Your experience as a coach

How you got started?

Was coaching a flag football team for a Boys and Girls Club... we did pretty well, and a parent suggested I look into the area youth football league... being that I thought I knew everything about football... I jumped on it... 2 years in... I figured I'd be a great High School coach... so I interviewed at a down and out, far away school, and to my surprise, they hired me...

Needless to say, I was horrible, got it handed to me for 9 straight weeks, but from that point on, I was dedicated to learning all the things it was quite obvious, I didn't know. Unfortunately, I had to leave the school, the distance was entirely too far, my knowledge to small, and I was a being a disservice to those kids... So I left to get some experience.

Was an assistant for two years... got my confidence right, and then went out and interviewed for another HC gig.

Once again, I surprisingly got the gig... either I'm a heck of an interview, or the only candidate... either way, I got it handed to me again for another 9 straight weeks... But this time, I was ready to get the offseason program started, the weightlifting, the camps, but my wife started her Law office, and I needed to be closer than the 50 miles I had to drive to my school... for my 3 children... so I had to leave again!

Local school needed assistants, so I became an assistant to take care of my football jones... also tightened my game up. I'm currently looking to get that third strike... a coaching gig a little closer... there are a few desparate programs in a 20 mile radius... if it doesn't work out this time... I think I may just have to become a career assistant...

However, in my defense, I have to taken over some very challenging programs. Its a tough deal to get a look, when you are not in the school system... More so, with my 0-18 HC record... I've really got to find a desparate place, to get a look, but yet and still, I truly believe I can turn around any program...

there's no better teacher, than bad experiences, and my football IQ, is at an all time high! Just hope I haven't ruined myself with the 0-18 education.

What qualifications you needed to meet?

For the youth league, you just had to pass a criminal background check, and their interview process... however, in Illinois, if you are not a teacher, you have to get a coaching certification... Its a two weekend course that goes over CPR and First Aid, as well as the importance of professionalism when one is responsible for youth.

How you feel about your coaching experience?

It has been the most frustrating, yet rewarding experience in my life...
1. You are responsible for maturing boys to men, that aren't your children.
2. These boys have a multitude of other influences dictating their motivations and actions.
3. When these boys become men, its the greatest thing to witness...
4. When these boys fail to become men, it will break your heart 100 times over... again, and again.
5. Football is the easy part... parents, players, and potential will kill you!

Pay?

What's that? If you break your time down by the hours invested... the pay is inconsequential... but if you're in it for the money... don't get in it...

Youth, of course is volunteer. In Illinois, coaches get paid a percentage of their teacher's stipend... and if you are not a teacher, such as myself, they give you a percentage comprable to that of a teacher similar to the number of years you've been with the program. THe percentage decreases according to the level you are coaching, and whether you are a head or assistant coach.

Got started in college as we all had to help coach with the local pee-wee program. First official coaching job was during student teaching (assistant Freshman coach) and just kept going from there. Spent 4 years as a HS assistant before getting my first head job at a small school in the middle of nowhere.

Moved a bit to big school assistant, mid sized HS head coach, NAIA OC, D-III OC, before returning to HS (16 years experience at this point) as an AD/HC for the past 10 years. "Coaching" pay has varied - often tied to your teaching job.

The most important skills you need include people skills, recognizing talent (players and coaches!), and then the x's and o's.

How do I feel about it? I'm 49 and I could have "retired" by now if I had gone into my dad's construction business. I'm going to coach for another 20 years - because I love it!

in Kansas there are "Rule 10" coaches. It is a class that you have to go through, then you can be an assistant coach. It is a class that runs for about 4 days. Not hard. I would do that first if it is a possibility where you live. It would be an inexpensive way to get your feet wet and see if you like it.

this isn't normal?

