consider the contributions of endur-
ance, strength, speed, and power. In
the Nordic example, a 1.5 k sprint Nor-
dic race will have significantly different
endurance, strength, speed, and power
requirements than a 21 k Nordic race.
The SCC also needs to determine how
strength training will transfer to event-
specific performance (3,26). Event
analysis, by literature, video and live
observation, and wearable devices such
as heart rate monitors, motion detec-
tors, and global positioning systems
can be useful tools in determining
strength, power, speed, agility, and
endurance requirements.
 Recovery is also a key consideration
because an athlete can only train effec-
tively with adequate recovery, and the
SCC can help manipulate adaptation
by enhancing this process. Recovery
includes metabolic (energy system
and energy stores), thermoregulatory,
rehydration, muscle tissue damage,
elimination of fatigue, and psychologi-
cal restoration (2,12). In general, higher
intensity and longer duration exercise
requires longer recoveries; however,
athlete conditioning, nutrition, and
sleep can play a significant role in the
recovery rate (2,12,36).
BIOMECHANICS. The biomechani-
cal (movement) analysis is the study of
the techniques used in the activity
including the internal or joint power
analysis and external movement anal-
ysis of the upper-body and lower-body
and the trunk between them (22).
Understanding joint mechanics and
torque helps the SCC understand the
demands placed on the joints and mus-
cles (22). This is a multifaceted analysis
because neural control, muscle
cross-sectional area, fiber arrangement,
fiber length, joint angle, muscle con-
traction velocity, and joint angular
velocity all contribute to movement
biomechanics. For example, throwing
events in track and field rely on explo-
sive strength and power and are
achieved by body rotation relying on
centripetal forces and torque. (Torque
is the force that muscles produce caus-
ing the rotation around the joint. Cen-
tripetal force acts on a body moving in
a circular path and is directed toward
the center around which the body is
moving).
The biomechanical analysis breaks
down movements into phases; for
example, rowing can be broken down
into the catch, drive, finish, and recov-
ery (15). Electromyography can be
used to indicate muscle activity. It
has been used to show that in elite
rowing approximately 45% of propul-
sive force is generated by the legs, 32%
by the trunk, and 23% by the arms (23).
A wearable device such as an inertial
measurement unit uses accelerometers,
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gyroscopes, and magnetometers to
provide data on the forces, angular
rates, and segmental and whole-body
orientation and changes of position.
This is used to analyze movement, help
prevent injury, or return an athlete to
play. Motion capture video can be used
to measure kinematics and force plates
to measure the kinetics of an athlete’s
movement. When measuring perfor-
mance with these devices, the SCC
must consider if the device will impact
the athlete’s normal range of motion or
interfere with play because if the ath-
lete is hyperaware of the device, the
data will not accurately reflect normal
movement (42).
In addition, the SCC must understand
the stretch-shortening cycle of the
muscle within the event (25). The
stretch-shortening cycle includes an
eccentric phase and an amortization
phase before the concentric phase, al-
lowing time and providing stimulus for
more force development (7). Slow
stretch-shortening cycles are associ-
ated with large angle displacements,
as is the case in rowing, whereas fast
stretch-shortening cycles are associ-
ated with small angle displacements,
as in bounding (15). This has implica-
tions for specificity of training in both
range of motion and rate of force devel-
opment in strength and conditioning,
injury prevention, and performance
and warrants examining the rate of
the stretch-shortening cycle of event
movements through wearable devices,
as previously mentioned, to provide
data on the forces, angular rates, and
segmental changes of position (5,25).
INJURY. Both common injuries and
the conditions under which they typi-
cally occur should be assessed. The 6
stages of the injury prevention model,
Translating Research into Injury Pre-
vention Practice (TRIPP), give an out-
line beginning with epidemiology and
ending with evaluating prevention
strategies in a real-world context (33).
TRIPP was developed on the principle
that once the mechanism for injury has
been identified, the SCC can develop a
prevention strategy. The 6 steps are:
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survey for injuries, establish the etiol-
ogy and mechanism of injury, develop
the preventive measure, evaluate the
science in ideal conditions, describe
implementation context to inform im-
plementation, and evaluate effective-
ness of preventive measure in a
real-world context. The first 2 steps,
survey for injuries and establish the eti-
ology and mechanism of injury, are
pertinent to the needs analysis. For
example, the SCC can help athletes
who are at a high risk of ACL tears
and decrease their risk of injury by
helping the athlete achieve the proper
mechanics (20). A literature search and
consultation with the sports medicine
team will often provide pertinent injury
information.
