Post-Season Coaching Essentials to Maximize Your Off-Season, Part 5
Why do you coach? Is it because you love the game? Is it because you enjoy making an impact on student-athletes? Is it because you want to get rich? (You are certainly in the wrong industry if this is the reason).
More than likely there are many reasons why you coach. The feeling of victory is sweet, seeing your student-athletes shake hands with top administrators while receiving a diploma is rewarding, and using basketball as a vehicle to teach life-long skills such as discipline, teamwork, punctuality and accountability is self-fulfilling.
Great coaches do not coach for themselves, they coach for their student-athletes and they understand the many benefits of athletics. Often times, sports such as basketball are the door-step to the institution (high school and college alike). When perspective Michigan State non-athlete students see the Spartan, they recognize the university. This logo, derived by athletics (there is no point in a mascot without athletics) brings a heck of a lot more common students to the institution than it does student-athletes.
The cultural impact of a great athletics program at the high school or college level cannot be measured. In a basketball-town, every home game is incredibly special. The entire community rallies around the program in support of a victory. Community members, parents, grandparents, and fans pack the gym and create an atmosphere which promotes the school song, the mascot, the team, and ultimately the high school.
When do colleges such as Virginia Commonwealth University, Butler University, and Davidson College get National Television coverage? The Answer¦ During March Madness (the NCAA National Basketball Tournament). Administrators at these low to mid-level NCAA Division 1 institutions understand the benefits of having a nationally recognized basketball program; this is why the basketball coaches at these institutions make 2x-3x the money as the President. The market for successful NCAA Division 1 basketball coaches has continued to be pushed so coaches at this level make a lot of money. This is as a result of the institutional success seen at the schools that have prospered during the National Tournament.
Back to reality¦ There are only 345 NCAA Division 1 head college coaches. Many of these coaches make around $120-$175k, not millions of dollars. Also, the average Head NCAA Division 1 Coach gets his first D1 head coaching job at around the age of 50. Remember how you preach to your athletes, Your chances of going to the NBA are very slim, well, your chances of being an NCAA Division 1 head coach are even slimmer. Also, if your goal is to make 6 figures then be a doctor, an engineer, heck, sell insurance¦ With hard work you will surely make $100k before you are 50 years old. The bottom line, do not coach for money, coach for student-athletes and coach to make a positive impact.
Many high school coaches watch March Madness and see coaches walking the sidelines and think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. The truth is in-game coaching is 1% of the job at the college level. If you are making a good living teaching K-12 and coaching (or working in the business world and coaching high school basketball) and enjoy your job then you are on top of the world. To get to the college level you may have to volunteer to get your foot into door. A majority of college coaches start as a volunteer, graduate assistant, or a part-time assistant. Can you live off of no money or $5-$15k a year? Can you live with no benefits? I started as a volunteer at Morningside College, my partner with Midwest Elite Basketball (Brad Schmit) spent a year as a volunteer before timing and hard work allowed for him to land a full-time assistant coaching position. Nearly every one of the 60+ college coaches who work for Midwest Elite Basketball during the summer started off as a volunteer, graduate assistant or part-time.
Also, the duties of a college coach are very different from that of a high school coach. Most high school coaches do not do the following:
- Manage an operational budget
- Manage a scholarship budget
- Recruiting including 12 month evaluations, building a database of hundreds of athletes, flying all over the country, sitting behind a wheel for hundreds of hours each year, conducting in-school, in-home, and on-campus visits, etc.
- Scheduling
- Academic monitoring
- Coordination of team travel
- On-campus team camp and skill development camps
- Extensive fundraising and alumni functions
- Compliance
- Community functions (speaking engagements, radio shows, giving back with a plethora of programs)
- Extensive individual player development throughout the day
- Monitoring of Diet as well as implementation of strength, conditioning and acceleration program
- Managing a staff of assistant coaches (upwards of 3 full-time), support staff (Director of Operations, Graduate Assistants, etc.), and managers (upwards of 6-8 managers).
- Poor job security, collateral damage (your head coach gets fired, you often times get fired) Your actions after a questionable professional exit will determine if you can successfully pursue compensation.
There is no specific route to becoming a Head College Coach. It is all about relationships, success, and perhaps most importantly, timing. You can be a student-assistant or college player (4-5 years), graduate assistant (2-3 years), director of operations (2-5 years), low-level assistant (catching many planes each week for recruiting for 3-10 years), mid-level assistant (3-8 years) high level assistant/associate head coach (3-5 years) and then become a head coach if everything goes right, or you can be in the right spot at the right time, your boss gets a promotion and you get a shot at the age of 30. There is no specific route. Work your tail off, do things the right way, and get lucky is the best bet for progression in the coaching industry.
If your goal is to be a college coach, then you need to go for it. But it is important to understand what that entails. Ultimately, what are your professional goals? It is all about finding your level. You will sleep well at night and find fulfillment if you make a positive impact on your players, your school, and your community, no matter if you are a junior high coach or a head division 1 coach.
Continue to do the right thing, build solid relationships, have success on and off the floor, and treat the game with respect. Networking is so important. Go out of your way to meet new people and give everyone positive energy. You never know what direction your career will head.