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.
- Median annual earnings
- $46,992
- Projected change
- +10.8%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 313.61K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
48.9% of the workforce
Growing to 347.58K by 2035
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Build the skills
ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
The work
What coaches and scouts do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Plan, organize, and conduct practice sessions.
- Provide training direction, encouragement, motivation, and nutritional advice to prepare athletes for games, competitive events, or tours.
- Adjust coaching techniques, based on the strengths and weaknesses of athletes.
- Plan strategies and choose team members for individual games or sports seasons.
- 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.
- Counsel student athletes on academic, athletic, and personal issues.
- Monitor the academic eligibility of student athletes.
- Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of opposing teams to develop game strategies.
- Coordinate travel arrangements and travel with team to away contests.
- Evaluate athletes' skills and review performance records to determine their fitness and potential in a particular area of athletics.
- Monitor athletes' use of equipment to ensure safe and proper use.
- Keep abreast of changing rules, techniques, technologies, and philosophies relevant to their sport.
- Explain and enforce safety rules and regulations.
- Contact the parents of players to provide information and answer questions.
- Arrange and conduct sports-related activities, such as training camps, skill-improvement courses, clinics, and pre-season try-outs.
- Explain and demonstrate the use of sports and training equipment, such as trampolines or weights.
- 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.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $26,229
- 25th percentile
- $33,626
- 50th percentile
- $46,992
- 75th percentile
- $66,789
- 90th percentile
- $106,625
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $46,992 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
33,973 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 48.9%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 19.4%
- Associate degree
- 17.4%
- High school diploma or less
- 12.5%
- Doctoral degree or more
- 1.8%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Swim Instructors4,505 postings
- 02Head Swim Instructors3,264 postings
- 03Assistant Football Coaches2,863 postings
- 04Tennis Coaches2,496 postings
- 05Cheerleading Coaches2,408 postings
- 06Soccer Coaches2,403 postings
- 07Middle School Coaches1,928 postings
- 08High School Coaches1,894 postings
- 09Boys Basketball Coaches1,872 postings
- 10Picklers1,867 postings
- 11Volleyball Coaches1,816 postings
- 12Lacrosse Coaches1,750 postings
- 13Assistant Baseball Coaches1,734 postings
- 14Assistant Softball Coaches1,637 postings
- 15Strength and Conditioning Coaches1,595 postings
- 16Baseball Coaches1,553 postings
- 17Youth Soccer Coaches1,551 postings
- 18Assistant Volleyball Coaches1,509 postings
- 19Flag Football Coaches1,328 postings
- 20Head Football Coaches1,303 postings
Top employers
- 01Teachme.to7,570 postings
- 02Edjoin.Org2,355 postings
- 03YMCA1,942 postings
- 04Instaswim1,286 postings
- 05Calex Sports978 postings
- 06Sunsational Swim School916 postings
- 07The Little Dribbler LLC826 postings
- 08National Collegiate Athletic Association806 postings
- 09Champion Force Athletics767 postings
- 10State Of West Virginia645 postings
- 11Serco583 postings
- 12Colleyville Lifetime Fitness581 postings
- 13Super Soccer Stars529 postings
- 14Life Time493 postings
- 15Herc451 postings
- 16High School331 postings
- 17Broward County Public Schools313 postings
- 18Beaufort County School District291 postings
- 19Montgomery County Public Schools258 postings
- 20Dayton Public Schools256 postings
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