Coach---College Soccer
Updated June 26, 2020 |
Infoplease Staff
Jeremy Bishop
Tell us about your work- what do you do? I am involved with every aspect of running a soccer program on the collegiate level. This includes recruiting, budgeting, scheduling, travel, compliance with NCAA regulations, practice planning, game management, off-season planning, and involvement in the community. Recruiting involves identifying potential recruits through tournaments or high school competition, correspondence with potential recruits (phone calls, letters, email), and making scholarship offers to selected recruits. Budgeting involves selecting equipment and uniforms, scholarship dispersment, and travel costs (competition and recruiting travel). Scheduling involves making contact with other schools and planning out a full season that is competitive and gives your team, with success, a chance to make it on to post season tournaments. Travel involves booking buses or planes, and hotels for team competition and individual recruiting travel. Compliance with NCAA regulations involves having knowledge of all the regulation (mostly recruiting and eligibility) and making sure the coaching staff and athletes are knowledgeable and abide by all regulations. Practice planning involves field evaluation of the team and individuals then planning practice sessions that will improve the areas that are lacking. Game management includes getting referees, media attention, score board operators, statisticians, ball boys, and most importantly making sure your team is warmed-up and motivated to play. Off-season planning involves making and implementing a strength and conditioning program that is specific to your teams needs based on last seasons performance. Involvement in the community involves coaching club teams , running coaching symposiums, and running summer camps. What skills are needed? People skills: motivating, relationship building. Communication skills: to athletes and their families, and to the administration. Organizational skills: keeping up with all the administrative duties (all the things listed before) and still producing competitive soccer teams. What was your major? Grad Degree? Major: Kinesiology ; Minor: Management Grad Degree: Masters in Kinesiology (most coaches have to teach as well and a masters is required in college) How did you get started in your career? I became a graduate assistant for the team at the college where I worked on my graduate degree. Then lots of networking through competition with other college teams, and working at summer camps with other college coaches. What experience do you need in this job? Playing experience: club, high school, college, professional (not required but helpful) Coaching experience: club, high school, and camps are a great start. Describe your "typical" workday. In-season: Mornings are filled with checking on other teams in your division, making sure travel plans are set, calling other schools for scouting reports, teaching a class or two, and whatever other administrative duties need attention. Afternoons are spent in planning sessions with the rest of the coaching staff talking about practice, game, and motivation strategies. Then practice with the team for about two hours. The evening is spent contacting potential recruits to plan evaluation opportunities, set up visits to the school, or to talk scholarship opportunities. What is the hardest aspect of your job? Recruiting. Identifying and getting the best players that your scholarship budget can afford who will come to your school, can help your team on the field, have a chance to do well academically. What is the most rewarding aspect of your job? Having the opportunity to help young people succeed in the classroom, on the field, and in life. When they succeed in any and all of these areas the coach succeeds. What are your suggestions for someone considering this field? Be patient. This is not a very big market; it will take time for you to get the experience and reputation necessary to break into this field. Be diligent in making contacts and gaining experience..com/edu/explorecareers/careerprofiles/coach_collegesoccer.html
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