Coaching a career? I thought it was a disease, at least my wife thinks so.
I got started at the HS that I attended during my Soph. yr in college when I was sitting out a year at a local JC while transferring from one University to another to play. Anyway, I was 19 and probably a wee bit too intense for JV's (thats sarcasm, I was gung ho squared) but I learned a lot from it and was hooked, so after college I went back to the same HS and coached for a few more years on Varsity as OC. Totalled 5 years of HC ball and then got out of it due to non teaching job hours, family, etc (hated being away but thats life sometimes). The last 7 years have been at the 8th grade age youth level- Pop Warner kids.
As far as getting in the door, I got in coaching for my old HS coach but depending on location and situation, a good resume should at least get you a interview. The youth gig is dependent on a interview and background check. One thing I will point out about the youth gig from my experience, I became a much better organizer and communicator at this level in 2 days of practice per week than at the HS level with 4-5 days of practice. It was a maturation and realization on my part that I had to get better at these areas in order to cram offense, defense, special teams, etc into a more limited timeframe.
How do I feel about coaching? I love doing it. I'd coach everyday if I could, watching the kids development and progress as individuals and a team isn't comparable to anything else that I can think off other than watching your own kids grow up.
Pay? I'd PAY to coach if need be, in fact, I guess I do with all the stuff I end up buying, gas, etc. When I was an assistant in HS I think it was around $2500 or so, I was younger then and fresh out of college so that was beer/golfing money, probably not well spent but its an investment that I carry with me....lol
In depth? If your not passionately driven to coach, then it isn't for you. If you are, then welcome to the asylum.

How did I get started.

Had one semester left to do my student teaching after my 4 years of playing was over and the head football coach and OC called me in and asked me to be the asst OL coach. They even told me I would still get my scholorship for the semester. Tough to say NO! After one season of coaching OL at the NAIA level the head coach took another job in the same league and had a part-time OL job and brought me with him. Loved what I was doing and did not need much money to survive. AD at new school advised me to get my masters if I wanted to stay in the college game and he basically hooked me up with a DIV II school as a GA. 1/2 way through my first year as a GA our LBer coach left and I got hired fulltime. Coached another 6 years at the college level before my priorities started to change. Marriage and 2 small children and the money was not very good and the time spent away on the road recruiting was not fair to my wife to raise our 2 children on her own. That is when we made the decision for me to get a high school teaching and coaching job. Still get to coach football, still get to work with kids, and make enough money to live on. Will I retire a rich man? heck no, but I love what I'm doing.

What Qualifications did I need?

I think the hired me at my first job because I had a pickup and they could use it to help get the field equipment out to the field everyday!

How do I feel about my coaching experience?

Would not trade it for anything in the world. There have been many ups and downs, but it all comes down to working with great kids and coaching a great game.

Pay

The check is nice to get, but I would do it for free. The real pay is when I get invited to a former players wedding, or a phone call from a former player telling me about his new job, or his new baby, etc...

I got into coaching only after experiencing first-hand that the game COULD be
fun when explained in simple concepts.

I played football because it was the “thing to do” but never really understood
what I was doing until I got to college. In college, I met a few coaches who
were excited about what they were doing and were truly there for my best
interest. These men showed me exactly, step-by-step, what I needed to do to be
successful at my position, and they encouraged me to improve.

These coaches explained the game and made it simple by breaking my position
into a few simple concepts. They showed me that I didn’t have to physically
dominate opponents, but if I just learned techniques I could be successful no
matter who I lined up against. It was this type of teaching that gave me an
excitement and appreciation of the game. It wasn’t about talking tough or
excited speeches it was the development of skills through instruction. This
type of instruction showed me that this game just wasn’t about running right or
running left while other players beat up on each other, it was about 11
matchups on the field working in orchestration from coaches who studied their
opponent to out smart them.

To be a coach, no particular skills are required. To be an authorized coach for
a public school, a State Authorization is required. Authorization /
Endorsements to coach require completion of the following accredited courses;
· Theory and Ethics of Coaching
· Human Growth and Development
· Physiology
· Care and Prevention of Athletic Injuries
· Theory of Coaching
Upon successful completion of the four required courses, you must submit an
application to the Board of Educational Examiners. Authorizations must be
renewed every five years. To renew, you must have successfully completed five
planned renewal activities or courses related to athletic coaching (i.e., rules
meetings, coaching clinics, coaching workshops) during the term of your
license.
Compensation can range from nothing (volunteer) to a $2500 season stipend,
depending on the District coaching in.
Just like the game provides an arena to prove your skills as a player, it
provides an arena for the coaches as well. The game offers an opportunity to
showcase the players that learned the concepts instructed through the week.

Just like any other hobby challenges a person (video games, gardening, flying,
boating, etc), so does coaching for provide that challenge for me. Teaching
the game and developing the joy of competition in players is a rewarding
experience. No other sport requires as much mental, physical, and character
stress as football does. The experiences gained during the trying times created
in football environments (driven by intense emotional states) is where many of
the great social memories and friendships are formed, THAT is what the total
football experience is about.

I have found that to be the most rewarding aspect of coaching – developing
players, building their self-esteem, getting them to work together, and also
the coaching camaraderie and the challenge of communication. All players,
coaches, staff, working towards the same goal, being a part of something
special.