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?
Coaches teach amateur and professional athletes the skills they need to succeed at their sport. Scouts look for new players, evaluating their skills and likelihood for success at the college, amateur, or professional level. Many coaches are also involved in scouting potential athletes.
DutiesCoaches typically do the following:
Coaches teach professional and amateur athletes the fundamental skills of individual and team sports. They hold training and practice sessions to improve the athletes' form, technique, skills, and stamina. Along with refining athletes’ individual skills, coaches are also responsible for instilling in their players the importance of good sportsmanship, a competitive spirit, and teamwork.
Many coaches evaluate their opponents to determine game strategies and to establish specific plays to practice. During competition, coaches call specific plays intended to surprise or overpower the opponent, and they may substitute players for optimum team chemistry and success.
Many high school coaches are primarily academic teachers or other school administrators who supplement their income by coaching part time.
Some people who teach the fundamental skills of individual and teams sports may be known as sports instructors rather than coaches. Like coaches, sports instructors hold practice sessions, assign specific drills, and correct athletes' techniques. They may spend their time working one-on-one with athletes, designing customized training programs for each individual. Sports instructors may specialize in teaching athletes the skills of an individual sport, such as tennis, golf, or karate. Some sports instructors, such as pitching instructors in baseball, may teach individual athletes involved in team sports.
However, many sports instructors work with people who simply have an interest in learning a new sport rather than athletes competing in events. For example, a skiing instructor may give individual or group lessons to those interested in learning how to ski.
Scouts typically do the following:
Scouts evaluate the skills of both amateur and professional athletes. Scouts seek out top athletic candidates for colleges or professional teams and evaluate their likelihood of success at a higher competitive level.
Coaches and scouts typically need a bachelor’s degree. They must also have extensive knowledge of the sport. Coaches typically gain this knowledge through their own experiences playing the sport at some level. Although previous playing experience may be beneficial, it is not required for most scouting jobs.
EducationCollege and professional coaches must usually have a bachelor’s degree. This degree can typically be in any subject. However, some coaches may decide to study exercise and sports science, physiology, kinesiology, nutrition and fitness, physical education, and sports medicine.
High schools typically hire teachers or administrators at the school for most coaching jobs. If no suitable teacher is found, schools hire a qualified candidate from outside the school. For more information on education requirements for teachers, see the profile on high school teachers.
Scouts must also typically have a bachelor’s degree. Some scouts decide to get a degree in business, marketing, sales, or sports management.
Other ExperienceCollege and professional coaching jobs also typically require experience playing the sport at some level.
Scouting jobs typically do not require experience playing a sport at the college or professional level, but it can be beneficial. Employers look for applicants with a passion for sports and an ability to spot young players who have exceptional athletic ability and skills.
Licenses, Certifications, and RegistrationsMost state high school athletic associations require coaches to be certified or at least complete mandatory education courses.
Certification often requires coaches to be a minimum age (at least 18 years old) and be trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid. Some states also require coaches to attend classes related to sports safety and coaching fundamentals prior to becoming certified. For information of specific state coaching requirements, contact the state’s high school athletic association or visit the National Association of State Boards of Education.
Although most public high school coaches need to meet these state requirements in order to become a coach, certification may not be required for coaching and sports instructor jobs in private schools.
Some schools may require coaches to have a teaching license and complete a background check.
Certification requirements for college coaching positions also vary.
Additional certification may be highly desirable or even required in order to become an instructor in scuba diving, tennis, golf, karate, or other individual sports. There are many certifying organizations specific to the various sports, and their requirements vary.
Part-time workers and those in smaller facilities or youth leagues are less likely to need formal education or training and may not need certification.
AdvancementTo reach the ranks of professional coaches, a candidate usually needs years of coaching experience and a winning record at a college. Some coaches may not have previous coaching experience but are nevertheless hired at the professional level due to their success as an athlete in that sport.
