I get asked all the time whats the difference between a Strength & Conditioning Coach and a Personal Trainer. So I figured I'd take a bit of time and lay out some of the differences here to give you a better idea.
1) Who we work with
As an S&C coach, we are a lot more targeted in who we train. Thats not to say we only look after elite athletes, that couldn't be further from the truth. But we look after people with athletic goals, as well as Special Populations. A PT on the other hand will generally only work with General Populations. Thats not to say that they can't specialise in a niche, but all in all they are generalists.
2) What is a Special Population
When I say Special, I'm not talking about when your mum says your their special little guy. Special is a term for those that are a bit different from the general population. This can be the disabled, elderly, children and of course your athletes. Special populations generally aren't interested in just weight loss.
3) Specific Goals
This is probably one of the biggest differences between an S&C and a PT. We each have different goals. I'm slightly unique in that I'm doing work in both areas so I can fully see the difference.
As a PT, 99% of my clients just want to be fitter and happier. Thats not to say that they are easier to work with, they can be just as challenging as an athlete as often times they don't have the willpower and dedication that an athlete has. But the goals are simple, loose weight, live a great life.
Where as with my S&C work, each athlete has a different goal in mind. My track runners need to be fast in their event, maybe its endurance. My beach runners need to be lightning fast over 70m, my flag racers need to be fast over 15m and be able to change direction.
With S&C I'm not only training them to be fast and explosive, I'm anticipating injury and doing pre-hab on it before it happens. For example, in a flag race the instance of a torn hip flexor is incredibly high. So I'm building resiliance in my guys to have bullet proof groins and hips so that they don't blow this mid race. Same with shoulder injuries, these races are violent and viscious. If your shoulders and neck are weak, you're going to get hurt.
I hope this helps, or is at least interesting for those that were wondering. If theres anything you'd like me to write about, let me know in the comments.