Path to College Coaching?

Get on as a GA while working on a masters degree in something coaching related. Check job postings for what type of degree employers are looking for

In my experience, a successful HS coaching resume and $4.00 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

Self coached to Sub 4 ? not too many of those guys around. Colleges are interested in someone who knows how to navigate the system because they’re been through the system.

Easiest way to get a college job is to know someone/have a connection with a program. When a lot of jobs get posted, someone on the staff/at the school already knows who they want. Coaches are always calling other programs and saying "Hey I know so and so is leaving, I got this great assistant for you" etc. I agree with the previous poster's advice on being a GA and I will add be willing to volunteer with a program if need be. Volunteering gets you some experience and more importantly it gets you familiar with other schools in the conference, other coaches/programs, etc.

Granted I did it the old fashioned way by coaching in HS, then D3, then mid major D1 but to each their own.

Good advice here but also I would get in touch with a college coach who is willing to talk to you or make a post here because there are many on this board to also see if this is what you want to do.

It's what I wanted for a long time and as I found out more I decided it was not not for me. When I finally got offered a position I did not want it.

I was content with coaching high school and then some post collegiate runners as well. This way I can have my regular career and make my coaching about training and not who I can recruit.

Being an assistant coach at a division 1 school is akin to being a used car salesman when it comes to recruiting and the pay is not good. And now they are cutting a lot of programs so you are competing with a lot of experienced coaches who are unemployed.

Coaching division 3 is tough for pay and then you really can't make that jump to division 1. Either way, you really have to put your time in before you can get to where you want to be.

I don't want to completely discourage you, I mean someone has to coach these programs once the older coaches retire but it's not an easy road for sure.

Randonufksdf wrote:

Hey, just wondering what the typical path is to coaching in D1-D3 college? Do you need to have ran in college, or is it sufficient to have run fast times (sub-4 mile) after college from self-coaching, and working your way up from starting off with coaching HS and then maybe CC?

Your mileage will vary on how someone views the self-coaching. At some places going sub-4 will be a big plus and having done it yourself, I can imagine the writeup that some AD or Head Coach will give of, "he has competed at some of the highest levels and really knows what it takes to get there," type of line. I can imagine some being pretty unimpressed if that's the only thing you're bringing to the table. Either way, don't oversell that aspect. It's a great achievement and you can say it taught you a few things, but your sample size is 1 and to a coach that was once a great runner or currently has great runners, he/she will probably want to know if you can do it on the other side of the clipboard.

Typical path to college coaching is:

1. Collegiate runner

2. Volunteer/GA

3. GA/Part-time/Assistant

4. Higher level Assistant

5. Head Coach

It's really hard to make the jump from HS to college. It's really hard to make the jump from DIII to DI or even DII to DI. It's dumb, but try to start at the highest division if the opportunity is available.

You're a hell of a lot faster than me and I had a pretty ideal path into coaching. I've gotten one DI job through a great recommendation (met him through USTFCCCA) and one the old fashioned way of going through the rounds of resumes, and interviews. I think this message board oversells the connections element a little, but not as much as I would like.

A great path toward creating opportunity is to cold email coaches and just ask if you can pick their brain. The response rate I got was pretty good and most coaches have been at multiple places in their career so you can get a decently wide net with a handful of people. On the call you can also ask, "Do you know of any other coaches that might be good for me to reach out to?" You'll automatically get to name drop that someone suggested they reach out to you, but you'll also be given names of people that are likely more receptive to share their time with you than just emailing random programs.

Good luck with it. Breaking into this profession can be brutal, but most people that I've know who really put the time into it eventually found their way into solid positions.