Finding the Job

Last week I wrote about how I got the job I currently have, emailing coaches until I finally got a reply. It’s not the most efficient way of finding a job, but if you’re willing to put in the work or volunteer for a season, then go for it. The other jobs I’ve had in coaching, one at the high school level and one for a college club team, I got because I had connections to the school; friends who were alumni at one and knowing the hiring manager for the other since I had worked with her for two years as a student worker.

I say this to highlight a truth about finding a job in any area of sport; it’s not just what you know but also who you know. You can be a great coach starting out, but if you don’t have the licenses to show that or have someone that can vouch for you and your qualities as a coach, it can be tough (not impossible) to move to a new level or find that first job.

The purpose of this post isn’t to talk about getting references or coaching courses; those will come later, I promise. The purpose of this post is discussing how to find jobs that you may be interested in applying to and some resources that you can use going forward in your journey.

I’m going to assume for a moment that those who are reading this are looking to coach in a professional environment, whether that is a club, high school, college, or professionally. I’m also going to assume that those reading this have played previously and are near or at the end of their competitive playing career and are looking to transition into coaching to stay close to the game. I know what they say about assuming, but I’m willing to take that risk.

So, assuming that you’ve played soccer, it is likely that you have played under a lot of different coaches in your career. Hopefully there are some that you had a major impact on your development and that you stay in touch with. If this is the case, reach out to those old coaches and see if they are; a.) looking for an assistant coach or b.) know someone who is. The benefit of talking with a new coach is that they likely know about your qualities as a player and as a person, and as long as they think favorably of you having someone who can vouch for you to other coaches is important for that first job, especially if they are recommending you to another coach. That is one way that you can build your network (just a mention in passing; again networking will have its own, separate post).

For those who did not keep in touch with their old coaches or those who are looking for the next opportunity in their career, their are a number of resources that you can use to find a new opportunity, and they are discussed below.

  • Local/County Educational Service Centers- in Ohio, we have ESC’s that have job listings for every school in that county, making it a great resource if you are looking to coach middle school or high school soccer.
  • State High School Athletic Associations- A number of the state high school athletic associations have job boards for member schools to post openings. This is actually the way that I found out about the high school I worked for having an opening. I can’t say that every state association has a job board or something similar, but it’s worth checking out.
  • United Soccer Coaches– The United Soccer Coaches has a section dedicated to coaches seeking employment or organizations looking for coaches. They feature listings from youth clubs to MLS academies to colleges, making this an incredibly valuable resource for a coach starting out who may not know what level they want to coach at. They also post some international opportunities if you would be interested in coaching in another country. And if you have a membership, you can post your resume for prospective employers to view.
  • NCAA Market– This is a job board for all positions in college athletics at all levels of of college athletics. So if you are interested in coaching or another role in college sports, this is a great resource. They also include postings from NAIA and Junior Colleges, so it is a great resource to browse if you are looking to coach college soccer. As an added benefit, if you sign up for free with an email, you can create notifications when jobs in certain categories are posted, making it easy to know when new soccer-related jobs are posted.
  • Teamwork Online– For those that have aspirations of working for an MLS/NWSL/USL academy or in a non-coaching role at those levels, this is the site for you. Teams from all professional leagues in the U.S. post job listings here, and you can search it by league, location, or job type. It is a great resource to use to figure out how to reach the next level and like the NCAA job board you can create a free account to receive notifications when new jobs in certain categories become available.

These are just some of the resources available to job seekers in the soccer world. Use them to find a new job or to figure out what steps you need to take to advance to the next level. And if you have a resource that you have found useful that I didn’t include here? Comment it below or share it with us on Twitter @NewCoachProbs.

Macte Virtute

Any links provided in this post are for your convenience only. I receive no compensation from any of the companies if you navigate to their site from my blog.

As I mentioned previously, I am an alum of Youngstown State University (Go Guins!). In my last semester there, I had the opportunity to take a sports management course taught in part by the University President, Jim Tressel.

Now, any thoughts you have on what happened when he left Ohio State don’t change the fact that he was a brilliant football coach. (No, I’m not getting any free tattoos or memorabilia for writing that.) But what was most interesting about that class was how much he craved feedback from others. As coaches, we are used to providing feedback to players, but have you taken time to get feedback from them? What about your assistant coaches or other support staff?

