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Coaches and Scouts
Instruct or coach groups or individuals in the fundamentals of sports for the primary purpose of competition. Demonstrate techniques and methods of participation. May evaluate athletes' strengths and weaknesses as possible recruits or to improve the athletes' technique to prepare them for competition. Those required to hold teaching certifications should be reported in the appropriate teaching category.
Also Known As:
Baseball Coach
Basketball Coach
Coach
Cross Country Coach
Football Coach
Gymnastics Coach
Soccer Coach
Softball Coach
Track and Field Coach
Volleyball Coach
Wages
Annual wages for Coaches and Scouts in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
326,000
6% Change From 2024
Explore Coaches and Scouts video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Provide training direction, encouragement, motivation, and nutritional advice to prepare athletes for games, competitive events, or tours.
- Evaluate athletes' skills and review performance records to determine their fitness and potential in a particular area of athletics.
- Keep and review paper, computerized, and video records of athlete, team, and opposing team performance.
- Identify and recruit potential athletes by sending recruitment letters, meeting with recruits, and arranging and offering incentives, such as athletic scholarships.
- Explain and demonstrate the use of sports and training equipment, such as trampolines or weights.
- Teach instructional courses and advise students.
- Develop and arrange competition schedules and programs.
- Hire, supervise, and work with extended coaching staff.
- Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of opposing teams to develop game strategies.
- Coordinate travel arrangements and travel with team to away contests.
- Select, acquire, store, and issue equipment and other materials as necessary.
- Monitor athletes' use of equipment to ensure safe and proper use.
- Monitor athletes' use of equipment to ensure safe and proper use.
- Monitor athletes' use of equipment to ensure safe and proper use.
- Plan, organize, and conduct practice sessions.
- Keep abreast of changing rules, techniques, technologies, and philosophies relevant to their sport.
- File scouting reports that detail player assessments, provide recommendations on athlete recruitment, and identify locations and individuals to be targeted for future recruitment efforts.
- Identify and recruit potential athletes by sending recruitment letters, meeting with recruits, and arranging and offering incentives, such as athletic scholarships.
- Keep and review paper, computerized, and video records of athlete, team, and opposing team performance.
- Serve as organizer, leader, instructor, or referee for outdoor and indoor games, such as volleyball, football, and soccer.
- Oversee the development and management of the sports program budget and fundraising activities.
- Perform activities that support a team or a specific sport, such as participating in community outreach activities, meeting with media representatives, and appearing at fundraising events.
- Counsel student athletes on academic, athletic, and personal issues.
- Arrange and conduct sports-related activities, such as training camps, skill-improvement courses, clinics, and pre-season try-outs.
- Explain and enforce safety rules and regulations.
- Select, acquire, store, and issue equipment and other materials as necessary.
- Plan and direct physical conditioning programs that will enable athletes to achieve maximum performance.
- Instruct individuals or groups in sports rules, game strategies, and performance principles, such as specific ways of moving the body, hands, or feet, to achieve desired results.
- Monitor the academic eligibility of student athletes.
- Monitor the academic eligibility of student athletes.
- Plan strategies and choose team members for individual games or sports seasons.
- Adjust coaching techniques, based on the strengths and weaknesses of athletes.
- Monitor the academic eligibility of student athletes.
- Contact the parents of players to provide information and answer questions.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")