According to Stephen Covey, the most significant struggle faced by modern man is the challenge of finding a balance between work and life. This work-life balance challenge is most evident in the sports profession. The typical day-in-the-life of a coach is jam packed with practices, team meetings, scouting, and games. With only 24-hours in the day and a career on the line, family time is often missing from daily schedule.
As an Athletic Director or Head Coach, how might you promote work-life balance among your coaches?
High school coaches are very busy people. This makes having a work-life balance almost impossible. In high school, coaches have to coach multiple sports in a semester. This is definitely true in 1A to 3A schools. One way that athletic directors could help with the work-life balance problem of many is by having coaches only coach one sport a year or semester. The problem athletic director’s face is the fact that many schools have made budget cuts which does not allow schools to hire more coaches.
ReplyDeleteIf schools had more money to be able to hire more coaches, then the coaches at these schools wouldn’t be so busy and be able to have more of a work-life balance. Until schools have a larger budget to allow them to hire more coaches, many coaches will be over whelmed with the work load they are given. If I were an athletic director I would do everything possible to hire as many coaches as I could so that many of them only had to coach one sport per semester. I believe this would make coaches work-life a lot more balanced.
Burnout among coaches is a topic often discussed, but the issue still dominates the interscholastic athletic coaching culture. The conflict develops because the popularity of the University is often correlated to the success of its sport teams. Most coaches are just as determined as the athletes to work hard long hours for success, therefore athletic directors must recognize this conflict and offer options to promote a healthy work-life balance. Coaches could be required to attend monthly retreats where his or her family would be encouraged to join and enjoy the relaxation time. Seminars should be offered to teach coaches how to better manage time or a lecture series on how a relaxed coach is a successful coach. Athletic directors need to take a stand to change the norm of coaches, rather than encouraging 12+ hour workdays with no lunch break. Coaches need to be convinced that taking a lunch break and leaving at a decent hour will not only improve the mental health of the coach and allow them to coach with a clearer mind, but also retain the necessary work-life balance to be successful in all facets of his or her life.
ReplyDeleteSport coaches dedicate so much time to their teams and players that sometimes it may seem as though they forget about their own lives and families. These long hours at the office and on the field create work-life imbalances that may be difficult to overcome as coaches try to win and lead their teams to their ultimate goals. However, interscholastic athletic directors are in a position of power and can help reduce stresses that are put onto coaches’ lives. First, athletic directors should plan on hiring enough personnel or coaching staff members so that the amount of work is evenly divided amongst several coaches instead of putting all of it on just one person. University boosters can be great resources for financing these auxiliary positions. Secondly, athletic directors should encourage family-activities such as cookouts, movie-nights or amusement park day; through the school-system, in which coaches and their families can spend time together and feel appreciated for what they give to school, teams, and student-athletes. Both of these recommendations can be easily achieved and will help decrease work-overload and facilitate a more satisfying work-life balance for sport coaches.
ReplyDeleteInterscholastic athletic directors already have a ton on their plate with coaching, teaching and everything else they do to keep their athletic programs top notch, but how about we add one more thing: coach retention.
ReplyDeleteEven though a coach coaches for the love of the game, there will become a point when burnout sets in.
Keeping this from happening should be a main priority for athletic directors. One solution could be getting the student-athletes’ and the coach’s families involved. Athletic directors should try to create more social connections between the coaches’ families and the player’s families. With a bond like this, it will help bring all the families together, raising moral and comfort between all of the people involved in the student’s athletic, as well as the coaches, lives.
For example, having cookouts organized by the parents and coaches, preparing a social gathering for each sport where the coaches, parents, players, and coach’s families have a meet-the-team, or even have potluck-type dinners before the game involving all families and players. If this were to happen more often, the coach’s family would not feel left out and it would help the families get to know each other.
Bring involvement into every person’s lives; there is a happier, healthier relationship for everyone.