One of the phrases he liked to use is “Macte virtute” which translates roughly to “increase your excellence.” One of the things that he stressed was surrounding yourself with individuals who make you better and seizing any opportunities you have to better yourself. He spoke about how he would bring in experts to talk to his teams about various topics, and even in this class he invited other coaches and administrators from the area to speak to the class about their experience and area of expertise. It was one of my favorite classes I took at YSU and really enhanced my desire to get into coaching as a career (I apologize to my KSS profs if you’re reading this).

As coaches, we have so many opportunities to learn. For instance, the United Soccer Coaches recently revamped their membership and included a lot of their eLearning courses in the membership fee. This includes their Level 1 Goalkeeping course which is normally around $80 if you take it without being a member. On top of all the other benefits you get from the $95 membership, these courses are a great way to learn some interesting facts or ideas that you may be able to incorporate into your coaching.

Outside of formal learning through the United Soccer Coaches or U.S. Soccer, take time to learn from other coaches you work with. If you work at a college with a men’s and a women’s team, bounce ideas off members of the other staff from time to time. Or if you have some local clubs, reach out to them and share ideas. Also, if you have the benefit of working with a certified strength and conditioning specialist, talk to them about new research going on regarding training athletes. You may be surprised what you can learn and take with you as you plan your own training sessions.

No matter what you focus on, be sure to keep learning and remain up to date on what is going on in soccer. Find ways to learn from every one around you and always look to increase your excellence!

Getting Started

This was the biggest hurdle for me getting into the college game. To understand this, though, I need to explain a little bit about my background in soccer.

I played soccer at a Division III school for about a year and a half before I withdrew from that school because of concussion issues. I was never a great player, but I love the game and I worked with one of my coaches there to start developing a passion for coaching.

I transferred to Youngstown State and earned my bachelor’s degree. While there, I coached high school and recreational leagues in my area. I also gained experience in fitness training and testing through my degree in exercise science. After graduating, I worked with the club team at YSU as their first head coach and led them through their spring friendlies.

Then I decided I wanted to make coaching a career and to do that I needed to make the jump to coaching at an NCAA school. And for those looking to make the jump, you need to be patient and persistent. I emailed the school that I played at about coming on as an assistant. Never got a response. I emailed the graduate school I was attending offering to volunteer so I can learn. Never heard a response. I emailed a Division III school about volunteering. Never heard back. Finally, I emailed the coach at the school I will be coaching at and he gave me a chance as an intern.

The point is that you have to be willing to grind to get your foot in the door, especially if you don’t have a stellar playing career like me. It took effort reaching out to coaches on top of continuing to learn about the game to get that first opportunity, but it’s worth it. Now I have the opportunity to learn from some brilliant coaches to begin my career and work in an environment that will challenge me to grow and be at my best. So if you’re looking for that first step, no matter what level you want to coach at, don’t be afraid to get out there and talk to coaches and see what’s available. You’ll be glad you did.

Welcome!

Hi everyone! I started this blog as a young coach starting out because it is difficult to find useful information regarding things like coaching courses, networking events, and the other behind the scenes items coaches have to complete. So, with that in mind, I wanted to create something where I share what I learn from different events and any tips or tricks that I pick up along the way so that it can help out another young coach trying to get their start.

Let me be clear about what this blog is and is not: it is not going to be something where I share drills, tactics, or other on-field items. There are plenty of other resources online that you can find that information. What I want this to be is to share observations about what it is really like being a coach on a day to day basis with all the tasks that a coach has to complete to be successful.

I’m going to be a volunteer assistant at a small DIII school in northeast Ohio, so while I recognize that my experience may not be the same as someone who coaches youth or at another level of college soccer, but we all go through similar experiences as coaches and that is what I’m here to highlight and talk about.

My summer is really going to be getting started the first weekend in August as I’ll be attending the U.S. Soccer Grassroots Courses to start moving up in the licensing pathway so keep an eye out for a post for tips and thoughts on that. After that, my college will start camp in the middle of August and from there I hope to write a little more regularly. In the meantime, I’m going to be brushing up on NCAA compliance to make sure I don’t break any rules in this space.

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