Reply to 10 Things Your Kid's Private School Coach Wishes S/he Could Say to Parents

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]#13:  If I were a better coach I would not have to say most of these things and I also would be spending more time prepping for practices and games as opposed to posting on an anonymous board [b]complaining about the people who pay my salary[/b].

Actually, I don't disagree with most of the OP's concepts but the attitude behind it comes through loud and clear.  4 laps for you!  [/quote]

(Typo fixed)  Just for a little context, I'm a teacher-coach at an independent school.  I've been coaching for 10+ years, as the lead assistant for a high school varsity team.  It's been a wonderful experience.

What does my job entail?  Well, I do spend a lot of time "prepping for practices and games."  I buy DVDs, coaching books, and attend coaching clinics on my own dime.  During the season, I wait with kids if their parents get caught in traffic and are late to pick them up.  I help kids make "recruiting videos" for college.  I've gone with players to the emergency room and waited with them for hours when we cannot reach a parent.  Every year I come back two weeks early from summer vacation for pre-season, and give up the Labor Day and Columbus Day holidays because the team practices or plays.  It's [b]6 days a week in season[/b], and generally at least 20 hours per week when you include travel time to away games.

I get paid $2500 for the season.

I don't do it for the money, and I don't expect more money -- I'm glad the programs can afford to have assistant coaches which would not be possible if the position paid a lot more.  It's been incredibly rewarding in non-monetary ways and I hope to keep doing it for many years.
But I have seen all of the parental behavior highlighted in the first post.  Not a majority of parents, and it doesn't even necessarily happen every year, but I've seen all of this over the years.  It doesn't take away the joy in coaching, but it can lessen it.

"But you're just an assistant!" you might say.  "The head coaches get the real money and they need to take all that comes with it."  Well, my head coaching counterparts around the league are either academic classroom teachers who get a small extra salary (not so much more than I make), or maybe no specific coaching pay if coaching is defined as part of the core jobs.  The coaches who work full time in athletics teach a full classroom load of Physical Education.

This just isn't a highly paid gig.  We are not Nick Saban or John Calipari, or even Coach Taylor from Friday Night Lights.  We are coaching because we love our sport and love teaching it to your kids. [/quote]

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