Coaching

I have no degree and do not teach. I earned high school coaching jobs through my appraoch and reputation in local baseball at different times in my life. If you get an opportunity, and you have baseball experience, you can begin bulding a resume. I don't believe you have to teach and many jobs get posted around the country for assistants, some don't include teaching jobs. Its is unfortunate that some teachers that have no experience in baseball end up as coaches in high school. I have encountered a few and the results can be disastrous. It can take an experienced guy a couple of years to create or fix a program. Start looking now as many schools look for young JV assistants and being that you are working toward a degree, that may give them an incentive to keep you on if you do want a school position of some kind. There are PE teachers also. Good luck.

thanks for the response. Right now I am majoring in accounting, but really want to get involved in coaching high school baseball. I've considered getting into teaching accounting/business/computers. A career in accounting/finance/business will not allow me to coach high school baseball, unless I open up my own firm which wouldn't be for years down the road.

Nothing wrong with wanting to coach at a school. But most schools will hire their teachers. Some will go outside of their ranks.

Compare the income of a teacher with that of an accountant. Factor in your desire to coach.

Factor in that you can always coach in a summer league. And, most summer leagues play a much higher level baseball than high school ball. And, you'll have more freedom if it is a summer league.

Factor in that for a summer team you'll have to recruit. Not necessarily an easy or fun thing to do.

Good and Bad on both sides. It's your call.

I do not teach either. When I finished playing myself I wanted to stay in the game so to speak. I played football in college and both baseball and football in HS. I started out coaching AAU and really enjoyed it. I eventually got into coaching summer college ball and it was a blast. I eventually landed a job at our local HS several years ago coaching both football and baseball. When I took over the Head job in baseball I had to give up football because I wanted to give all my time to the program year round. Some areas require you to be on staff as a teacher in order to coach. Alot of areas do not. I would suggest you start out in a quality HS program as a volunteer assistant and work your way up if you want to. There are always HS programs looking for people just like you. One thing is for sure you need to learn as much as you can from every one you can. Being a good coach has as much to do with your ability to communicate with kids as it does with your knowledge of the game. Good luck

Watts,
I can tell you it is a great experience. As Linear said weigh the ups and downs. I do teach and find that I like being able to be a round the kids to make sure they are doing the things in the classroom and elsewhere that will help make them more well-rounded. As a teacher you may also have the opportunity to coach in a nearby school district if the hours are the same. You can also coach summer ball as well as high school. Good luck.

I am proud to say that I'm a teacher. I teach U.S. and World History. I also have a Master's Degree in Educational Administration. Yes, I can be a Principal. Scary!!! You want your heart broken. TEACH! Guaranteed it will happen. I've attended funerals for players and students and have spoken at several of their funerals. Huge holes get ripped in your heart. I've experienced extreme highs. To see the lights go on when learning really occurs. To hear kids take off in a classroom discussion while you just sit back and realize the hope for America is sitting right in front of you. To win a State Championship! WOW!!!

No, you don't have to teach anymore in many school districts. I taught and coached all of my assistants. They are now teachers here. I wouldn't have it any other way. JMHO!

i teach. in tennessee there are some steps to get a head job withhout teaching but its a long process - i think 5 year minimum as an assistant is one of them - but 99.9% teach.
the head coaches in our area are all baseball people though with baseball backgrounds. they've not just been put in a position without being a baseball coach as top priority.
i teach accounting and business ed classes - i know someone posted earlier that they were considering that.
i wouldnt want it any other way. i want to be around the kids and the school all day. your missing out on some great rewards if you're not.
i coach summer league ball also. ive coached "select" teams during the summer and absolutely hated it. the community and school link makes it so much more rewarding.

I teach Economics at our high school, and I have taught for all 9 years that I have been a high school head coach. I think it gives me a great advantage because I have access to a lot of information that other coaches will have a hard time getting (grades, teacher comments, etc.). Also, I get to chat with my players (from 9th - 12th) at times throughout the school day, which is great - nothing like talking baseball after school or before a class with an eager young man.
I think teaching and coaching go hand in hand - even those coaches that are good but don't LIST themselves as teaching professionals...believe me, they ARE teachers!

I have been an HS assistant coach for 10 years and the head coach of a travel team for 5. I do not teach in school. I played both football and baseball during my college career. I have been a firefighter here in NY for 19+ years and my work schedule has given me the flexibility to do all these things I love.