ENVIRONMENT. Both the practice
environment and the performance
environment need to be assessed. This
includes the playing surfaces, weather
conditions, athletes’ clothing, eleva-
tion/altitude considerations, and the
observers/fans.
The SCC must be aware of different
playing surfaces, for example, sand ver-
sus indoor volleyball, and mediums,
water versus land, because these will
impact force development, power out-
put, and agility. For example, sand vol-
leyball courts will absorb more of the
kinetic energy produced by the athlete
than traditional volleyball courts. This
will slow the stretch-shortening cycle
and power output achieved. Therefore,
the SCC should focus on training the
slow stretch-shortening cycle when
working with sand volleyball players
but the fast stretch-shortening cycle
when working with indoor volleyball
players.
Weather conditions may impact an
event as well as weather changes
across a season, and the SCC should
help athletes adapt and prepare for the
conditions and changes in the condi-
tions as the season progresses.
Weather largely dictates hydration
needs. These will change based on
the heat, humidity, and clothing of
the athlete. An American football
player wearing a helmet and pads
89
 Needs Analysis
may have different hydration needs
than a cross country runner wearing
spandex in the same weather condi-
tions. The SCC must be aware of
potential heat and cold injuries and
help the athlete adapt to their perfor-
mance environment while keeping the
athlete safe. Wind is another major
component in many sports; it is espe-
cially significant for example in cycling
or rowing. A headwind will require
greater power outputs, especially from
athletes who are leading the group
whereas tailwinds may provide assis-
tance for the athlete. In addition, wind
will impact cooling mechanisms.
(Convection is the transfer of heat
from the body to the ambient air; this
has a significant impact in both hot
and cold climates). Wind increases
convection, and, in cold environments,
this also increases the risk of cold
injuries, so coaches need to be aware
of this with their athletes and help
them prepare physiologically and
psychologically.
Another crucial environmental factor
that the SCC must consider is eleva-
tion, not only the elevation of where
the team practices, but the elevation at
key games or races. A prime example
is Nordic skiers racing and training at
different elevations. Nordic skiers will
frequently spend extended time train-
ing at altitude to enhance oxygen
transport through increased hemoglo-
bin concentration, ventilation, capillary
density, and myoglobin concentration,
and to increase oxygen utilization by
increased oxidative enzymes and mito-
chondrial volume (1,38). At altitude,
intensity is often sacrificed because of
the decreased oxygen partial pressure,
which can result in a detraining (14).
The SCC training plan should take
these adaptations and variable intensi-
ties into consideration and make
appropriate adjustments to
help minimize power and intensity los-
ses through periodized training, alter-
nating training environments, and
using methods to enhance recovery;
thus, maximizing performance at key
competitions.
90 VOLUME 43 | NUMBER 5 | OCTOBER 2021
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Finally, competitors and sports fans/
observers can impact the sports envi-
ronment through creating distractions
and/or increasing arousal and motiva-
tion. This element bleeds into the psy-
chology analysis and how individual
athletes respond to stimuli.
PSYCHOLOGY. The athlete’s pri-
mary focus, movement complexity,
arousal, and external stimuli will impact
athlete performance and strength and
conditioning goals. The connection
between movement complexity, cogni-
tive learning, and transfer and retention
is discussed in the field of motor learn-
ing. Understanding this pathway and
connection is essential for the SCC
(32). Because a movement becomes
more complex, the cognitive load
increases and the learning process
slows. A role of the SCC is to apply
the principle of specificity to a strength
plan to help athletes improve perfor-
mance. Understanding skill acquisition
is the application of motor learning
principles and includes different atten-
tional focuses, skill acquisition tech-
niques, and transfer and retention rates
with different modes of instruction.
When event-specific motor learning
skills are clear to the SCC, they can
incorporate event-specific modes of
instruction to enhance athlete focus,
skill acquisition, and skill transfer into
the strength and conditioning program.
Athlete arousal is commonly described
as an inverted U (9,31). It is important
for the SCC to assess each athlete’s
individual threshold in both game
and practice situations as well as deter-
mine the appropriate arousal level for
the event. For example, it is often desir-
able to have a high arousal for short,
maximal effort events, such as the shot
put, but lower arousal is essential for
complex events, such as biathlon
shooting. Arousal can be assessed by
physiological responses such as
increased heart rate, sweating, blood
pressure, and muscle tension, nausea/
abdominal distress, shortness of breath,
tremors, and lightheadedness or dizzi-
ness (40). Survey tools such as the
Competitive Sport Anxiety Inventory-
2 (CSAI-2), Sport Anxiety Scale, Ath-
letic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI-
28), Ottawa Mental Skills Assessment
Tool (OMSAT-3), and Test of Perfor-
mance Strategies (TOPS) can also be
used to measure both trait and state
arousal and coping skills (6,28,29,34).
