College kids going into coaching

[Rocep 30]

I called 25+ college coaches last spring looking for any graduates/recent grad that might be interested in a teaching/coaching position. Colleges ranged from D1 to NAIA. Zero coaches knew anyone interested. Steve Martin told me “good luck, no one teaches anymore.” Am I barking up the wrong trees, or are college wrestlers not going the education route anymore? 

[TobusRex 1,146]

4 minutes ago, Rocep said:

I called 25+ college coaches last spring looking for any graduates/recent grad that might be interested in a teaching/coaching position. Colleges ranged from D1 to NAIA. Zero coaches knew anyone interested. Steve Martin told me “good luck, no one teaches anymore.” Am I barking up the wrong trees, or are college wrestlers not going the education route anymore? 

 

I can't speak for everybody, but on Twitter I asked Jake Herbert if he planned on becoming a coach (was hoping he'd take over at NW someday). Herbert told me there wasn't enough money in wrestling to live the way he wanted to live.  I think that's the common sentiment, but I'm not plugged in like some of the guy's around here.

[ptz305 26]

Not enough money to make teaching and coaching a viable career for most people. 

Edited January 30 by ptz305

[gimpeltf 778]

What schools did you contact?

You might want to contact schools in the PSAC. That league used to be informally called the Pa State Teachers College Conference.

[Zebra 489]

Several years ago I had a HS coach ask me if I knew of any and I just happened to have a nearly up to date list of all college head coaches. He e-mailed every NAIA, DII, and DIII school asking about recent or upcoming graduates looking to teach and coach, he was inundated with resumes. 

 

 

[Jimmy Cinnabon 68]

the money (and fame) in MMA is too appealing compared to coaching

[BigTenFanboy 1,488]

2 minutes ago, Jimmy Cinnabon said:

the money (and fame) in MMA is too appealing compared to coaching

But the getting your brains smashed in is a big detractor.

[gowrestle 529]

Springfield College had a reputation for developing coaches. Not sure it’s the same but it’s worth reaching out. 

[Underhook 17]

For what it’s worth, there is a strong interest in going into teaching/coaching among former high school wrestlers who do not compete at the college level. I will graduate from the university Steve Martin coaches at in the fall as a licensed teacher, and am already in my third year coaching. Several of my peers who are former wrestlers have expressed interest in a similar path, and have taken the same steps. In fact Mr. Martins 165 is in several of my teacher prep classes. Just my two cents 

Edited January 30 by Underhook

[Katie 321]

There are at least two factors that keep new graduates from becoming teachers:

1. Teachers earn 19% less than other workers with similar levels of education and experience.
2. It's become more difficult in general for young adults to obtain a middle class lifestyle.

[Housebuye 1,385]

I plan to coach high school once I retire. I plan to retire when I’m relatively young, so I’ll still have the energy to do it I think. 

[jchapman 555]

4 hours ago, Housebuye said:

I plan to coach high school once I retire. I plan to retire when I’m relatively young, so I’ll still have the energy to do it I think. 

Assistant or head coach?

[Housebuye 1,385]

11 hours ago, jchapman said:

Assistant or head coach?

Either/or. Probably assistant until I’m ready. 

[jchapman 555]

12 minutes ago, Housebuye said:

Either/or. Probably assistant until I’m ready. 

Good idea.  Many school districts won’t hire a head coach that doesn’t teach in the district unless they have been an assistant first.

[Zebra 489]

10 minutes ago, jchapman said:

Good idea.  Many school districts won’t hire a head coach that doesn’t teach in the district unless they have been an assistant first.

There are non-teacher head coaches all across this country. Now they usually only last a few years because their regular life gets in the way but there are everywhere. 

[jchapman 555]

20 minutes ago, Zebra said:

There are non-teacher head coaches all across this country. Now they usually only last a few years because their regular life gets in the way but there are everywhere. 

Yes, and they usually have a history with the program as an assistant coach or take over a program that no teacher wants.

[KSchlosser 74]

With less and less Division I wrestlers each year going into education and the loss of programs over the last forty plus years we are seeing many more teachers and coaches coming from the Division II, III, and NAIA level. If I am trying to recruit some recent graduates, I would cast my net towards the other divisions. Since Al Gore invented the interweb we have great online resources that allow us to see kids home towns and majors at most schools. Take a look at the rosters, find kids that may be from your area, and talk to the coaches. While not every coach would do it,  I know of one DIII coach in Ohio and an Indiana AD with wrestling ties that made recommendations for kids they recruited that didn't go to their schools because they knew the SAs were going into education, wanted to coach, and they wanted to help the sport, the potential coach, and the school/area that was looking. 

[Zebra 489]

49 minutes ago, jchapman said:

Yes, and they usually have a history with the program as an assistant coach or take over a program that no teacher wants.

In my case, as with most of them, I was a former wrestler. We almost never last though as life gets in the way. In my case I took over about 2 years out of college when the old coach retired. I was able to just slide in and could relate to the kids but my engineering career was in it's fledgling state. About 5 years later I'm moving up the ladder, have been married, and the baby was growing.

Wife, kid, career, and wrestling coach. There was only room for three so wrestling had to go. I did get my stripes though so I was able to stay in the community without the excessive time commitment. 

[TobusRex 1,146]

I knew the wrestling coach in El Segundo, California when I was working for Hughes Aviation (the 90's). Met him at a sports bar (Stick N Stein). He had to augment his income from coaching/teaching with extra work. He was a bouncer at the bar. We used to talk wrestling quite a bit. Bear in mind that the cost of living in Southern California is quite steep if you live in a decent part of town (like El Segundo).

I kinda have to wonder how that would play out now. Teachers working in bars in the 2nd jobs might not go over so well today.

Edited January 31 by TobusRex

[stp 464]

No idea if zeke Jordan is gonna go into teaching, but not many smarter assistant coaches out there. Yup....I'm a homer, the direction of IU's program is definitely heading up.

Edited January 31 by stp