How to get a start with coaching

Most collages offer COURSES in Coaching Football.  Night Class or Summer School, etc.  If you search there are Correspondence Classes (online) etc.  Check out what UT offers.

Here is one an outline of one I TAUGHT at Virginia Commonwealth U. ("VCU"):

FOOTBALL COACHING CLASS:

1. Athletics – Principles and Objectives

2. The Coaching Profession

3. The “Musts” of Coaching

4. Organization

5. Developing An Offense

6. Quarterbacking

7. Defense

8. Kicking Game

9. Scouting

10. Equipment

11. Weight Training Programs (Etc.)

12. Sports Medicine Segment (Safety; Injuries; Heat Problems; etc.)

13. Summation Points

ALSO: Cover The Beginnings of Football; Football in the United States.

In the class I taught on "Coaching Football" at  VCU, this is the second lecture I gave (many I have taught say they benefited from this):

THE COACHING PROFESSION"

BEFORE CHOOSING THE COACHING PROFESSION:

First of all, in choosing any profession one should ask himself the following three basic questions:

1. Do you like best to work with things?

2. Do you like best to work with people?

3. Do you like best to work with facts?


If your answer to No. 2 is “yes”, then you are ready to consider the coaching profession. Below are some facts relative to the coaching profession which should be given careful consideration:

a) Do you have a sincere interest in young people?

b) Do you like to teach?

c) Do you have an intense love for the game you plan to coach?

d) Do you have patience?

e) Are you willing to sacrifice time and effort, to go beyond the “call of duty”?

f) Are you willing to be a servant of the community?

g) Do you have leadership qualities?


THE COACHING PROFESSION:

1. It has been slow to gain recognition as a profession along side other great professions.

2. The public has begun to recognize the coach as an educator, as a student of the laws of teaching and learning, and as a master of applied psychology.

3. It provides personal satisfaction and thrills that no other profession can, such as associating with great athletes and watching them develop.

4. The trend is toward stabilization, longer tenure, less dramatic emphasis on the won-and-loss record.

5. Good coaching includes developing character, personality, habits of the players, and providing guidance for the players as well as the efficient teaching of fundamentals and team play.

6. There is a definite need for more men of high ideals in the coaching profession. The opportunity and the challenge are there.


OPPORTUNITY TO INFLUENCE THE LIVES OF OTHERS: No other profession provides a greater scope of influence on young people and on the community as a whole. A coach has perpetual and unlimited opportunities to influence the lives of others for good.

a) Athletes are leaders within the school. They are idealized by younger children.

b) Athletes reflect the character of the coach as their conduct depends a great deal upon what the coach demands of them.

c) The attitude of the community is influenced by the way in which the coach conducts himself on and off the field.


ADVANCEMENT WITHIN THE PROFESSION:

1. Jobs range all the way from Junior and Senior High School coaching to “big time” college and professional coaching.

2. The road is rocky, but advancement is almost unlimited. However, one should bear in mind that the higher he goes, the less security he has.


GENERAL NOTES ON COACHING:

Success in athletic coaching goes hand in hand with hard work. There is no short cut. A coach must also sell his team this idea.

Study and read all materials available relative to coaching, to conditioning, to education, to psychology, to First Aid, etc., keep an open mind.

It is very important to have good organization. One should go about his coaching duties in a systematic, business-like manner.

Study your personnel in order to be able to get the most out of them. You must know your personnel - - - this applies to staff members as well as players.

Never go on the field unless every minute is planned in detail. Learn to budget time.

Promote athletics in lower grades. Encourage younger boys to keep up their grades. Get to know them personally if possible. The important point is to reach them early.

Promote and organize junior varsity teams. Never let boys stand around. Show an interest in all.

See that all boys take a physical examination before the start of the practice sessions.

Know First Aid and how to apply it if you do not have a qualified trainer. Remember the welfare of the boy comes first.

Condition your squad. It is a crime to send a team into a game in a poor condition.

Have a physician present at all games and never play a boy without his approval.

Athletic coaching is the teaching of motor habits. It takes drill, repetition, and plenty of practice. Remember, your boys are not concentrating like the coach - - - never forget, they are young.

The basic fundamentals must be mastered first. It is not what YOU know, but what you teach that determines YOUR success.