Not only can the conditioning
approach impact this, for example,
enhancing heart rate recovery for
biathletes, but the SCC can help ath-
letes develop strategies for self-
managing arousal.
External stimuli such as competitors,
teammate feedback, team dynamics,
coaching cues, time clock, score-
boards, and crowds will contribute to
event complexity and athlete arousal.
The SCC can help the athlete adjust to
external stimuli, appropriately
respond, or not, and use it to motivate
performance. For higher-level athletes,
external stimuli and athlete arousal will
be the main responsibility of the sport
psychologist, and they may provide
the SCC input into how they can help;
however, at lower levels the sport
coach and/or SCC may have primary
responsibility for this.
Thus, the task analysis is the evalua-
tion of those factors that impact sport
play and success in the sport (11).
Completing a detailed analysis ensures
understanding of the event and the 6
components (Figure 2) that impact
success, strength, and conditioning.
ATHLETE ANALYSIS
The athlete analysis includes a combi-
nation of anthropometric, physical,
and metabolic characteristics
(8,23,39). Within these 3 components,
the SCC is able to identify performance
issues with individual athletes.
The first part of the athlete analysis is
the general description and includes
the typical characteristics of successful
athletes in this sport and at this posi-
tion, including anthropometric charac-
teristics. This allows the SCC to
compare their athlete with elite ath-
letes or others successful in their sport
(8,26). For example, there is a high cor-
relation between lean body mass and
performance in elite rowers. This is
 important to the SCC because they can
improve performance by focusing on
optimizing body composition and
increasing lean body mass (23). On
the other hand, successful long dis-
tance swimmers tend toward a higher
body fat percentage and different body
composition goals than most other
endurance athletes (8).
Testing is used to predict performance
and provide quantitative feedback on
fitness, agility, power, and other per-
formance measurements. SCC must
identify useful tests based on the val-
idity, reliability, and sensitivity for the
specific sport (4). The shuttle run test,
for example, is frequently used for soc-
cer because it closely resembles the
game. Athletes should be compared
with successful athletes in the same
sport and competition level. This
helps both the coach and athlete
establish criteria that are more likely
to lead to success and set realistic per-
formance goals and track progress.
Test results should be tracked across
the athlete’s career to evaluate pro-
gress and training responses to
enhance training individualization
within the season, across seasons,
and over the athlete’s career.
After identifying overarching traits and
tests, the SCC tests their athletes and
compares them with these established
standards. The SCC will use the indi-
vidual athlete’s test results to identify
gaps and weaknesses in the athlete’s
current performance. Once an athlete’s
weak areas have been identified, addi-
tional tests targeting their performance
problems should be included. In the
rock climber, for example, pull-up per-
formance is important, and challenges
Figure 3. The 4 components of the athlete analysis.
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with this can be due to multiple causes
such as grip or latissimus dorsi strength
or a low body weight to strength ratio
(10). Additional testing should be per-
formed to determine the causes of per-
formance problems. The complete
athlete image needs to be considered
and allowances made for individual dif-
ferences. Rock climbers tend to be lean,
for example, but there comes a point
where strength is sacrificed for lean-
ness. A specific athlete may benefit
from gaining strength and therefore
weight to improve performance.
The athlete analysis must also include
a complete medical and injury history.
The SCC can help rehabilitate, reduce
reinjury, and protect against future
injuries by knowing what injuries the
athlete has had and may be predis-
posed to. Overuse injuries, for exam-
ple, can be a result of muscular
imbalances, poor training program
design, and/or poor training tech-
nique, all of which the SCC can
address and remedy (21). In another
example, proprioceptive training is
useful for reducing ankle injury and re-
injury (16).
An aside here about fitting athletes to a
particular anthropometric model and
the psychology of self-image, eating
disorders are more prevalent in ath-
letes than nonathletes (32). Female ath-
letes have the highest prevalence of
eating disorders, especially those who
compete in aesthetic sports and in
events in which having a low body
weight or a lean build tends to be asso-
ciated with success (32). The coaching
and sports medicine staff must join
together in a collaborative effort to rec-
ognize, treat, and prevent eating
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disorders (30). Associated with eating
disorders and/or disordered eating is
relative energy deficiency in sport
(RED-S)—in which what has been
known as the female athlete triad is
included (19). It has been termed
RED-S because men as well as women
can suffer from RED-S, and female ath-
letes do not necessarily have to meet all
3 requirements of the female triad to be
experiencing RED-S. In short, RED-S
is the result of expending more energy
than is being taken in, which in the
long term has detrimental impacts on
health and performance. Athletes suf-
fering from RED-S are at an increased
risk of injuries, stress fractures, osteo-
porosis, endocrine disturbances, over-
training, heart disease, mental illness,
and the premature end to their athletic
career (19). SCC must know the signs
of RED-S and help their athletes walk
the line of training, ideal body compo-
sition, energy demands, and health.
