3 answers
Leslie
Student
Grundy Center, Iowa
3
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Can coaching be a career without being a coach as a college level?
#career #sports
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3 answers
Bruce Overby
Business Operations Manager
11
Answers
Los Altos, California
Updated
Bruce’s Answer
Leslie,
You absolutely can make a living as a sports coach without coaching in college. In fact, you can make a living without coaching for a school at all.
Opportunities vary widely depending on what sport you choose, what your own level of achievement has been in that sport, and what type of coaching you want to do.
It probably goes without saying that the sport you choose should definitely be the sport you're most passionate about. However, one shouldn't assume at a young age that the sport they love, for instance, in high school will be the sport they love forever. In my case, I was a champion swimmer in high school, and I do still swim for fitness, but I learned early in my college years that the sport I was most passionate about was basketball. If I were to pursue coaching now (which I have considered doing), I'd probably want to coach basketball rather than swimming.
Unfortunately for me, the fact that I never played basketball competitively, with the exception of years of competing in adult leagues, would make it harder for me to get a job in that sport. If I were a member of a successful college team or a former professional player, I'd be much more interesting to the schools and clubs--and, increasingly, individuals (see below)--who hire coaches. My multiple league titles in swimming, by contrast, would put me in good stead in that sport. All that said, high achievement in competition is not at all a prerequisite to getting a coaching job, nor does it mean you'll be a better coach. It just makes that first step of breaking in a little easier.
In terms of the types of coaching you want to do, different sports have different coaching needs, and the coaching profession, in general, has gotten more specialized over time and continues to do so. When I was swimming, we had a single coach who handled all aspects of our training and meet-day preparation and consultation, whereas today, a swim team might have a speed coach, a technique coach, and a strength and fitness coach. My nephew is a former professional cyclist who has now had a long career has an assistant team director for the professional cycling team he used to ride for. At a given race, he might find himself driving or riding in the team car out on the road, overseeing the riders' preparation before the start of the race, or waiting at the finish line to oversee a post-race cooldown. As you can see--and as you probably know from experiencing coaching in your chosen sport--the work you do on a daily basis as a coach varies widely depending on the sport and what you personally bring to the table.
The coaching game is diversifying in other ways, too, leading to new opportunities. My wife, for instance, started running marathons at the age of 50--something that is surprisingly common for people of our generation--and she now has a personal running coach (see https://www.coachnaomi.com/). The YMCA I go to offers, for an added fee, personal basketball coaching for kids. These kinds of one-on-one coaching opportunities are now increasingly available to skilled coaches, making it more and more feasible to make a living from a combination of coaching roles beyond the traditional high school teacher/coach or highly paid college team coach.
Think hard about what you love most about sports, and by extension, what you think you will love most about coaching. This will help you determine what kind of coach you'd like to be.
Look into the coaching profession, and specific coaching jobs, on resources like Zippia: https://www.zippia.com/athletic-coach-jobs/.
Get a better understanding of the coaching industry as a whole with resources like those offered on IBISWorld.com: https://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/market-research-reports/sports-coaching-industry/.
You absolutely can make a living as a sports coach without coaching in college. In fact, you can make a living without coaching for a school at all.
Opportunities vary widely depending on what sport you choose, what your own level of achievement has been in that sport, and what type of coaching you want to do.
It probably goes without saying that the sport you choose should definitely be the sport you're most passionate about. However, one shouldn't assume at a young age that the sport they love, for instance, in high school will be the sport they love forever. In my case, I was a champion swimmer in high school, and I do still swim for fitness, but I learned early in my college years that the sport I was most passionate about was basketball. If I were to pursue coaching now (which I have considered doing), I'd probably want to coach basketball rather than swimming.
Unfortunately for me, the fact that I never played basketball competitively, with the exception of years of competing in adult leagues, would make it harder for me to get a job in that sport. If I were a member of a successful college team or a former professional player, I'd be much more interesting to the schools and clubs--and, increasingly, individuals (see below)--who hire coaches. My multiple league titles in swimming, by contrast, would put me in good stead in that sport. All that said, high achievement in competition is not at all a prerequisite to getting a coaching job, nor does it mean you'll be a better coach. It just makes that first step of breaking in a little easier.
In terms of the types of coaching you want to do, different sports have different coaching needs, and the coaching profession, in general, has gotten more specialized over time and continues to do so. When I was swimming, we had a single coach who handled all aspects of our training and meet-day preparation and consultation, whereas today, a swim team might have a speed coach, a technique coach, and a strength and fitness coach. My nephew is a former professional cyclist who has now had a long career has an assistant team director for the professional cycling team he used to ride for. At a given race, he might find himself driving or riding in the team car out on the road, overseeing the riders' preparation before the start of the race, or waiting at the finish line to oversee a post-race cooldown. As you can see--and as you probably know from experiencing coaching in your chosen sport--the work you do on a daily basis as a coach varies widely depending on the sport and what you personally bring to the table.
The coaching game is diversifying in other ways, too, leading to new opportunities. My wife, for instance, started running marathons at the age of 50--something that is surprisingly common for people of our generation--and she now has a personal running coach (see https://www.coachnaomi.com/). The YMCA I go to offers, for an added fee, personal basketball coaching for kids. These kinds of one-on-one coaching opportunities are now increasingly available to skilled coaches, making it more and more feasible to make a living from a combination of coaching roles beyond the traditional high school teacher/coach or highly paid college team coach.
Bruce recommends the following next steps:
Matthew Roque-Paskow
30
Answers
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Updated
Matthew’s Answer
Depending on what state you live in coaching at the high school level can be considered a full time job. For example, most public schools in Florida hire their coaches as teachers as well, so they make their income as a teacher and a small stipend as a coach. Private school are more likely to offer full time coaching positions.
Get started by emailing all your local high schools asking if you can just volunteer/ shadow. It is a great way to get your foot in the door.
Get started by emailing all your local high schools asking if you can just volunteer/ shadow. It is a great way to get your foot in the door.
Megan Bludau
Human Resources
9
Answers
Houston, Texas
Updated
Megan’s Answer
Hi Leslie! Can you share more with me? There are a lot of coaching professions outside of the college level. There are coaches at many public and private schools teaching young kids through high school. Is this what you're interested in?