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A Day in the Life of a Coach

Coaches teach athletic skills, provide generalized fitness training, and train athletes to perform in physical and competitive environments. 鈥淚鈥檓 a teacher, a leader, a friend, and I hate it when we lose,鈥 wrote one high school varsity football coach, 鈥渂ut not as much as the kids or their parents do.鈥 Being a coach requires the successful juggling of these various caps. The athletes and the coach each motivate the other to perform at a higher level; this relationship demands commitment, awareness, and dedication. People who find themselves satisfied in this profession have strong teaching skills, an abundance of motivation to work additional hours, and excellent communication skills. 鈥淟eadership skills are essential,鈥 wrote one college volleyball coach, 鈥渙therwise your good athletes won鈥檛 respect you enough to listen to you.鈥 What sport and age level you wish to coach will have a substantial impact on what preparation is needed beyond knowing your chosen sport very well. The skills required to coach high school tennis, for example, are quite different from the skills required to coach professional baseball. Competition is significant for entry-level positions; on more advanced levels, special skills such as weight training expertise, stretching, and psychological training become more highly valued. Progression is difficult within and between coaching levels. One person articulated the dilemma clearly: 鈥淵ou want to work for the best coaches to learn your job, but the best coaches never get fired or leave, so you鈥檝e got to jump into another system somewhere else and start all over again.鈥 Many coaches enjoy going to conferences to meet other professionals and to learn new methods of fitness training and injury prevention.

Paying Your Dues

Coaching different age levels requires different sets of skills. If you want to coach high school sports, you should have comprehensive knowledge of your sport, knowledge of physical fitness training, and some basic training in injury prevention, first aid, and childhood development. Many employers look for a history of athletics in the sport-being on a high school, college, or professional team will stand you in good stead. Having worked for a youth league or summer camp as a coach works to your advantage. On the college level, you should have an understanding of a specialty within a sport-for example, in football, you might be a defensive line coach, or a quarterback coach-and the ability to translate that knowledge into terms college athletes can understand and envision. Applicants should have at least three semesters worth of physical training and a history of success coaching at the high school level or above. Many college coaches are hired in part because of personal relationships with the coaching staff, so cultivate contacts. Professional seminars, successful interviewing skills, and recommendations from former coached pupils can help. Many coaches work with 鈥渉igh talent鈥 stars, thereby associating the athlete鈥檚 fame and prowess with their own skills. All of the above-mentioned criteria are required for coaching professional teams. Strong candidates have had successes at the college level, attained national exposure, and most likely, have refined a specialty, such as 鈥渟pecial teams coach鈥 (a football term for kicking teams or kick-returning teams) or 鈥渟hooting coach.鈥

Present and Future

With the advent of professional sports, coaches gained power, money, and additional responsibilities, such as media communication commitments and negotiation involvement. A professional football coach today is as much a recruiter, public relations specialist, and budget director as he is a teacher. While the number of amateur and professional coaching positions is expected to increase on all levels, competition for these positions is expected to increase as well. But coaches who can find the right opportunity and situation should continue to achieve high levels of satisfaction.

Quality of Life

PRESENT AND FUTURE

Coaches are 鈥渏acks of all trades鈥 who work with athletes in a particular sport on issues of general fitness, flexibility (stretching), strength (weight training), skills, teamwork, and attitude. Many are assistant coaches under more experienced professionals. Many hone their abilities by expanding their knowledge of strategy, coaching, and training during their free time. Hours are long; pay is low. Around 35 percent leave due to frustration with advancement, wage dissatisfaction, or emotional burnout. This is the largest exodus from the profession; over the course of a career, only half the entrants quit by the ten-year mark.

FIVE YEARS OUT

Five-year veterans are usually assistant coaches at large schools or head coaches at smaller ones. Those who have designed their own programs begin to see results around the second or third year of implementation. Few leave the profession between years two and five, as many have found positions which suit their level of abilities. Coaches begin to cement professional and personal relationships which are invaluable later in their careers. Satisfaction is high; pay has become respectable.

TEN YEARS OUT

Ten-year veterans can go into head coaching, higher level coaching, or specialization. Head coaches are involved with every aspect of the day-to-day job, from overseeing training to making decisions that affect the play of the team. Those who wish to rise to a higher level of coaching (such as national team or professional coaching) concentrate on building winning programs and recruiting high-profile athletes. Self-promotion becomes an important part of the career for those who wish to enter the professional coaching ranks. Specializing in one area of coaching and excelling at it makes it easier for professional teams to envision the role you would play with them. Satisfaction is high; few leave the profession beyond this point.