Thursday, September 12, 2013

Are High School Assistant Coaches Paid Enough?

Being a coach is a hard job. Wining is what determines if coaches get to keep their job or not, but winning is not the easiest thing to do. Coaches in the high school level have it tough in Texas, especially football. The average head coach gets paid between $50,000 to $100,000.  On the other hand, the assistant coaches do not get paid enough for the amount of work they do. In the city of Austin, an assistant coach will be paid a stipend of $5,917 for the school year. This is on par with the average for what assistant coaches make in the rest of Texas. This is not enough pay for the work being done. These hard working assistant coaches should be given a pay increase for every hour they spend working after five o’clock, or when they are required to come up to the school for sport activities. These coaches are in the office breaking down film before and after practice, and have to go to all the game functions which include Saturday practice or games. They are in the locker room when the kids get back late from the games and can’t leave until all of the kids have left. The independent school districts should give equal and fair pay to the coaches for spending all of that time away from home. The coaches would feel refreshed knowing that when they come to the filed house that there work is being compensated, instead of just going through the motions.

2 comments:

  1. It is an undeniable fact that assistant high school coaches are not adequately paid for their work and time. Few could make the argument that assistant coaches aren't some of the hardest working people one could find. However, what is the solution for this problem? Texas’s independent school districts are currently strapped for cash and are cutting programs and funding throughout. The recent downfalls in our economy have hit the education system hard, and it doesn't show any signs of getting any easier for them. Essentially if the assistant coaches are paid a higher salary the district will have to remove funding from another department or program. A rebellion would occur if this took place.

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  2. I agree whole heartedly in high school sports the head coaches are usually teachers as well so the stipend they receive is just extra on top of their salary but the assistant coaches in high school are usually younger and not established yet so the only pay they receive is their measly $5,000 stipend. As we all know five grand is not enough to get someone by for a period of 4 months nor is it anywhere close to being the amount of money these assistant coaches deserve. Most high school Assistant coaches, especially football, probably put in 40 hour work weeks if not more over the course of a season this means that they are only making $200 a week which is probably not enough to even pay their gas. Paying them hourly for the work that they put in was a great idea by the author, the only question I have is how to we integrate this proposition nationwide?

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