Coaching as a profession

I trolled a little bit on that thread as did the person you paraphrased I presume. But I have heard bad things from people with actual experience. The pay can be very low and its a lot of travel. On top of that, there is no telling where you might have to go to get the job. Assistant coaching positions have a high turnover rate. Some people love it and stick with it all their lives. However, it is a gamble as you may never become a head coach and some high school teachers may end up earning considerably more than you.

I;m not knocking teachers salaries. I'm just being honest. You Better LOVE this,be a huge name, or forget about it.

I am going through the steps right now. I was a high school for two years had success, then on to a G.A. position where I was able to gain experience with one of the best XC programs in DII. Now I am an assistant at a small DI, while I am supported by my boss to use the budget to continue coaching education and professional development I debate everyday to change professions.

I am thankful for my current position even though it is a 10 month low paying position(I continue to work during those two month of no pay because I enjoy it). Its great when I am in season both XC and Track but tough otherwise. Its a great life, but like that one guy said "start a family" I would really like to do so and there is no way that is even possible due to the financial situation that most assistant coaches are in. I am not complaining just sharing my experience.

I've applied to some position but have not had any real connections to spark interest. I now have a strong focus on networking.

Speaking of HS teachers v. collegiate coaches I am friends with one HS phys. ed. teacher who used to coach in a large, but mid-major NCAA D1 program in the '90s. He quit, picked up an easy gym teacher position at a suburban upper-middle class HS and has coached the team to many State appearances and 1 individual state champion. He tells me it pays much, much better just starting out and especially 15, 10 or even 5yrs down the road.

I teach high school & coach distance (both XC & track). I get paid about $2000 for each season. It's not too bad, but really time consuming.

I know someone who is an assistant coach at a small DI school. Everyone thinks it's so cool & he's so smart & blah, blah, blah. But, I have to laugh because I know I get paid MORE than him for coaching!

Also, my pool of runners is deeper; I get the high school to draw from. His program, for which he's only an assistant coach, has to compete against big DI schools.

Maybe he's using this as a stepping stone, but how long can you wait?

The grass isn't always greener...

Fred Kieser wrote:

Here's the question I would ask to start the conversation...Is there a way to standardize this process so that administrators are encouraged to hire in a less good-old-boys way or is it up to the coaches association to raise the bar on itself?

Addressing this question specifically:

The coaching-education program (Level I, etc.) WAS a move in the direction of "standardization." It has had limited effect on employment; I believe it is used more frequently to *justify* a hiring than to prompt one.

The fact is that different colleges (even within each of DI/DII/DIII/NAIA) have different institutional histories, pressures, and expectations. ADs frequently are tagged as the bad guys in these hiring decisions, but I have known very few ADs who approach hiring in a slapdash, get-it-over-with way. It IS fair to say, however, that most ADs have a lot on their plates, and that an AD is happy to make a hire that will not distract from his/her time-consuming work on the school's other sports--particularly those that are more likely to generate student/alumni enthusiasm, loyalty, and donations.

Kieser:

You would be able to answer some of your own questions so why would you ask. You ran at Miami University, were a GA at Miami University and when your old coach got fired thought you were qualified for the job which you didn't get. You went and did the HS gig for one year and were not very successful. Then you got hired at University of Akron as the cross country coach and ended up getting fired for destroying the team with your insane training methods. Then you got a job as a girls catholic high school coach where you think your crap doesn't stink and you act as a power-broker to let your athletes only look at certain colleges.

So I guess you can answer #1, #3, #6, and #8 for sure.

Red/White

Wow. Why all of the hate? A guy asks a question, and you get all personal. All I can say is that I've known, raced against, and coached against Fred for many years now. He's never been anything but unfailingly professional around me, whether my teams were better - or worse - than his. If anything, he is one of the most self-deprecating coaches that I have come across; I have NEVER heard him play up either his kids or his coaching in the time I've known him. I'm a good enough internet researcher to know where I can find St. Joe's training (sorry, Fred); and while I can't speak about Akron, I can say that what the Jags do is not something anyone would consider "insane" (unless you believe a workout like 5x1k, or 3x4x400 - in different weeks - overly arduous). Fred is also our NEO coordinator for the State Coaches Poll (a thankless job if there ever was one), yet I've never seen any sign of any of the behavior you suggest.

Is it possible you are just looking at life through nearly 20 year old glasses? People change, and they grow. That's one of the great things about life and coaching; we can get better at it.

Which, I think, might be the point of the original question - how to get better at our profession...

Red/White,

Did you run for this coach? Did you feel hurt by something that happened? Did you (or your friend or family member) ever talk to the coach about it?

He may be able to answer all the questions, he's using rhetoric to stimulate conversation.

Coaching is a tough perfession.

bump

Coaching ? You would be better off to pursue proctology !

Kieser= doper