When/why did you decide you wanted to coach?

I made the decision to become a teacher and coach last summer. I didn't feel satisfied with my old job and realized that there I gained personal satisfaction from coaching and teaching so decided to return to school to get certified and prepare to be a coach.

One of the guys in the gym I lift weights at is on the football board and is a coach in the league. I asked about helping out if there was a spot and but his staff was full (only allowed 5 coaches on the sidelines). He came up during the first week of practice and asked if I was willing to coach a team. I accepted - keep in mind that I did not play Middle School or High School football. I had to learn some techniques, come up with a playbook, and get practices organized and schedule them in a few days so we didn't get too far behind.
I learned a lot from the experience - how little I really knew about football, how much I had to learn, and how much I have to grow as a coach and leader.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who drew plays as a kid. I remember in HS my Wellness (a football coach) teacher saw me drawing a football play on the side of my notes. He stopped class, pulled me to the front, drew out my play on the white board, showed me why it wouldn't work, and then drew a similar play that the football team ran.

Glad to see I'm not the only one

I'm different than most in that my desire to coach and the knowledge that I knew I wanted to be a coach is somewhat recent. My school didn't get football until my junior year, so I was late to the game but still good enough to play some college ball. I knew I wanted to teach and was fortunate enough to be hired for a job right out of college.

My original plan was to do some travelling every weekend for a d2 or d3 game, but on a whim contacted the coach at the school I was hired to teach at. He gave me a job with the freshmen team and while I liked it, it wasn't until my third season I definitely decided I wanted to do it. Not sure why it took so long for coaching to grow on me and this lack of desire initially probably cost me that first job, but it has definitely developed into what I want to do with the rest of my life!

It's crazy how people don't see the art work in creating football plays. There is a technique to it, and most people just want to watch the games rather than know what is truly going on.

I'm gonna paraphrase my buddy Mr. Tupac Shakur in this situation...



I honestly can't remember a time since I started playing football that coaching wasn't in my heart.

In all likelihood, I would either be a crippling alcoholic or ridiculously wealthy professional of some kind if it weren't for coaching/football. As is, I'm a wealth-crippled professional, but at least I'm coaching

I Love Mariner Answer!


I can't remember when I fall in love with football. Probably as a youngster when my older brother show me a game in the early 90's.
First I played and when I blew my knee for the 2nd time, I realized football was the center of my life.
Coaching was a natural choice for me. Unfortunately in my country is almost impossible to coach for a living.

Always loved the strategy of the game so I went as far as playing would bring me then started coaching out of college. Always was watching how coaches did things even when I was playing.

I knew by middle school I wasn't going to be physically gifted enough to play on the higher levels. Though looking back I wish I was more educated about small college football. It would of been a chance to learn some atypical systems. Anyway I loved the game and coaching was the way to be a part of it. I would read and watch anything football.

I use to watch Hodge and Jaws breakdown offenses which is high tech stuff in the early 90s. I still remember carrying around SI issue about Mouse Davis and him explaining the run and shoot. The article was called Building a Better Mouse Trap. When I got to hs I could tell you what everyone did on offense and defense. Technique the whole bit. I drew plays all the time. Every Sunday morning bulliten was covered. Went to college and got into coaching woman's flag football. Bought college and pro playbooks. Coaching books and then by chance I got Coverdale's Bunch Concept book.

Long story short I quit my job to wait tables so I could coach at a school. Took about three years of subbing and waiting tables before I got hired as a teacher. I wouldn't want to do anything else.

time for the oddball answer
Tom Osborne and Charlie McBride....1995

playing in HS and college, football was more of a social practice than a passion and I NEVER really understood it fully when playing (I just did what they told me without knowing why). Watching Osborne's Nebraska teams annihilate teams got me interested in what was actually taking place on the field. Tom Brandow's "Toby Zone" (featured a lot of Coach Huey's contributions) and Hugh Wyatt's blog are what got me amped up to learn about the game and quickly began coaching.

