Coaching Question

Not entirely certain if this is the right forum for it but here is a question I have:

How does one get into coaching football? I'm aware of course of the typical "Well go teach at High School" but what if you wanted to avoid that? Is there a way to do it without starting at the High School level?

Coaching (most likely as an offensive coordinator) is something I'm interested in doing in the future, so I'm sort of scouting out options for how to get into it at the moment.

I'm assuming your still in school. If that's incorrect, let me know. With that assumption in place, your best bet is to play at as high a level as possible, and learn every step of the way. You don't have to be the best player of the game, but you do have to be the best student of the game.

Bad news is, the vast majority of football coaches are high school football coaches. If you want to avoid that, play college ball, and impress your coaches enough to keep you on after graduation as a graduate assistant. That gets your foot in the door to college football.

Good luck.

Hm...well that gives me a few ideas at least. There isn't alot I can do at the school I'm going to now because they don't have a football program. Still, I hadn't consider the option of applying for an assistant position of some kind before once I've graduated.

So are you trying to figure out a way to bypass going to college and be a coach past the high school level? If that's the case I can't imagine the road being easy without actually having played football. If you have no experience at all, the best you'll probably get would be to start as something like an assistant wide recievers coach for a frosh-soph squad. You'll have to work your way up the ranks slowly, not getting paid, and even if your an offensive genius rivaling Mad Mike it'll take you many many years to ever get to a collegiate Offensive coordinator position.

Your best bet really is to go to college and get your degree in teaching and be a teacher/coach or get your degree in in athletics and go straight into coaching.

I don't want to rain on your parade but coaches don't get jobs based on desire alone, they have to have experience or education, or both.

I don't honestly mind if it isn't an easy thing to do (bypassing the highschool level) I didn't expect it would. Right now I'm just considering my options and what I want to do after college graduation which is coming up in the disturbingly near future. Sometimes the best jobs can be the hardest ones to get and I have no delusions about this being easy. Nor do I know for certain that anything will come of it.

I'm a fairly calculated person and wouldn't at all mind starting low because I know that starting low can sometimes give you the best overall experience package when you do get into the higher positions. I shall see, apparently =).

I'm just going to start by researching the question in general, that's why I came here. I figured I might get some worthwhile opinions on the idea and maybe learn of a few places to check.

Well if you are graduating college, that changes things a bit. What is your degree in? Anything sports related?

Also is there a reason you want to skip highschool or lower leagues? I honestly can't see even a community college taking on someone with zero football experience as a player or coach. Maybe as equipment manager or something, but what good would that do you?

I suppose if there were no other option but to go to the High School level I would. I'm just not a fan of the High School system in general. A lower level of Football though (say an amature league or what have you) would be perfectly fine and useful for gaining experience. I know my college has an amature team/club and I'm trying to find information on it, but since the college seems to hate the sport of football, it's going to take some time.

As for my upcoming degree, unless they want someone to research their history or need someone with political acumen, I'm afraid that won't be of any help.

This would probably be my road if I tried to coach.

1. Start off as a volunteer coach at the high school level (if you've played, some coaches would love to have you back. My coach said that). If you are lucky, you may can get a paid job as an assistant.

2. After a few years, you're name will get out depending on how you are doing. If you are not coaching on a good team, try another one if you really want to get going. Eventually, you may get offered an offensive/defensive coordinator job.

3. Most will then become a head coach at the high school level, possibly an assistant in the college level. Again, you have to get your name out by coaching and doing a good job of it.

4. College assistant, possible head coach.

5. Possible head coach or maybe a very low level NFL assistant job. Once you get to the NFL, I heard it's almost up to you how far you want to go.

6. Keep working your way up the coaching ladder. Most just do not have what it takes to be an NFL coordinator, much less a head coach. But you never know what could happen.

It takes years and years, but there is nothing more valuable than experience.

A volunteer coach? Hm, I hadn't thought of that. Thanks.

With funding shortages and what-not most schools are looking for all the volunteer help they can get. You will no doubt have to pass a back ground check and have to enter your fingerprints into the FBI database.

It will take a lot of commitment, but best of luck to you!

My complete lack of background should help with that =).

I'll have to look into it. Maybe I could go be irritating at my old school.