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Basketball coaches prepare a team of basketball players to compete in a basketball game. The game could be a college game, a league game, or a professional basketball game depending on where and who you're working with. As a basketball coach, it is your responsibility to recruit players, train them, prepare strategies for the game, and get your players ready for the game. You will also be managing all administrative activities of the job, and it is your responsibility to make sure your team understands the game and the rules of the game. As you will have assistant(s), you are to supervise them.

You must have leadership skills, you must be detail-oriented, and you must be able to focus for a long period. You must also be self-motivated, be physically fit, and should have a solid understanding of the game. Most basketball coaches have a bachelor's degree in health education, kinesiology, and other related courses, but experience with basketball is highly required. You will earn an average of $40,645 per year.

What Does a Basketball Coach Do

There are certain skills that many basketball coaches have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, dedication and interpersonal skills.

Learn more about what a Basketball Coach does

How To Become a Basketball Coach

If you're interested in becoming a basketball coach, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 68.1% of basketball coaches have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 8.2% of basketball coaches have master's degrees. Even though most basketball coaches have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Career Path For a Basketball Coach

In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of coach you might progress to a role such as team leader eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title education director.

Basketball Coach

Average Salary for a Basketball Coach

Basketball Coaches in America make an average salary of $44,858 per year or $22 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $68,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $29,000 per year.
Average Basketball Coach Salary
$44,858 Yearly
$21.57 hourly

What Am I Worth?

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Roles and Types of Basketball Coach

There are several types of basketball coach, including:

Coach

Role:

While you may have grown up resenting your basketball coach for making you run so much, you probably realize now how important they were in your life. Did you know that coaches have an odd schedule when it comes to earning their paycheck? Instead of working 9-5, they often work evenings, weekends and holidays.

On top of that, coaches are relied on for working more than your average 40 hours a week, especially during the sports season. So on top of supporting, encouraging and motivating their players, coaches also work crazy hours. This perspective makes you have a little more respect for your high school tennis coach, doesn't it?
  • Average Salary: $42,716
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Head Coach

Role:

Head coaches have a lot of responsibility on their plates. From making sure their athletes are in shape to scouting the other teams and watching video from last night's game. During the offseason, coaches have a pretty lax schedule. But when it's season, expect to have some crazy hours.

If you're expecting to make a paycheck, head coaches work more than the average 40 hours a week. From evenings, weekends and even holidays, it can be assumed that during the season you not only coach that sport, but you eat, sleep and breathe that sport. You know what they say. Ball is life.
  • Average Salary: $44,062
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Soccer Coach

Role:

Soccer coaches are majorly former players that want to pass on their knowledge and skills by coaching in colleges and schools and as well as in amateur and professional soccer clubs. As a soccer coach, you are to manage a team of players by providing and guiding them with strategies to win as a team. Your duty primarily is to develop plans and programs that will help the players to understand and appreciate the game better. In order to do this, you must facilitate training and practice sections that will sharpen their skills. It is your duty to encourage them and emphasize the value of sportsmanship and teamwork. Evaluation of players' progress as an individual and as a team is your responsibility. Furthermore, you are to maintain a healthy and safe environment for everyone. Aside from all of this, you are to lead the team to consecutive unprecedented championship game appearances.

Most soccer coaches study health education, business, or kinesiology. You should be making an average salary of $44,768 per year. Besides the skills, you must be physically fit and must understand soccer tactics and strategies to help your trainees grow.

  • Average Salary: $43,616
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most Basketball Coach Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active basketball coach jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where basketball coaches earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Basketball Coach Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California550$53,510
2Texas365$46,808
3Arizona304$41,906
4New York291$57,628
5Illinois251$43,721
6Florida227$39,519
7Minnesota222$42,700
8Michigan217$40,396
9Colorado203$42,323
10Pennsylvania181$52,093
11Connecticut177$49,207
12Massachusetts164$54,366
13North Carolina159$41,638
14Ohio158$31,056
15Georgia147$38,125
16New Jersey145$56,873
17Iowa145$34,250
18Missouri143$37,828
19Louisiana139$41,768
20Virginia137$46,554
21Indiana131$40,793
22Kansas118$26,251
23Maryland105$42,028
24Oregon94$42,359
25Washington93$38,092
26Montana82$26,895
27South Carolina81$48,838
28Kentucky74$34,251
29Alabama59$42,596
30Tennessee57$38,415
31New Hampshire54$40,359
32Utah54$31,560
33Nebraska46$45,316
34Wisconsin45$35,276
35Oklahoma44$35,992
36New Mexico40$44,810
37Wyoming39$23,621
38Idaho38$33,517
39Nevada35$45,331
40Hawaii32$53,538
41Delaware27$52,377
42North Dakota26$38,483
43Mississippi21$45,424
44Rhode Island18$51,809
45Arkansas18$35,662
46South Dakota17$28,211
47Maine13$41,800
48Vermont11$47,887
49Alaska10$46,017
50West Virginia8$52,351

Basketball Coach Education

Basketball Coach Majors

15.9 %

Basketball Coach Degrees

Bachelors

68.1 %

Associate

12.3 %

High School Diploma

9.0 %

Top Colleges for Basketball Coachs

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

2. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

3. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,309

Enrollment

9,142

4. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

5. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

6. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-State Tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

7. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

8. University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA • Private

In-State Tuition

$17,653

Enrollment

16,405

9. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$15,094

Enrollment

32,974

10. Howard University

Washington, DC • Private

In-State Tuition

$26,756

Enrollment

6,166

Top Skills For a Basketball Coach

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 23.1% of basketball coaches listed cpr on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and dedication are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Basketball Coach Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Basketball Coach templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Basketball Coach resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Basketball Coach diversity

Basketball Coach Gender Distribution

Male
Male
77%
Female
Female
24%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among basketball coaches, 23.5% of them are women, while 76.5% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among basketball coaches is White, which makes up 66.6% of all basketball coaches.

  • The most common foreign language among basketball coaches is Spanish at 62.1%.

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Best States For a Basketball Coach

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a basketball coach. The best states for people in this position are New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Hawaii. Basketball coaches make the most in New York with an average salary of $57,628. Whereas in New Jersey and Massachusetts, they would average $56,873 and $54,366, respectively. While basketball coaches would only make an average of $53,538 in Hawaii, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. New York

Total Basketball Coach Jobs: 291
Highest 10% Earn:
$96,000
Location Quotient:
1.1

2. District of Columbia

Total Basketball Coach Jobs: 50
Highest 10% Earn:
$94,000
Location Quotient:
1.45

3. New Jersey

Total Basketball Coach Jobs: 145
Highest 10% Earn:
$95,000
Location Quotient:
0.89
Full List Of Best States For Basketball Coaches

How Do Basketball Coaches Rate Their Jobs?

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Top Basketball Coach Employers

Most Common Employers For Basketball Coach

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Chicago Public Schools$55,140$26.516
2Sussex Co. Public Schools$51,053$24.547
3Clark County School District$50,999$24.526
4City of Davis$50,684$24.3711
5IMG Academy$48,491$23.318
6Indianapolis Public Schools$47,505$22.846
7Monroe County Community School$47,212$22.706
8Milwaukee Public Schools$47,035$22.618
9Jewish Community Center Inc$46,419$22.3211
10Football.com$46,419$22.327

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