Played through high school. Obsessed with winning, but was burnt out by the end of my senior year. I knew that i wanted to teach social studies because i'd always had a fascination with history and economics. Got through college, walked into my first teaching job immediately. Coach there knew that i had played, so he asked me to take QBs. It was a whole new challenge trying to teach something that i had just kinda been "good" at. I had no intention of being as obsessed with the game and the kids' success as i am today. That coach moved on, and the new coach asked me to stay on an take the QBs and handle the offense. The year was an absolute disaster. Win loss, turnout, culture, behavior, weights, finances... it was all a train wreck. The coach was fired and the principal asked me to take the job (being the only on campus coach on our staff for the previous regime). As a 24 year old, third year teacher i took the job. In way over my head. But, i made what to this day might have been the best decision of my coaching career; to bring in a staff of people that i knew, trusted, and who had been there before. All things considered, i had 5 ex/retired head coaches on my staff. There was a whole lot of learning that year and every year since even as they've moved on. 4 years later, we're out of debt, have tripled our numbers program wide, and have a wide support network of teachers and staff that work with our student athletes. I in-turn have gone from a coach who felt forced into taking on this huge responsibility to save my teaching job, to a coach that could not imagine his life without this extra dimension of depth to it.

To answer the post (finally), i knew i wanted to be a coach the second that i was asked by a principal (whom was also my educational hero) to do it. Every second after that has reaffirmed it. It became another subject that i get to teach with my staff, to students who ACTUALLY WANT TO LEARN IT. We get to teach, and positively reinforce behaviors that are not taught in many classrooms (and nowadays less and less homes). After that, it just became me not wanting to let the kids down. I know i'd better be working as hard as i can to surround these young men with role models/teachers and structure that will put them in the best position to be successful. It's just a bonus that the game that we play is the greatest.

Bonus Answer: When my lovely wife said she'd be ok with it ;-)... Couldn't do it without her.

This is a good thread... Interesting tower how we all fell into this wonderful career!

I played one year of college ball, got hurt, and transferred from the d3 school I was at to the local state school. While I was there I realized I actually had to pick a real major besides alcohol. I figured sports were my main interest so physical education would be awesome. At that time I knew coaching was on my radar but I wasn't serious about it until we had an assignment to go back and observe a classroom over our thanksgiving break. I of course picked my old football coach. While I was there he brought up they had a paid position open the following year on the team and told me he always thought I would coach and if I were going to get into teaching that the sooner I started coaching the better. I jumped at that opportunity, drove 30 miles every day to coach, and have been obsessed ever since. Went straight out of college from there and took a head job. Now I'm on the job search again but thank that man every day for that 5 minute conversation!

The why is easy: the short hours and the high pay!

I grew up in a football crazy town and I just remembering how much I admired and respected my coaches. When I worked at Menards in college, I'd pretend to be stocking shelves but was instead standing there drawing up plays on scratch paper. After college I spent six years as a sports writer, knew that career was going nowhere fast, and went back to get my teaching degree. At my first school I was the JH coach my first year and was hooked. The next year the new head coach asked me to be the DC, which I jumped at. I'm now at my second school as a varsity asst. and head JV coach and will make a run at the head job in about a year.

I had a ton of success when I played HS ball, but nothing compares to the satisfaction I get from coaching young men. To see them work and do what you ask of them, and when they achieve success or when you celebrate a win with the kids...well, there's just no greater feeling.

I was actually forced into coaching. My wife signed my son up to play lil guy football and she also signed me up to coach. I had a board member call me up and set up an interview. The next week I get a call from a number I dont recognize I answer and its the board member asking "why am I not at the interview" my reply " I forgot". Went to the interview totally unprepared and didnt care. The board asked me what offense and defense I would run. I remembered back to my H.S. days and said power I and 52 defense. In my mind I was thinking "these are 8yr old kids if they can turn and hand the ball off that will be just fine." I was the assistant coach. After the first game I realized how much I loved coaching and how disorganized our HC was. I worked my way up to H.S. but right now Im floating dont know exactly what is going to happen. I will be attending College after my son graduates next year to finish my schooling so I can become a teacher and a full time coach. Cant WAIT!