Thus, the athlete analysis includes a
general description of successful ath-
letes in the sport, comparison of the
specific athlete with sport-specific per-
formance standards, identification of
causes of performance problems, and
an injury history. A summary of the 4
components can be found in Figure 3.
GOALS AND PRIORITIES
Goals and priorities are mentioned in
the other components of the needs
analysis; however, because goals are
the pivotal point for the planning of
the strength and conditioning pro-
gram, it is necessary to address them
individually. Establishing goals and
priorities will help direct decision-
making and focus program design-
ing (42).
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 Needs Analysis
The athlete’s long-term, season, and
individual performance goals should
be considered. If the long-term goal is
to make an Olympic team, seasons
leading up to the Olympic year will
have a different focus and performance
schedule than the Olympic season. It is
imperative that the coaches under-
stand the primary goal of the athlete
and communication between the
coach and the athlete is continuous
and clear. For example, sport climbing
was added as an Olympic sport for the
2020 Olympics, and professional boul-
dering athletes were faced with the
decision of pursuing the Olympics
and potentially cancelling international
climbing trips and competitions for a
few years in preparation, changing the
culture that the athlete had previously
been training and competing in (35).
Athletes and coaches must establish
what is best for them during the cur-
rent seasons and long-term goals.
Something often ignored in program
design and that we suggest plays a role
in strength and conditioning program
design are those involved in the ath-
letic program beyond the athletes
and sport coaches. There may be addi-
tional stakeholders involved with the
athlete or team, and these may include
athlete’s parents, school athletic
departments, schools themselves, pro-
fessional team owners, team and pro-
gram sponsors, and fans—all of which
will have expectations, or goals, for the
team and athletes. For example, the
expectations/goals for the level of suc-
cess in athletics is different at a power 5
program than it is at an NAIA pro-
gram. In addition, parents play a
Figure 4. Potential sport stakeholders and the SMARTER acronym for goal setting.
92 VOLUME 43 | NUMBER 5 | OCTOBER 2021
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greater role in high-school sports than
they do professional sports where team
owners and sponsors may seek input
into program outcome/design. Under-
standing the goals of the stakeholders
will impact how much time the SCC
spends on athlete development,
strength programming, team cul-
ture, etc.
Once all the goals have been consid-
ered, priorities need to be established.
The SCC can use the results of the task
and athlete analysis to assist or deter-
mine which goal needs to be priori-
tized because they have a more
comprehensive knowledge of the
event and what will most likely lead
to success for the athlete. If, for exam-
ple, an athlete needs to reduce body fat
and improve running speed, they will
need to establish which goal will be
addressed first. Losing body fat
requires a caloric deficit, which may
increase the risk of muscle mass loss
and impede performance (24,27,37).
An ideal race weight will result in peak
performance; however, it may not be
sustainable for the long term. The SCC
and athlete need to determine the
order of weight loss (rate and magni-
tude as well) and speed development
they want to focus on in their training
and over the strength and conditioning
periodization (24,37). Furthermore,
priorities must be divided into short,
medium, and long-term goals. Achiev-
ing race weight might be an example of
a short-term goal, increasing leg
strength and speed would be a
medium-term goal, and making an
Olympic team would be a long-term
goal. Ultimately, the athlete is the most
important stakeholder and must agree
with the established priorities because
they are the ones doing the work. The
best strength program will not be suc-
cessful if the athlete does not buy in;
therefore, the SCC needs to help the
athlete develop long-term goals and
then work backward so that each
workout and practice is working
toward that goal in some aspect. Estab-
lishing these priorities will allow the
coaches and athlete develop long-
term sustainability for the athlete’s
training.
Using the SMART acronym for goal
setting will help the SCC establish
performance-specific goals for their
athlete based on the cumulative goals
set by all stakeholders. SMART goals
are specific, increase sprint perfor-
mance by approximately 3% through
strength and conditioning program-
ming; measurable, time of sprint per-
formance at baseline and after
intervention; attainable, lower-body
strength is associated with improved
sprint performance, therefore develop-
ing a lower-body strength plan; rele-
vant, improving sprint performance
for a soccer player; and time-based
goals, improving sprint performance
by 3% over the preseason. We have
added 2 levels to SMART goals to
make them SMARTER (18). “E” rep-
resents engaged in that the athlete
should be engaged, the athlete is moti-
vated and is willing to engage in the
strength program to improve sprint
performance, or buy-in, to the goal—it
must be meaningful to the athlete for
them to effectively pursue the goal.