Performance is more important than form. Never over-coach a boy.

Praise is more effective than criticism. There is only one type of criticism allowed in coaching and that is constructive. A boy never resents your helping him.

Be patient with the slow learner - - - he may be your best member in the end.

Build the intangibles. Create the feeling of “all for one, and one for all”. Work at keeping down jealousy among the players. Watch out for cliques within the squad. Never let anything or anybody influence your playing a boy other than his value to the team.

Maintain a friendly, kindly relationship with all the boys on your team - - - do not become too familiar with any. If you must reprimand a boy, if at all possible, try to follow it up with a friendly word as soon as possible.

Be loyal to your players at all costs. Take the blame for the defeats and give them the credit for the victories.

Before you issue a penalty, be sure you are in a position to enforce it, and then stand by it.

You must quickly find out what it takes to command respect from your squad. Different coaches use different approaches. Yours must fit in with your personality.

Never try to imitate anyone - - - be yourself. What works for one coach won’t automatically work for another.

Be fair in all dealings with the boys, but be aware of their individual differences. Some respond to firm treatment, while others will more readily respond to a pat on the back.

Never try to be popular. Stand up for what you believe to be right and the boys will respect you for it. If you have their best interest at heart, they will soon know it, and come around to your way of thinking.

Preaching hate doctrines may get results some few times, but a good coach should never lower himself to use such tactics.

Prepare in practice, not in the locker room just before the game. Pep talks should be given during the week prior to the game.

Allow no profanity, gambling, drinking, or questionable stories around the locker room. Keep everything on a high plane.

Build the tradition that only boys of high character make your team.

Do nothing, on or off the field, to cause your boys to lose faith and confidence in you. It is almost impossible to be restored if lost.

Encourage your boys to be leaders off the field as well as on the field.

NOTE: In closing, if I may ever be of service to you in you coaching career, please feel free to call upon me.

Best Wishes for a happy and successful coaching career;

Coach Bill Mountjoy


PS: “Bear” Bryant in his own words

"I tell young players who want to be coaches, who think they can put up with all the headaches and heartaches: Can you live without it? If you can live without it, don't get in it."

He lives in Texas.  I am not sure what the rules are governing volunteers given that I constantly hear that to coach in Texas, you must be a full time faculty member. 

No volunteers in Texas...unless you happen to be a full-time employee of the school district.

dbapes Did you-are you attend(ing) college?

What's your degree in? Day job?

Because of where you live without getting teacher certification your only option may be youth football.

As a follow up (Maybe a new thread? Mods?).

I am really struggling to find coaches. We have been pretty good over that last 6-7 years. Had 8 guys leave the staff this year (All still positive, come to games, etc, just don't have time). We have really struggled to replace them. Finding guys that can be here at 3 PM for practice is nearly impossible. Not a lot of jobs in the building.

I'm 40, Im one of the young guys. Any ideas as to where I can find younger guys that want to coach and can be here all the time?

From state to state, the amount of investment to be certified as a teacher or substitute teacher varies enormously. In NY, they really don't want you unless you intend a career in teaching. Unless you're at least working on a Master's degree in teaching, you're only allowed a token amount of substitute work in most public schools, and even becoming certified as a teacher's aide is non-trivial. Private schools don't have to follow these rules, but as far as I know, most private schools in most states want the same certification as the public schools do. Fortunately, most states are not New York!

College you don't need any kind of certification in advance to teach, although public institutions will put you thru various bureaucratic BS periodically to stay with it.

However, you (original poster) didn't say you needed to make money at it, so there are many unpaid opportunities open to you in both youth and adult men's and women's football coaching. The organization itself will help set you up with any certification (such as background checks) they require for working with children; for working with adults, they have none. I got started just by contacting a club I found near me online.

Not everywhere i am sure, but if you want to be taken. seriously, you need to be on campus, doing something. Its rare that get a guy/hc who understands what he has. And it doesnt take long to get promoted. Fbscoop it. You just need one guy.

I’m 29 years old

Go find a local program.  Ask to volunteer.  Most high school coaches are looking for help.
However--be willing to do the small things and realize you're not there to change or save the program.  You're there to learn and to help.