An excellent suggestion.
Member
A humble suggestion
Have you ever thought about posting a short announcement when a new crop of people pass their written test, and become SSCC's? I know after the seminar I was at, I was wondering who passed. The first indication that Sean passed was when Kyle posted something -- and I think that may have been before his forum title was officially changed. I don't know if anyone else did from that seminar, but I'm curious. I'm also very interested to see if Kyle passes this time around, even though I've never met him.
It just seems that it's a significant accomplishment, and it feels like it should be celebrated a little more widely than it is today.
TMPHBITEU
An excellent suggestion.
Member
While we're on the subject, I've often thought it would also be nice if forum members who've attended the seminar could somehow be identified as having done so. It could just be something different than 'member', and I suppose a possible requirement might also be that you go by your actual name. It might encourage more people to attend, and would also let people know that a person offering advice or opinions in a discussion has at least been presented with the material and method.
Further on the topic... the search function for SSCs, found here, needs some work. For example, searching by "USA" brings up a bunch of results, while searching "united states" brings up just 3, who are not included on the other list. Obviously the search is quite literal.
This makes it difficult, especially in somewhere like Europe.
Probably at this stage it'd be better just to have a list of all the coaches, like,
Europe
BelgiumNorth America
France
Germany
Netherlands
Canada
United States
Alaska
Alabama
[etc]
so people could just scan down.
Or if that's too much trouble, just a list with their current info - name as link to forum profile or webpage, city, state, country - and people can visually search, or ctrl+f, and figure it out themselves.
Obviously if in future we have 1,000 SSCs it's a different matter. But with less than 100 (at least among those choosing to be listed), a simple list would do.
TMPHBITEU
You'll have the opportunity to help us fix this next week. Bring your computer.
Member
This isn't the worse suggestion, but it would also necessitate the difference between people who were close to passing and those who failed miserably. It might be best just to keep it with those who are certified.Originally Posted by hollismb
Member
Not everybody goes to the seminar in pursuit of the certification, which seems to be a common misconception that this type of identification might help clear up. Some people are there simply because they're serious about their training, and just want to learn as much as possible. That was certainly true in my case, and only 3 or 4 out of about 25 people in the seminar that I attended asked to be considered.
In addition, how often do we see advice or arguments on this forum coming from people who have had no exposure to the material/method? We can't make everybody prove that they've read the books and articles, nor I am I suggesting we should immediately discount the opinions of those who haven't, but some sort of identification for those who've attended would not only be a nice little bonus, but also help point out those that are willing to put their money where their mouth is, so to speak.
Member
You are correct that not everyone goes to the seminar to gain certification, but adding "Attendee" to their name gives them credence as what? Certified light? Certified coaches have continuing education. What is the continuing education of an Attendee?
I went to a seminar about two and a half years ago. Only one person gained certification. Of the other twenty-four attendees, how many bought the newest editions of Starting Strength and Practical Programming and read them? How many coached before the seminar? How many started coaching afterwards? How many passed the platform, but not the essay? How many had pretty good essays?
What if you only filled your car with oil somewhat? Do you measure once and cut twice? If you can't tie a knot, do you tie a lot? Can you be sort of pregnant? Would you go to a doctor who only took a couple of semesters of medical school?
This is all a little too close to a Participation Award for me.
✓ Member
Man. Just how much recognition and validation is needed? Perhaps I could come up with the equivalent of campaign ribbons that the military and some police departments use. Would that make anyone feel better about themselves?
I attended a seminar. I was not deemed talented or skilled enough to be invited to take the exam. Which I would no doubt have failed in any event. I don't need baby step recognition. If I make the cut for SSC, I'll be happy. This place is not some martial arts belt and diploma mill designed to make money or publish feel good appellations so others can know how awesome they are on the way to glory.
Member
These are all still questions of certification, not attendance, and I feel like I've already addressed them above. But, what would it hurt? Now I know, because he told me, that Clay attended the seminar, and therefore is less likely to be a keyboard jockeying internet troll. Maybe.
Uh, what? Has Clay ever been shown how to change the oil in his car? Did he ever take shop class, even if his elephant lamp didn't turn on when he pulled the trunk? Did someone teach him how to tie his shoelaces despite the fact they're undone now? Has he ever lain with a woman? Does the marathon not count if you didn't finish first? What do you call the guy that graduated at the bottom of his class in medical school? What are we even talking about?
Well, that's all it is if the only value you assign to having attended a 3 day seminar that 'features an in-depth examination of the physiology, biomechanics, and execution of the 5 basic barbell exercises at a level of detail unavailable in any other seminar in the industry' is the piece of paper they gave you at the end of it, but that seems like a huge waste of time and money to me.
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