Some college coaches begin their careers as graduate assistants or assistant coaches to gain the knowledge and experience needed to become a head coach. Large schools and colleges that compete at the highest levels require a head coach with substantial experience at another school or as an assistant coach.
Other college coaches may start out as high school coaches before moving up to the collegiate level.
Scouts may begin working as talent spotters in a particular area or region. They typically advance to become supervising scouts responsible for a whole territory or region.
Important QualitiesCommunication skills. Because coaches instruct, organize, and motivate athletes, they must have excellent communication skills. They must effectively communicate proper techniques, strategies, and rules of the sport so every player on the team understands.
Decisionmaking skills. Coaches must choose the appropriate players to use at a given position at a given time during a game and know the proper time to utilize game-managing tools such as timeouts. Coaches and scouts also must be very selective when recruiting players from lower levels of athletics.
Dedication. Coaches must attend daily practices and assist their team and individual athletes in improving their skills and physical conditioning. Coaches must be dedicated to their sport, as it often takes years to become successful.
Interpersonal skills. Being able to relate to athletes helps coaches and scouts foster positive relationships with their current players and recruit potential players.
Leadership skills. Coaches must demonstrate good leadership skills to get the most out of athletes. They also must be able to motivate, develop, and direct young athletes.
Resourcefulness. Coaches must find a strategy and develop a game plan that yields the best chances for winning. Coaches often need to create original plays or formations that provide a competitive advantage and confuse opponents.
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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 team leader you might progress to a role such as manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title district manager.
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Job TitleCompany![]() ![]() | Company![]() ![]() | Start Date![]() ![]() | Salary![]() ![]() |
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YMCA of Greater Kansas City Healthy Living Coach Healthy Living Coach | YMCA of Greater Kansas City YMCA of Greater Kansas City | 01/30/2021 01/30/2021 | $26,12901/30/2021 $26,129 |
Mesilla Valley Transportation Camera Coach Camera Coach | Mesilla Valley Transportation Mesilla Valley Transportation | 01/28/2021 01/28/2021 | $38,00001/28/2021 $38,000 |
Mesilla Valley Transportation Camera Coach Camera Coach | Mesilla Valley Transportation Mesilla Valley Transportation | 01/28/2021 01/28/2021 | $35,00001/28/2021 $35,000 |
Santa Cruz City Schools Playground Recess Coach-S.-Delaveaga Elementary Playground Recess Coach-S.-Delaveaga Elementary | Santa Cruz City Schools Santa Cruz City Schools | 01/27/2021 01/27/2021 | $37,42001/27/2021 $37,420 |
Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health Behavior Coach ! Behavior Coach ! | Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health | 01/27/2021 01/27/2021 | $31,30501/27/2021 $31,305 |
Use Zippia's Salary Calculator to see how your pay matches up.
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming a Coach. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write a Coach Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Coach resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationEvanston, IL • Private
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Bakersfield, CA • Public
San Diego, CA • Public
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Minneapolis, MN • Public
Chapel Hill, NC • Public
Charlottesville, VA • Public
Champaign, IL • Public
Washington, DC • Private
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, 23.3% of coaches listed customer service on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and dedication are important as well.
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a coach. The best states for people in this position are New Jersey, New York, Hawaii, and Wyoming. Coaches make the most in New Jersey with an average salary of $63,978. Whereas in New York and Hawaii, they would average $55,245 and $55,070, respectively. While coaches would only make an average of $53,612 in Wyoming, 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. Wyoming
$53,613
Avg. Salary
2. New Jersey
$63,978
Avg. Salary
3. Arizona
$49,499
Avg. Salary
We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ coaches and discovered their number of coach opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that YMCA of Greater Indianapolis was the best, especially with an average salary of $25,044. Sitel follows up with an average salary of $61,500, and then comes Amazon.com with an average of $57,713. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a coach. The employers include WellSpan Health, Assurant, and Humana