Starting off as a College Coach

there are a couple of ways of going about it. The NCAA posts most jobs at

http://ncaa.thetask.com/market/ads/

. If you go there you see a fair representation of what is available at most times. There are a fair amount of graduate assistant positions that come up earlier in the year, and some later too.

There more than one way to get involved as well. Some people will work part time to get by, and be a volunteer coach, preferably at a big school with a good repuatation, but this isn't always possible. Graduate Assistant work helps get you in, and so does an assistantship almost anywhere. I was lucky enough to find a head cross job at a small school. Some may balk at this, but it was decnt pay, title, and it was the first time they fielded a cross team. So I get to build everything from scratch (plus there is a built in time to learn some of the office details), I almost can't lose.

The problem is, where to go from there. The school I work at is Division 3, and a lot of D1 coaches think D3 people are retards who don't know how to do anything. So my next move may be tricky (doesn't matter, I hope to stay in D3 anyway).

The only thing I've been warned against is taking a small job in a nothing school. It doesn't look particularly good on your resume, and it is almost a garauntee that you won't have many motivated athletes.

It helped (to a degree) that I had my USATF Level 1 certification, and that I knew Hy-Tek and Finishlynx.

How do you get your USATF Level 1 certification? Also, what exactly is that?

Level 1 is the first level in USATF Coaching Certification/Education to find out about it, go to usatf.org and then click on coaches, and then coaches education, it has everything there that you need.

Level 1 is pretty basic, it is mainly for high school coaches who would have to coach everything. Level 2 and 3 are more specific and involve more science than the first. Level 1 basically looks good on a beginners resume, but is also require for Level 2.

comments?

StL made very good comments. Being a GA or a volunteer assistant is a good way to get your foot in the door. I recently was hired at a DII school that's just starting cross country. I was a GA and an assistant at the DII level before getting offered this head coaching job. Of course any kind of coaching experience and coaching certification you can put on your resume will be helpful. A friend of mine was a high school coach before he was offered a head coaching position at a small NAIA school. The main thing I found is that it pays to be patient and not to get frustrated and give up if this is something you really want to do. You will have schools who will turn you down. Perhaps too many times to count. Being persistant and having a positive attitude will help you get through it.

Here is what I recommend and I have had about 6 coaches come assist me who are now college head coaches.

Graduate assistant route. There are hundreds of those available each year. Sit down and make up a list of the colleges that you might be interested in. Write a letter to each head coach expressing your interest. Follow up. If this doesn't work.

Volunteer at a college. Every college coach would love to have a serious, qualified assistant for free. You can always get money by working part-time deliviering pizza to make ends meet.

I started out as a high school teacher/coach, then left to go volunteering and it worked into a part-time small college job. Then I got a full time college job and finaly a head job at a DI college.

Here is what I have had so far working for me.

Volunteer Asst. is now full time asst at DI

grad asst. is not a full time head coach at DI

volunteer asst is now head coach at small college

asst is now head coach at DI

grad asst is now head coach at DI college

volunteer asst was a head coach at DI

volunteer asst is now head coach at HS

I can't remember any more.

Be proactive. and work the network. Don't be afraid to call or contact coaches for their advice. I believe that most hiring at the college level is done by head coaches who either know the candidates, or know someone who knows the candiates. That means that regardles of the qualifications if you aren't in the loop you wont get the job.

Network, network, network. good luck

It will help if you were a good athlete. If you are a white male, you will have more difficulty getting a job than a minority. If you are a distance coach, learn to coach other events. If you are a sprinter, learn to coach the technical events and distances.

Get the NSCA CSCS certification. Get the Level II, not just in your event area. In other words, have a diverse skill set. Being able to write strength workouts often comes in handy as many track and field coaches are hesitant to give up this aspect of training to the strength coaches at the college/university as they tend to have way to many athletes to work with and many times use a cookie cutter approach in the weight room.

Get a job as soon as you can once you leave college. Making no money when you are single and childless is much easier than making no money when you are married, or married with children.

Attend USATF conferences. Network and meet people.

Bump!

This is all great stuff.