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The Challenge:
Not All Coaches Understand Their Role

Play 6

Bolster Coaching Education

High school coaches are among the most important adults in the lives of students. They often spend more time with them than any teacher and can shape students’ ideas about health, education, ethics, personal responsibility and initiative to succeed in society. In our national survey, one in three students said they play sports because of “a coach who cares about me.”

Unfortunately, many coaches lack the knowledge to make sports a safe, healthy and positive experience for students. The need to better educate coaches is evident given the pressures that so many adolescents face from so many angles. Nearly half of all students (49%) say they play sports for their emotional well-being and mental health; it’s 56% among females.

The requirements to coach are all over the map. Every state requires coaches to complete concussion training, and 92% of states require first aid and CPR.³² Required trainings are lower for sudden cardiac arrest (57%) and heat illness acclimation (33%). Only six states require training in human development, development psychology and organization management.

In most cases, the state athletic association (65%) establishes coach training requirements. For others, the state department of education (19%), local school district (8%) or another association decides. Some schools use NFHS courses to train coaches in areas such as fundamentals of coaching, concussions, first aid, bullying and hazing, sportsmanship, teaching and modeling behavior, engaging effectively with parents, and strength and conditioning.

Too often, coaches stop being trained after initial certification. Teachers must typically take professional development training as educators, though coaches often do not in sports. States differ on what they require to coach largely because high school sports are so decentralized and finding coaches is so challenging.³³ Many coaches today do not come from the teacher population, meaning they often do not have the background around learning and youth development

Teachers need incentives to return to coaching. Although coaches are often penalized for not completing their training, only 17% of states provide incentives to do so. Incentives include professional development credit and college credit.³⁴

Athletic directors should actively support effective behaviors of coaches through in-house teaching, required outside trainings, and coach networking. Just as importantly, ADs must hold their coaches accountable to the expected quality outcome – a positive experience that results in growing the student retention rate. Just don’t make coaches go it alone. Give them the training they need and cover all costs.

WHO CAN HELP

Local School Districts

School districts could require coaches to take at least one training per year, so they are adapting with the changing times. School districts could work with schools to restructure teacher workloads to include coaching. And school districts could facilitate networking activities designed around teaching positive youth development and health interventions for coaches.

Business & Industry

There’s a need for the marketplace to develop cost effective and accessible learning activities for coaches that teach them the complex skills necessary to work with athletes. It’s not unlike how strength and conditioning specialists get certified over six to nine months. Potential coaches need activities that are shorter and less expensive than a college degree while also being more in-depth than a short online course. Businesses could also create courses for professional development to improve retention and performance.

Membership Organizations

Students generally appreciate their high school coaches, our survey shows. Still, too often reports surface of abuse perpetuated, or ignored, by coaches. The NFHS could create a template for a code of conduct that states could use to set expectations around physical and emotional misconduct. Lines are starting to be drawn across the sport ecosystem by anti-bullying laws, U.S. Center for Safe Sport standards, and other regulations.

Families

Parents need to support coaches and maintain realistic expectations of their child and his or her playing time. That doesn’t mean parents should stay quiet if a coach exhibits behavior that could harm students. It does mean parents should have positive sideline behavior, establish effective and appropriate means of communication with the coach, and remember coaches are humans too and need encouragement whenever possible.

Sports Organizations

Though no national data appear to exist around the race and ethnicity of high school coaches, it’s clear more people of color – especially women – are needed. National Governing Bodies of sports, professional teams/leagues and high school athletic conferences can help by creating pathways for more minorities to train together, mentor and network to become high school coaches or athletic directors, who typically make the coaching hires. Take a page from the National Organization of Minority Athletic Directors, which holds mentorship webinars for minority coaches, administrators and athletes who want to further their careers.³⁵

FINDING SUCCESS

For years, Jennings County High School (North Vernon, Indiana) used an annual evaluation process of coaches that lacked consistency or real standards on what was being reviewed. The school switched to a more professionalized approach called the Deserve to Win Grid, which covers 28 areas in which the coaches are evaluated. This includes creating a safe environment, increasing sports opportunities for younger children, understanding racial and gender discrimination, and demonstrating interpersonal relationships with athletes, parents, coworkers and administrators. Not on the list: wins and losses. Read more in our Large Rural report.

DIVE DEEPER