Coaches and Scouts
Recruiter.com helps professionals in coach and scout careers find better opportunities across all specialties and locations. Sign up in our career community today!
Also known as:
Athletic Coach, Baseball Coach, Baseball Scout, Basketball Coach, Boxing Trainer, Coach, Football Coach, Hockey Scout, Ice Skating Coach, Riding Coach
See all Education and Training Careers.
No matter what natural talents an athlete brings to a sport, the game can be won or lost by the coaching. Coaches can be patient instructors, demanding bosses, and enthusiastic cheerleaders. Their job is to prepare athletes for competition and victory. The best coaches also help them learn from defeat.
They may work alone with young athletes, teaching them the basics, then refining their skills. Or they many manage entire teams, from running practice sessions to planning strategy for the big game. The work can take them outdoors in uncomfortable weather and can be physically draining. Off the field, coaches study team statistics and game tapes and work with athletes to improve their performance.
A head coach may hire assistants to take on some of the budgeting and scheduling tasks. Some coaches become scouts looking for fresh talent and picking new team members, or analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of opposing teams in order to develop game strategies.
Coaches work whenever practices and sporting events are scheduled, often at night and on weekends and holidays. Though a college degree is usually preferred, education and training requirements vary widely by sport. Coaches often start as assistants. They work their way up by developing good relationships with players, demonstrating expert knowledge of the sport, and working with winning teams.
Some coaches become celebrities in their own right. Others may be stars only to the players they've coached, inspiring them long after they've left the field.
Leadership |
HIGH
|
Critical decision making |
HIGH
|
Level of responsibilities |
HIGH
|
Job challenge and pressure to meet deadlines |
LOW
|
Dealing and handling conflict |
LOW
|
Competition for this position |
HIGH
|
Communication with others |
HIGH
|
Work closely with team members, clients etc. |
HIGH
|
Comfort of the work setting |
HIGH
|
Exposure to extreme environmental conditions |
LOW
|
Exposure to job hazards |
LOW
|
Physical demands |
LOW
|
Perform activities that support a team or a specific sport, such as participating in community outreach activities, meeting with media representatives, and appearing at fundraising events.
Contact the parents of players to provide information and answer questions.
Arrange and conduct sports-related activities, such as training camps, skill-improvement courses, clinics, and pre-season try-outs.
Keep abreast of changing rules, techniques, technologies, and philosophies relevant to their sport.
Coordinate travel arrangements and travel with team to away contests.
Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of opposing teams to develop game strategies.
Provide training direction, encouragement, motivation, and nutritional advice to prepare athletes for games, competitive events, or tours.
Evaluate athletes' skills and review performance records to determine their fitness and potential in a particular area of athletics.
Counsel student athletes on academic, athletic, and personal issues.
Explain and enforce safety rules and regulations.
Monitor the academic eligibility of student athletes.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships | Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time. |
---|---|
Making Decisions and Solving Problems | Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems. |
Coaching and Developing Others | Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills. |
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work | Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work. |
---|
Developing and Building Teams | Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members. |
---|
Getting Information | Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. |
---|
Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People | Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people. |
---|
Scheduling Work and Activities | Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others. |
---|
Education and Training | Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects. |
---|---|
English Language | Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. |
Administration and Management | Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources. |
Psychology | Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders. |
---|
Customer and Personal Service | Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction. |
---|
Communications and Media | Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media. |
---|
Personnel and Human Resources | Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems. |
---|
Public Safety and Security | Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions. |
---|
Instructing | Teaching others how to do something. |
---|---|
Speaking | Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
Monitoring | Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action. |
Learning Strategies | Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things. |
---|
Judgment and Decision Making | Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. |
---|
Social Perceptiveness | Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do. |
---|
Reading Comprehension | Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
---|
Active Listening | Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. |
---|