Anotherbrickinthewall wrote:
A recent study by Division I AD's revealed that over 40% of the track and cross country jobs open in a 5 year span were part-time or volunteer. The average pay for the low paid ones (excluding volunteer positions) was $16,437. Yet everyday, every year about this time this thread is full of posters who think gaining one of these positions is their "dream job."
There are less than 50 decent (where pay equals or exceeds median pay for those with Bachelors degree) paying head jobs in D1 and less than 100 decent paying assistant coaching positions and half of those are non-distance yet its the distance jobs that draw the most intense interest.
Then once someone is in one of these coveted positions they face an onslaught of libel and slander that approaches a Trump tweet storm. Why in the hell does anyone want to be subjected to that for so little pay and appreciation?
I lucked into 4 D1 jobs, 1 head position and 3 assistant positions with 2 in Power 5 leagues. Coached many All-Americans and Olympians and won team conference titles. Had a chance to coach some wonderful people and outstanding athletes but reality is that making it a career means sacrificing family and personal life to a degree that is obsessive compulsive or narcissistic. You spend your life sacrificing everything to help others and one day you wake up and go who in this rat race is concerned about MY well-being?
Track is better at all other levels when it comes to coaching than D1. I have done virtually all and have close friends who have shared experiences across various levels and we all say the same. D1 is the worst representation of our sport from middle school to professional.