A couple questions about coaching at a community college...

I think you would be lucky to get in the area of $15-18K. You can always ask if there are other positions that you could apply for that could supplement that income (admissions, etc). Your two most common runners that will come to you are those who might have some talent, but not the grades to compete at other institutions...these runners usually have outside distractions that prevent them from being core contributors. Another type is the hard working kid who isn't really good at school to XC. You will have to learn to embrace these runners. They are great. they may blossom, they may not but they are there because they love the sport. NEVER bend rules to keep the talented but wayward runner on the team. Hopefully you can find the talented runner who has decent grades who is looking to find a different, more economical way to get through his or her four years.

via con dios

Thank you for the response. The way you describe it does seem to be a case for most people I know who run in junior college. I'm looking at this team and it is not very good, so hopefully I'll find a couple diamonds in the rough.

As far as pay, like DI, it depends on the school. And also like DI an XC only program might be something to worry about.

Like you, I ran DI and then joined the workforce. After a few years away from running I took a GA job at a mid Major and it turned into a three year stint. I loved it, but eventually had to leave to make a livable wage. DI mid major kids are awesome for the most part to work with, and it was a difficult decision to leave, but believe it or not, there are a lot of positions in the NJCAA that pay a lot better than entry level mid major assistant jobs.

Find out what a livable wage is for the area of the school. If this is a full time position, with additional duties such as teaching, SID work or facilities maintenance, as I would expect for an XC only coaching slot that pays full time, you should make $25k to $35k a year. Not much, but you can be comfortable if you have a sensible car and don't bother with non essentials like cable.

As far as what to expect, it is very different than DI, or at least what I experienced. Internationals rule this level, the attitudes of the athletes is very different, and the approach of a two year vs. four year program in terms of athlete development is very different.

Feel free to email me if you have any other questions. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the response. If you would like to leave your email I definitely have some further questions to ask.

Would anyone know what sorts of things I should know being a first time juco coach? Like differences in scholarships to D1 and general rules that are different as far as eligibility is concerned? It's tough for me to find these things online so any help would be great. I plan on getting my hands on a rule book this weekend and reading it through.

Bump

if its in Cal, my understanding is that track/xc coaches get paid quite well

a little pokin around on internet should reveal a pay schedule (if Cal)

Sadly it is not in California. I'm hoping for around 20,000 and that is probably what I'll ask for, but I just wanted to know what would be too ridiculous to suggest.

I have no idea how the scholarships work and am going to look into it and do some homework over the weekend. Shouldn't be too complicated, right?

Thanks for the response. If you would like to leave your email I definitely have some further questions to ask.

Would anyone know what sorts of things I should know being a first time juco coach? Like differences in scholarships to D1 and general rules that are different as far as eligibility is concerned? It's tough for me to find these things online so any help would be great. I plan on getting my hands on a rule book this weekend and reading it through.[/quote]

While I won't say eligibility rules are non existent, I will say they are lax. No test scores needed, unless your institution requires them. Kids have to graduate high school. Easy to get in internationals.

Keeping kids eligible is a little harder. Need to average 12 credits a semester. First semester at 1.75. After that 2.0. The 12 credits they earn can be remedial, so keeping kids eligible is not the same as preparing them to transfer. Often time athletes at this level will need the remedial classes, but you have to encourage them to be aggressive with their classes as well if they want to transfer and be eligible at the next level they go to.

As far as scholarships in the NJCAA is is completely different than the NCAA. Where the NCAA gives 12.6 and 18 for equivalency for men and women in DI and i think 12 and 12 in DII, the NJCAA goes off of the number of signed Letters if Intent. Track gets 20 and cross gets 10 scholarships for both genders. This means you could potentially have 30 kids on fulls for one gender of an NJCAA track team (this is rare). Whether an athlete is on books or on tuition or on a full, they count toward your LOI totals, so you could have 30 men's book scholarships on your roster and be maxed out on LOIs. Cross country's 10 scholarships are separate from tracks 20. Cross kids can run track but to be on a cross scholarship you must run at least two cross meets. A cross only program will get 10 scholarships per gender. The real limitation is your budget and your institution. For example, for the most part the Kansas schools can give 30 tuition and books scholarships for both genders, but their conference will not allow them to cover room and board. Some programs have cash and have many scholarship athletes near full-rides, most though are not funded even near to what the rules will allow them.

NJCAA.org should have an online rule book.

I provided my email. I'll be at the convention this week, but I'll get back to when I can. Best of luck.

A couple of questions.

Did you also go to community college?

Do you go to a community college?

I' thinking at the CC XC only level a couple/four grand to work the XC season will be the best you get as an salary offer.

I ran CommunityC in the 60s and was the only ream member to have eligibility after the first marking period and I never came back for the second term.