Coaching is an art. No particular formula or science exists behind coaches whom the world deems as great. Coaches who exceed mediocrity, standing above the average, view their job as a way of life, not merely a profession. In a sports-driven society, coaches who go above and beyond their call of duty in order to find success will continue to lead and contribute to their particular “field”, not for themselves, but for the team they take complete ownership of via the route of full-time dedication. Those who devote their life to pedagogy realize that many hours must be put in off the field of competition. Athletic directors are limited in means that assist coaches in finding a work/life balance. For coaches and athletic directors, the relentlessness of winning is the emphasis of their lifeblood, trumping most other priorities within the coaching world. Thus said, services in balancing work/ life of coaches will only prevail if the balance is eagerly accepted by the victory-hungry coach. All in all, while great coaches will always dedicate great time, it remains imperative for athletic directors to allocate any aid that allows coaches to be more efficient and less-restrained to an office.
ReplyDeleteCoaching is a high stress job and the need to win is a heavy burden on a coaching staff. It is important that coaches do not overwork themselves and that Athletic Directors create a positive work-life balance for them. Here are some ideas that may prevent coaches from burning out: First, during the offseason coaches should be only allowed to work a maximum of five and a half days a week and ten hours a day, excluding game days. This will give them more time with their family because during a coach’s season, family relationships can be strained due to the long hours. Secondly, AD’s should set up events or give coaches stipends to entertain them and their families, like going out to see a movie or taking the family out for a nice dinner. . Finally, I believe that AD’s should hire more coaches or interns for their coaching staffs. This would take a lot of the burden off the one or two main coaches. These secondary coaches could help them do administrative work and allow for more supervision at practices. These ideas, I believe, will help promote a positive work-life balance for coaches and their families .
ReplyDeleteA head college football coach spends an average of 100 hours working during the season according to jobmonkey.com. This leaves coaches very little time in a week for anything else, other than sleep. When you take into account a son with a soccer game and daughter with a dance recital it is beyond difficult for coaches to make time for their personal lives.
ReplyDeleteAthletic directors are usually known for being the person that fires a head football coach for going 9-4 with a mediocre bowl win. However, the impact an athletic director can have on a coaching staff can be very influential. An athletic director can encourage coaches to not only find time to spend with their families, but encourage them to MAKE time to spend with their families. Most coaches, if they really want, could make the time to spend with their kids; but with pressures from athletic directors, fans and boosters some coaches neglect making that time available. I believe this is where an athletic director can make an impact that speaks volumes to the coaches as well as the players.
“Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson
Coaching at any level can be very time consuming. A coach will always have things to do and can get burned out very easily. The athletic director is going to have to be a coach’s best friend. They should make it to where a coach has less work and can focus on what they need to do, and that is coaching. They can do that by dividing up all of the duties amongst every sport. They should make sure the coach cuts down on practice time. The coaches should be able to rotate to coaching different sports and not just stick to the same one every year. Every coach should not be asked to go to all of the sporting events; this should also be divided up. Every school should have a strength and conditioning coach so you will not have one coach teaching a position or a sport and then go train more athletes. The athletic director should also hire a coach that deals with making sure the athletes are doing their school work and be the disciplinary coach who handles them when they are out of line. I feel these changes could help cut down coaching burnout.
ReplyDeleteAll college athletes should appreciate their coaches that work hard to make them successful both academically and physically. A coaches’ passion has to be able to overcome long hours, low wages, being away for over 1/2 of the weekends a year from family, the constant fear of a bad season, which could cost them their jobs, and etc.
ReplyDeleteHow do coaches manage to have a life when they spend majority of all their time working? There must be a balance between work and personal life. Interscholastic athletic directors are working hard to help coaches find that balance.
When a coach’s sport ends, they are often required to assist in a second sport. Schools could utilize interns and Graduate Assistants to help with these additional sports, instead of other coaches. This would take some of the burden off of all coaches.
Athletic Directors could also provide counseling services for coaches and their families. According to a 2010 study done by, “Divorce Rate by Professionals,” there is a 14.05% higher chance for a coach to get a divorce. Counseling can help take the strain off coaches’, and their families.
