Coaches and Scouts
In the Coaches and Scouts occupation, workers instruct or coach groups or individuals in the fundamentals of sports for the primary purpose of competition. O*NET rates it as considerable preparation, which usually means a bachelor’s degree plus a period of work experience. It leans on instructing, speaking, and monitoring. One core duty is to plan, organize, and conduct practice sessions. On the six-type interest model it reads SER, meaning helping, teaching or caring for people comes first, followed by leading, persuading and making business decisions. The job can ask you to provide training direction, encouragement, motivation, and nutritional advice to prepare athletes for games, competitive events, or tours. It tends to suit people who want helping, teaching or caring for people, and it offers little for anyone seeking research, analysis and working through hard problems.
What they do
Instruct or coach groups or individuals in the fundamentals of sports for the primary purpose of competition. Demonstrate techniques and methods of participation. May evaluate athletes' strengths and weaknesses as possible recruits or to improve the athletes' technique to prepare them for competition. Those required to hold teaching certifications should be reported in the appropriate teaching category.
Main tasks
- Plan, organize, and conduct practice sessions.
- Provide training direction, encouragement, motivation, and nutritional advice to prepare athletes for games, competitive events, or tours.
- Adjust coaching techniques, based on the strengths and weaknesses of athletes.
- Instruct individuals or groups in sports rules, game strategies, and performance principles, such as specific ways of moving the body, hands, or feet, to achieve desired results.
- Plan strategies and choose team members for individual games or sports seasons.
- Monitor the academic eligibility of student athletes.
Skills
- Instructing
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Learning Strategies
- Social Perceptiveness
- Reading Comprehension
Who this career fits
May suit you if
- You get energy from helping other people move forward.
- You like taking the lead and making the call.
- You are ready to spend around four years on a degree, then build experience.
- You are comfortable relying on instructing and speaking.
May not suit you if
- You find a full day of dealing with people draining.
- You want to spend most of your time analyzing and researching. Investigative rates 2.2 out of 7 here.
- You want to avoid a four-year degree or its equivalent.
Interest profile
O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code SER takes the three highest, and Social comes first here.
Preparation
Considerable preparation. Most jobs here ask for a bachelor’s degree, and employers usually expect a few years of related experience as well.
Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: Bachelor's Degree. This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.
Also called
- Baseball Coach
- Basketball Coach
- Coach
- Cross Country Coach
- Football Coach
Related careers
Is this your direction?
See how your interests line up with SER and 906 other careers.
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.