Home Complete List of Side Hustle Ideas Sports Coach
$5-$200 per hour
Provide targeted coaching and training to individual athletes or teams in a specific sport.
| Time to First Earnings | 1 week to 9 months | |
|---|---|---|
| Work Location | In person | |
| Startup Costs |
$0
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| Licenses & Certifications |
RequiredNone |
OptionalSports coach certification - 3 to 9 months |
You don’t need to be a professional athlete to have a sports career. One fun and rewarding way to get involved and make a living from sports is to become a sports coach.
If you have strong leadership skills and a wealth of knowledge related to a specific sport, then coaching may be the perfect career path for you. In this article, we’ll explain what a sports coach does and how to find work and succeed in this field.
A sports coach trains individuals or teams in a specific sport to help them win competitions and games. They may help train athletes of various age groups and ability levels and work in a wide range of settings, from coaching school sports teams to traveling around the world with elite players.
Your exact responsibilities and work schedule as a sports coach will depend on the type of sport you’re coaching and your level (e.g., head coach or assistant coach). However, many sports coaches travel frequently and work irregular hours, often during nights, weekends, or even holidays.
Here are some of the most common duties of a sports coach:
Sports coaches spend long periods of time with their athletes during training seasons and work closely with them. Naturally, coaches typically play a crucial role in their athletes’ lives.
Every sport needs a coach. This includes both team sports and individual sports. Here are just a few examples of sports that require coaches.
| Team Sports | Individual Sports |
|---|---|
| ● Basketball ● Soccer ● Baseball ● Softball ● Football ● Rugby ● Volleyball ● Ice hockey ● Field hockey ● Lacrosse ● Rowing or crew ● Kickball ● Cheerleading ● Quidditch ● Water polo ● Cricket ● Handball ● Netball ● Ultimate frisbee ● Indoor soccer (futsal) ● Roller derby ● Dodgeball | ● Running ● Track and field ● Swimming ● Golf ● Boxing ● Ice skating ● Wrestling ● Gymnastics ● Skiing ● Snowboarding ● Cycling ● Surfing ● Skateboarding ● Fencing ● Archery ● Shooting ● Weightlifting or bodybuilding ● Rock climbing ● Horse riding ● Table tennis or ping pong ● Sailing ● Bowling |
Where you work as a sports coach depends entirely on the sport you’re coaching and whether you’re coaching a team sport or training individual athletes.
For example, if you’re an ice skating coach, you’ll primarily work at ice skating rinks coaching individual athletes. As a tennis coach, on the other hand, you could be meeting individual clients at community tennis courts or coaching a whole team in your community.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, sports coaches in the US made an average of $45,910 per year in 2023. However, this figure doesn’t tell the whole story.
For example, coaches who work at local schools are often also teachers, and their pay may just be a small bonus on top of their teacher salary, often somewhere in the range of $2,000–$10,000 per season.
On the other hand, you can find esteemed coaches who offer one-on-one private coaching lessons at very high rates, often $50–$100 per session. The difference, however, is that freelance sports coaching usually doesn’t offer the same income stability as a coaching job with a particular team or organization.
Your reputation (based on both coaching and athletic experience) also plays a big role in determining your pay rates. Like the case with many occupations, where you live will also affect your earning potential as a sports coach, as shown in the table below.
| State / Region | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $112,280 |
| New Jersey | $81,130 |
| Massachusetts | $72,420 |
| Louisiana | $71,480 |
| West Virginia | $68,240 |
Source: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Sports coaches have a positive job outlook. The BLS projects sports coaches and scouts to have a 9% growth from 2023 to 2033, higher than the average growth across all occupations.
Additionally, there’s expected to be approximately 41,800 openings for these occupations per year on average throughout the decade. This is a positive sign for those considering starting a sports coach career.
You don’t need to be able to play a sport at a professional level to become a coach. The most important traits for a sports coach are technical sports knowledge and effective communication and leadership skills.
