What is a Head Coach?

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.

What Does a Head Coach Do

There are certain skills that many head 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 Head Coach does

How To Become a Head Coach

If you're interested in becoming a head coach, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 73.1% of head coaches have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 11.0% of head coaches have master's degrees. Even though most head coaches have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Head Coach
Top Head Coach Jobs Near You

Head Coach Career Paths

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 physical education teacher you might progress to a role such as special education teacher eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title director.

Head Coach

Average Salary for a Head Coach

Head Coaches in America make an average salary of $44,062 per year or $21 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $63,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $30,000 per year.
Average Head Coach Salary
$44,062 Yearly
$21.18 hourly
See More Salary Information

What Am I Worth?

salary-calculator

Roles and Types of Head Coach

The role of a head coach includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general head coach responsibilities:

  • Responsible for all aspects of managing a single medium to large volume store manage people, store operations
  • 1. Implement team philosophy and strategy for excellence on the court. Oversee the community club squash program plan
  • To assist in maintaining high academic standards for all student athletes. To assist the athletic director

There are several types of head 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

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

Basketball Coach

Role:

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.

  • Average Salary: $44,858
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree
View More

States With The Most Head Coach Jobs

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

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Head Coach Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California973$46,666
2Texas580$43,750
3New York530$57,551
4Illinois373$41,018
5Florida359$42,807
6Arizona350$41,608
7Massachusetts347$56,996
8Pennsylvania297$48,700
9Colorado286$39,824
10Michigan266$40,095
11North Carolina256$42,285
12Georgia250$35,177
13Minnesota246$47,170
14Connecticut233$53,543
15New Jersey216$53,744
16Ohio216$36,861
17Virginia214$48,489
18Missouri193$37,838
19Iowa192$34,008
20Washington190$40,176
21Indiana173$40,671
22Louisiana168$45,447
23Maryland167$39,213
24Tennessee162$39,099
25Kansas142$26,433
26Oregon140$46,233
27Kentucky112$33,688
28South Carolina97$47,735
29Utah94$31,860
30Montana83$28,479
31New Hampshire82$43,197
32Alabama77$39,087
33Wisconsin72$35,706
34Idaho55$34,569
35New Mexico52$43,772
36Delaware50$50,523
37Nebraska49$46,037
38Oklahoma49$35,788
39Rhode Island48$53,369
40Mississippi44$45,993
41Nevada40$44,229
42Wyoming39$24,330
43Hawaii37$53,197
44Maine35$47,091
45Arkansas35$35,455
46North Dakota24$40,669
47Alaska20$49,788
48South Dakota20$29,158
49Vermont18$52,976
50West Virginia12$57,351

Head Coach Education

Head Coach Majors

Kinesiology
17.1 %
Business
14.0 %
Health Education
9.3 %

Head Coach Degrees

Bachelors

73.1 %

Masters

11.0 %

Associate

8.6 %

Top Colleges for Head 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 Head 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, 31.1% of head coaches listed cpr on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and dedication are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Head Coach Resume templates

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

Head Coach Resume
Head Coach Resume
Head Coach Resume
Head Coach Resume
Head Coach Resume
Head Coach Resume
Head Coach Resume
Head Coach Resume
Head Coach Resume
Head Coach Resume
Head Coach Resume
Head Coach Resume
Head Coach Resume
Head Coach Resume
Head Coach Resume
Head Coach Resume

Head Coach diversity

Head Coach Gender Distribution

Male
Male
66%
Female
Female
34%

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

  • Among head coaches, 33.7% of them are women, while 66.3% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among head coaches is White, which makes up 66.0% of all head coaches.

  • The most common foreign language among head coaches is Spanish at 56.7%.

Online Courses For Head Coach That You May Like

Advertising Disclosure  

1. Coaching Practices

coursera

In order for coaching to be most effective, it’s important that there is strong culture of coaching and accountability which you will learn how to incorporate into your one-on-one meetings in this course. We’ll discuss strategies in coaching great employees who are highly motivated, consistent performers, and poor performers. We’ll explore specific tools, such as a coaching agenda, you can employ immediately in your coaching conversations. You will learn how to use the "Coaching Algebra"...

2. Financial Planning Coaching Certification Holistic Coaching

udemy
4.3
(1,151)

Financial Planning Coaching Practitioner Course Graduates Prepared Professionals in Holistic Financial Planning Coaching...

3. Coaching Business Plan How to Start a Life Coaching Business

udemy
4
(291)

Coaching Business Plan for Life Coaches with Coaching Vision Coaching Niche Coaching Clients Marketing Plan for Coaching...

Show More Online Courses For Head Coach
Job type you want
Full Time
Part Time
Internship
Temporary

Best States For a Head Coach

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a head coach. The best states for people in this position are New York, West Virginia, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. Head coaches make the most in New York with an average salary of $57,551. Whereas in West Virginia and Massachusetts, they would average $57,351 and $56,996, respectively. While head coaches would only make an average of $53,744 in New Jersey, 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. Connecticut

Total Head Coach Jobs: 233
Highest 10% Earn:
$82,000
Location Quotient:
2.27

$53,543

Avg. Salary

View 233 Head Coach Jobs In CT

2. New York

Total Head Coach Jobs: 530
Highest 10% Earn:
$88,000
Location Quotient:
1.34

$57,551

Avg. Salary

View 530 Head Coach Jobs In NY

3. Massachusetts

Total Head Coach Jobs: 347
Highest 10% Earn:
$87,000
Location Quotient:
1.22

$56,996

Avg. Salary

View 347 Head Coach Jobs In MA
Full List Of Best States For Head Coaches

How Do Head Coaches Rate Their Jobs?

3/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Head Coach Reviews

3.0
Apr 2019
Pros

Working with individual players in one on one lessons. That's when I get a real chance to find out what knowledge the athlete is bringing to practice, who taught him that, and how and why it may work or not be the best technique available. I am about as nuanced a coach as you could get. The game of football is one of mental fortitude, discipline, and preparation. Raw athleticism, circus catches and big hits or helmet to helmet collisions.

Cons

I don't like parents getting involved or attempting to persuade coaching decisions such as play playing time and depth chart seeding. What I would allow for is any of my concerned parents (at any potential public school) who wouldn't ordinarily come watch practice and see the way the coaching staff interacts with your student athlete as we will go through a proper tackling methods clinic for LB/defensive backs, different types of blocking for the offensive and even the multiple defensive pash rush techniques that are now able to be implemented by a modern football coach.

Working as a Head Coach? Share your experience anonymously.
Overall Rating*
Career Growth
Work/Life balance
Pay/Salary

Top Head Coach Employers

Most Common Employers For Head Coach

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1National Football League$54,108$26.0111
2Castilleja School$52,999$25.4813
3Varsity Bus$49,582$23.8448
4Football.com$47,866$23.0123
5Women's Basketball Coaches Association$47,718$22.9419
6Challenger Sports$44,507$21.4016
7Little League$43,886$21.1014
8Super Soccer Stars$43,434$20.8846
9i9 Sports$41,675$20.0421
10Lindenwood University$41,302$19.8612
Show More

Head Coach Related Careers

Head Coach Related Jobs

What Similar Roles Do

Resume For Related Jobs

Updated April 6, 2023