NOT charging for coaching

I have coached many over the years without requesting payment. However, I am aware that the concept of "you get what you pay for" is well ingrained in many in our society.

If there is payment involved with a younger individual this places importance on your coaching in at least the parent's mind that this is a situation that should not be wasted.

But perhaps the parent is wanting a commitment from you. If you are being paid they is an implicit assumption that you will follow through. If you are doing this pro bono, the parent may be afraid of backing out at some point if it becomes an inconvenience.

I think most of us would coach for free simply because we love the sport and genuinely want people to succeed. The problem arises when you suddenly have 15-20 athletes to coach and now it's taking a lot of time out of your schedule. In that case, I know of many coaches who ask for a small fee for their time/gas expense/etc. Unless you're into a "coaching business", I don't think a lot of coaches in your situation are turning a profit.

If this new girl insists on paying you, low-ball her and see if she takes it, even something informal like "buy me a pepsi every week" or something like that. I was approached to coach an athlete and all I told him was "you buy me a litre of diet pepsi once a week and I'm yours".

maybe you should ask for payment in the form of gas cards or equipment?

i'm in a similar situation, and i usually tell people to pay me not for my time, but for the effort that it takes for me to arrive at the location, to take care of meals and hydration, etc. maybe you can score some free endurox or something.

fletch wrote:

I think most of us would coach for free simply because we love the sport and genuinely want people to succeed. The problem arises when you suddenly have 15-20 athletes to coach and now it's taking a lot of time out of your schedule. In that case, I know of many coaches who ask for a small fee for their time/gas expense/etc. Unless you're into a "coaching business", I don't think a lot of coaches in your situation are turning a profit.

If this new girl insists on paying you, low-ball her and see if she takes it, even something informal like "buy me a pepsi every week" or something like that. I was approached to coach an athlete and all I told him was "you buy me a litre of diet pepsi once a week and I'm yours".

I was actually considering telling her to have my girlfriend and me over for dinner a few times as payment. Something that would not cost her much (or anything) but might make her feel as if she is rewarding the time spent coaching her daughter.

...wickersham wrote:

maybe you should ask for payment in the form of gas cards or equipment?

i'm in a similar situation, and i usually tell people to pay me not for my time, but for the effort that it takes for me to arrive at the location, to take care of meals and hydration, etc. maybe you can score some free endurox or something.

If she wants to pay something, suggest a box of "gu" or as the above poster said, some endurox. something that can be viewed as a token, that you will use and she will feel better for taking your time.

several years back, a couple of women wanted me to coach them to run their first marathon over the course of a summer. I coach high school and get paid a pittance for that,so I am ok with earning some cash. I set the twice a week rate for the women at $25 a month. Thats less than a a couple of yoga classes cost per week and it covered my gas and time. Everyone was happy and one of them qualified for Boston.