The second “R” represents reward
 Figure 5. Resources and constraints analysis.
and indicates what the short-term and
long-term rewards are for achieving
the goal, the ability to out-sprint the
opponents for the current season and
making the starting team for the fol-
lowing year or getting their name on
the wall of fame for squat performance
(Figure 4).
RESOURCES AND CONSTRAINTS
This section of the analysis is the prac-
tical identification of the resources
available to the athlete and/or the
team as well as the constraints
imposed when resources are limited—
whether they are monetary, financial,
facility, time, etc. (41).
Facilities can be both a resource and a
constraint. Facility size, orientation,
spacing, and available equipment will
ultimately determine what can or can-
not be included in a training program
(17). Club sport basketball teams may
have to share a court, for example,
requiring the SCC to schedule training
around court availability. Facilities
available to the team and athlete will
determine how a strength program will
be designed, for example, the facilities
available to a high-school football team
in a low-income inner city or rural high
school may be vastly different than the
facilities available to a high-income
rural or suburban high school football
team. Team access to a weight room
may also be a factor as weight room
availability may be during regular prac-
tice time, and the SCC may need to
work with athletes before school or
after practice.
A part of the facilities question relates
to what equipment is available, and the
Copyright © National Strength and Conditioning Association. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
coach must adjust for equipment avail-
ability. For example, DB complexes or
hex bar jumps may have to be
substituted for weightlifting variations
if there is no access to bumper plates,
platforms, or a bar that spins appropri-
ately. Another example is working
with club lacrosse where all training
is performed on the playing field after
practice—equipment is limited to what
the coach and athletes can carry to the
field. This also illustrates the impor-
tance of mastering the basics of exer-
cise progressions or regressions
because variations may need to be im-
plemented based on available facilities
and equipment (17).
Time constraints are also a consider-
ation. The athlete and/or team calen-
dar, meeting times, and duration of
meetings must be identified. The
rules regarding how much time
coaches can spend with their athletes
needs to be identified and under-
stood. Many high-school coaches
cannot have contact with their ath-
letes on Sundays, for example, and
college coaches must submit to a
weekly hour constraint (11). The
SCC must know the rules regarding
the contact hours, dates, and number
of games that can be played in a sea-
son and tournament.
The financial status of the team and
athletes must be noted as well as
who is funding the athlete. A Division
II college swim team may be responsi-
ble for some of their fundraising
endeavors, or a high-school team
may not have the financial resources
to travel to overnight games or tourna-
ments. In most club sports, the parents
Strength and Conditioning Journal | www.nsca-scj.com
of the athlete pay for everything;
therefore, the economic status of indi-
vidual families will determine the
team’s resources. If coaches are respon-
sible for fundraising for a team that
may impact practice times, schedules,
equipment, and facilities. Many profes-
sional athletes are sponsored; those
sponsors have expectations and
requirements for the athletes, which
will impact training, recovery, and
competition availability and schedules.
Any competing interests between
the stakeholders need to be identi-
fied and discussed, and a solution
or compromise developed. The
SCC must consider the available
resources and constraints when
developing a training program.
Beyond time limits, a poorly equip-
ped weight room will require a dif-
ferent training program, and perhaps
more creativity, than a weight room
with all of the perfectly desired
equipment and availability. When
equipment and facilities are limited,
mastery of the basics of exercise pro-
gressions or regressions becomes
more important (Figure 5).
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Using this systematic approach for
conducting a needs analysis will
help the SCC be successful in
designing and implementing a long-
term training program. The needs
analysis should be revisited fre-
quently and updated when neces-
sary. In summary, the SCC should
perform a task analysis, describe suc-
cessful athletes and assess the cur-
rent athlete, clarify the goals and
93
 Needs Analysis
expected outcomes, and identify
resources and constraints to help
them develop the best possible
strength and conditioning program.
Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding:
The authors report no conflicts of interest
and no source of funding.
Karis Scroggs
is currently pur-
suing a Master’s
of Kinesiology,
Biophysical
Studies, at Boise
State University.
Shawn R.
Simonson is a
Professor and the
Director of the
Human Perfor-
mance Laboratory
in the Department
of Kinesiology at
Boise State
University.
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