But don’t be fooled—just because there aren’t strict requirements for becoming a sports coach doesn’t mean it’s an easy field to break into. There are certain credentials and qualities you’ll need to become a successful sports coach.
You don’t need a degree or any specific education to become a sports coach. The main hiring consideration is that you’re competent in your sport and have relevant experience.
That said, holding a bachelor’s or higher in a related field could give you a leg up in finding jobs, especially if you want to coach collegiate or professional sports or you don’t have much relevant experience.
Here are examples of relevant degrees for sports coaches to pursue:
Like the case with degrees, obtaining a certification isn’t a strict requirement for becoming a sports coach, but it can boost your credentials and give you an advantage over your competitors.
Depending on the type of coaching you do, there are specific certifications you can choose from. For example, if you want to coach football, you can become credentialed with USA Football, which offers youth and high school tackle certifications.
Here are other reputable organizations that offer general certifications to sports coaches:
In addition, many positions will require coaches to obtain a first aid certification so that they’re equipped to handle basic injuries when a medical team isn’t around.
Experience is arguably the most important criterion for becoming a sports coach. Degrees and certifications can only get you so far. At the end of the day, potential employers are more interested in your background and what you can bring to the table.
If you don’t have formal coaching experience, you may include any experience playing sports in school or volunteering as a sports teacher or coach in your resume. This will show that you at least have a strong familiarity with the sport and coaching practices.
A sports coach plays a dynamic role in supporting athletes. They don’t just impart technical knowledge—they also help athletes and teams learn how to solve problems and overcome obstacles on their own. These duties require a unique set of skills.
For instance, coaches may instill discipline and resilience in athletes, train them to endure psychological pressure during matches, or teach them good sportsmanship.
To excel as a sports coach, you should possess the following skills:
All in all, you should be strong-willed, inventive, and willing to go to great lengths to take your athletes to the next level. By continuously honing your skills, you can become a well-rounded coach and witness your hard work come to fruition.
A good place to begin your job search is to browse specialized job boards dedicated to positions in sports coaching and educational institutions. Here are a few great examples:
You can also find job openings for sports coaches on general employment websites like Indeed, Glassdoor, and ZipRecruiter. Utilize their filters, such as job type, location, experience level, and pay, to narrow your search and get more concentrated results.
Another option is to connect directly with the head coaches of community teams or schools and ask if they’re looking to hire new coaches. For school coaching, you can typically find contact information on the school’s website or by asking the school’s administrative staff.
If you’re coaching a solo sport or would rather offer individualized coaching, then your best bet is to start your own coaching business. To find clients, you should start by building your own business website and executing on marketing strategies like social media promotion.
Here are a few great online platforms where you can advertise your sports coaching services:
You can also use social media to find clients. Local groups on Facebook or NextDoor, for example, can help you easily access your target clients.
Follow these tips to land your dream sports coaching job more quickly, even if you have no coaching experience.
One of the easiest and most effective ways to gain coaching experience and skills fast is to take initiative and support local sports clubs or teams. Many teams are happy to accept help from someone who shares a passion for the sport.
You may have to settle for coaching amateur teams, but you’ll gain a valuable opportunity to try out real coaching and learn tricks from experienced coaches. A volunteer position will also give a feel for whether sports coaching is a good job for you.
Having extensive knowledge of your chosen sport isn’t enough to make you a great coach. You need to understand fundamental coaching principles. Coaching skills aren’t equivalent to athletic ability, and they’re not even the same as teaching skills.
You need to know how to not only effectively communicate knowledge to your athletes but also help them build the skills and understanding necessary to improve their own performance without your guidance. This is the essence of coaching.
This isn’t all about physicality. A good coach understands how to promote healthy growth and improvements in an athlete’s mind as well as their body.
If you lack experience, it can be difficult to find a sports coach job. An easy way to overcome this hurdle and gain experience is to single out opportunities with higher demand and less competition.
For example you could look for openings at schools where they’re prone to being understaffed, such as large public high schools. There are many students with potential to become top athletes, making public schools a great place to gain experience and develop your coaching skills.