These are just a few things that Athletic Directors can do to help coaches maintain a healthy life-style outside of work. Coaches deserve to have personal life; after all they are practically raising other people kids at the expense of their own.
When it comes to coaching, many times a choice has to be made between putting in extra work hours and having a personal life. This is because most coaches are teachers first and coaches second, leaving no time for much else, even sleep. Before, during, and even after teaching, coaches must plan for practice and strategize for games. More often than not this very important part of being a coach is also taken home to be finished. There are simply not enough hours in a day for coaches to be able to complete their duties for the team, the duties as a teacher, and have a personal life. The solution to this problem is in the hands of the athletic directors. Ideally, a coach should be a coach and nothing else so that they would be able to give the time and effort needed to be a successful coach. They should not have to make relatively the same money as other teachers while carrying twice the burden. Why not lighten the teaching load of these coaches? This would give them ample time to be able to complete those coaching duties and put needed effort forth in teaching their classes.
ReplyDeleteAthletic Directors have many responsibilities under their job description such as scheduling and budgeting. There are also responsibilities an AD has that are off the books such as improving their coaches work life balance. An AD must allow their coaches to live happy full lives at home and maintain strong loving bonds with their family members.
ReplyDeleteAs a strength and conditioning coach I understand the many problems a coach can face that can increase their stress levels at work and in turn make them more stressed at home. One method an Athletic Director can use is to allow sport coaches to host athletic camps for youth athletes. By allowing the coaches to use the school facilities they can charge the athletes for every part of the camp like, food, housing, and equipment. By allowing the coaches to host camps they can earn substantial amounts of money that are outside the boundaries of the teams budget and can be used as the coaches see fit. The extra money can be used to buy new equipment, fund staff development trips, and even be used to pay assistant and interns who otherwise wouldn’t be.
Providing coaches with these benefits would dramatically lower the stress levels of the Head Coach and their staff. More money would mean less problems to worry about and allow the coaches to be happier and less stressed when they’re at home and away from the office improving their overall work life balance and promoting happy successful coaches.
“The challenge of work-life balance is without question one of the most significant struggles faced by modern man.” –Stephen Covey
ReplyDeleteCoaching a sport at the collegiate level is not just an in-season duty. Yes, three to four months out of the year is a lot more chaotic than the others, but for the dedicated coach it is a year-round responsibility. Preparing for practice, coaching practice, filming, fundraising, designing game plans…there is so much for a coach to do within 24 hours; little time is left for home obligations.
The NCAA has regulations to how many hours coaches can take up from their students-athletes time. In season: 4 hours a day, 20 hours a week, with one day off. Out of season: 4 hours a day, 8 hours a week, 2 days off. Why don’t school athletic directors mandate, or limit, the number of hours a coach can spend up at the field house? It would only make sense that we would want our coaches’ lives to be well-balanced so they can give 100% to the school’s team. A car runs more smoothly when the wheels are in alignment, so wouldn’t our coaches perform better when their lives are balanced?
There are certain things an interscholastic Athletic Director can do to promote a healthy work-life balance for coaches. The first could be to hire more assistants to help the head coach out, and I say this because the more help you have the less stress and work one individual has to worry about. Also, with more help the head coach can have the new coaches assigned to different objectives so that one coach is responsible for a particular area. This cuts down on the stress of the head coach and he or she can have more time for his or her family. Another thing an interscholastic Athletic Director can do to promote work-life balance among their coaches is to hire sport specific coaches. If you look into most high schools and middle schools you have one coach teaching multiple sports, this will burn a coach out. For example if a coach is coaching basketball and football he has two different sports to worry about, on top of that they have their family lives, which comes with its own set of problems. Also with one coach doing multiple sports he has to deal with multiple emotions among those players, because every player has their own issues for what is going on in their own household. So as a coach, most of the time, you not only have to be a coach but also a counselor
ReplyDelete