What do you do for a living?
I am the Head Football Coach at Wyoming High School. I am also a Physical Education Teacher at Wyoming High School located in Cincinnati, Ohio.
How would you describe what you do?
I am in charge of organizing and operating the grades 9-12 High School Football program.
What does your work entail?
A Head Football Coach has many responsibilities to run a successful program. First and for most you must be organized with defined goals for yourself and your team. The thought process of a head coach should always be about what is best for the team. Every decision is an unselfish decision based on what is best for the team. I am in charge of practice schedules, monitoring 60 players throughout the school day on their grades, behavior in school and after school activities. We start practice at 3:00pm and go to 6:00pm four days a week. I am in charge of putting a competitive football team on the field every Friday night, as well as every Saturday for the Junior Varsity games. The weekends are filled with inputting stats and game planning for the next opponent.
What’s a typical work week like?
We practice Monday through Thursday, 3-6pm, with films and weight lifting from 3-4pm and on field practice from 4-6pm. Friday we have games that start at 7pm. After the game, I upload our video to an online video service we use to watch our game tapes. On Saturday, the varsity team comes in to lift weights at 8am and we then go and watch last night’s game. We focus on getting better after a win or loss. We watch and breakdown the tape to help us get a better understanding of what we can do to get better as individual players and as a team.
After the team is done watching tape, the coaches then meet for a quick meeting and then we go home and watch the opponent breaking down the opponent using our online video program. Saturday night the coaches are off. On Sunday, the coaches meet to discuss and gameplan for the upcoming opponent we meet for two hours. Coaches have responsibilities of drawing up playcards and scouting reports for their positions. We then have a scouting report meeting with the players on Monday before practice. The head coach must watch tape of the opponent for the offense, defense and special teams and just the opponent as a whole.
How did you get started?
I started coaching football my senior year in college during my student teaching semester. I played college football for four years at a small Division 3 school here in Cincinnati.
What do you like about what you do?
I like to see the players experience success. I like to challenge student-athletes to get better everyday in anything they do. I enjoy the process of bringing so many people from different backgrounds together for a common goal.
What do you dislike?
Losing, I hate losing. But with every loss you learn more about yourself and your team. You have to push through adversity because it is guaranteed, everything will not go as you wish.
How do you make money/or how are you compensated?
Salaried
How much do you make?
$0-25,000 ____
$25k-$35k ____
$50k-75K _X_
$75k-100k ____
$100-$200k ____
$200k-$300k ____
$300k+ ____
Additional comments:
How much money did/do you make starting out?
$30,000
What education, schooling, or skills are needed to do this?
Bachelor’s Degree in Education
Ohio Teaching Certificate
CPR/First Aid Certification
Foundations of Coaching Course
Ohio Pupil Validation Certificate
What is most challenging about what you do?
Dealing with parents and athletes that don’t buy into the “Team” philosophy. Players who don’t work hard.
What is most rewarding?
Seeing players succeed both on the field and in the classroom.
What advice would you offer someone considering this career?
It is a full time job with no set work hours. You have to be willing to sacrifice for betterment of the team. There will be adversity and you have to stay focused on the long term goals of your program. Coaching is a lifestyle you have to know that it is a year round job. You are an example to young people 24/7.
How much time off do you get/take?
I take a week off in the summer to go in vacation with my family.
What is a common misconception people have about what you do?
Sometimes people don’t realize how much time and effort is put into coaching a team and coaches really care about what happens to the team.
What are your goals/dreams for the future?
My goal for my program besides consistently winning our league and competing for a state championship is that I want to create a program where student-athletes work hard for a common goal and can see the benefit of their hard work. I want to guide students down the right track to start their secondary education on the right track. I want my players to be positive citizens in our community and understand they are positive role models to the young children in our community.
What else would you like people to know about your job/career?
I absolutely love my job! Coaching is very time consuming, but can be very rewarding. Adversity will occur but there is always light at the end of the tunnel if you do what is right. Focus on the process of getting better every day and you will be a great example to every person you come in contact with. You must have a positive attitude and great work ethic to be successful and enjoy this job.
