Best Football Coach: Like many people, I want to be a football coach. But it’s not easy to be a good football coach. A good coach needs to know a lot about the game and have the ability to get their team excited about it. If you have never coached or played the game before, it might be hard to get into the job, but it’s not impossible. You can start getting ready to be a football teacher if you learn the game, work on your leadership skills, and meet other people in the field.
How to Become a School-Based Coach
Things You Need to Know
- Finding out what you need to do to become a school-based coach in your state and then going to school to become a teacher requires more schooling.
- Watch old games and talk to NFL staff as much as you can if you want to be a professional teacher.
- Learn how to train all positions, make plans, keep your players motivated, and talk to your team clearly.
Follow the rules in your state
Get in touch with the interscholastic federation in your state to find out what licenses or certifications you need to begin teaching in schools. You can also go to https://nfhslearn.com/home/coaches to find out what licenses your state needs.
Certifications are different in each state
There are classes on sports concussions, first aid, and safety, as well as general training for coaches.
- Every teacher in the district has to get a general coaching certification, a sports-specific concussion certification, a cardiac arrest certification, a first aid certification, and CPR training from the California Interscholastic Federation.
If you live in a different state, each lesson will cost between $30 and $70.[3]
- In Pennsylvania, coaches have to go through training on how to handle concussions and heart attacks.
Get the permissions you need to turn into a coach
In many places, you need to get a criminal background check before you can be a teacher or coach. A lot of the time, these background checks will include checks for state and federal crimes and abuse of children.
- Different states need various types of permissions.
- In some places, you have to go through a drug and alcohol test as well as an employment and credential check.
Get more schooling so that you can get your teaching license
If you want to teach at the college or professional level, you will have to work your way up. A great way to begin is to become a high school football teacher. If you have a degree in teaching, you can coach while still having a job because many schools can’t afford to hire a full-time teacher.
College physical education and sports science majors are more likely to coaches
Look for work as a football coach in your area. You can find coaching work in your area by using job sites. You can also use the official American Football Coaches Associate job board to find jobs across the United States. Many of your area listings may be for teens or kids, but starting there will help you get coaching jobs at higher levels later on. Be aware that teaching children may be very different than teaching adults.
- Many lower level teams won’t require the experience that a college or high school would expect from a football coach.
- Having a firm grasp over physical fitness or working with kids will help you get a coaching job.
Volunteer with a neighborhood team as an assistant coach
If you’re having trouble getting a paid position as a head coach, it’s a good idea to start looking for volunteer assistant coach positions. If you know how to run strength and conditioning or fitness classes, that will help you get a volunteer job.
- Some organizations, like Pop Warner, post volunteer jobs on their websites, with roles ranging from head coach to equipment manager.
- Try to find your local athletic group and contact someone about becoming a volunteer.
Network with other coaches and ask about assistant jobs
For football teams with younger players, you might not need to have coached before. If you get along well with the head coach, they might be able to help you get a job as an assistant coach.
- At clinics or camps in your area, you can meet other teachers.
Working with professional or semi-professional teams
Things You Need to Know
- Finding out what you need to do to become a school-based coach in your state and then going to school to become a teacher requires more schooling.
- Watch old games and talk to NFL staff as much as you can if you want to be a professional teacher.
- Learn how to train all positions, make plans, keep your players motivated, and talk to your team clearly.
Get to know people in the NFL
If you have worked as a player or team member in the NFL, it might help you get a job as a coach.
It’s not necessary for coaches to move from college football to the NFL, but some do. Becoming a great assistant coach or scout might help you make the links you need to get the job.
- If you can’t find a job in the NFL, apply to be an intern. Once you’re accepted, you can start networking with paid staff.
- Assistant coaches in the NFL are often people who want to become coaches.
Be persistent, committed, and strict
People who work for NFL teams need to see a history of success before they will pay attention to you. This could mean being a good coordinator for a team you’re already on or leading a college football team to the title. When it comes to the NFL, the best teachers are the ones who work hard.
- Get ready to get up early and work late. This could make it harder to get along with other people.
Listen to tapes of old football games
Being able to look back at past wins and losses will help you make changes to your team. Besides watching your own team play, you should also carefully go over your upcoming opponent’s past games to learn more about their habits, strategies, strengths, and flaws.
- Write down things you want to remember about the movie as you watch it so you can use them later.
- Another way to get a better idea of what professional teams do is to watch coaches’ film from big NFL games. That’s because “All 22” camera positions let you see all 22 players on the field, which gives you a better view of plays and tactics.
Talk to other football coaches who work for semi-pro or pro teams
You might become a better coach if you talk to other coaches about the problems you’re having. They can also tell you about coaching jobs that might be open on different teams. Talk to teachers who have won so that you can learn something useful from their wins and use it in your own plan.
- You might also get a better idea of what the team needs to work on by talking to the other teachers on your staff.
- The people who work with your players should know more about their skills and weaknesses than someone who doesn’t work with them.
