How to become a college head coach.

CycloneWarrior · 04-05-2008, 01:24 AM

cyismydog, if u play the sport it will help u understand the game so much more, i'm thinking about coaching or medical trainer for a team, as my college degree,

cyismydog · 04-07-2008, 02:29 PM

Originally Posted by twittkop

If you're not having any luck getting responses from the coaches, try emailing the ADs. JP might be able to get Coach McD to respond to you.

Thanks, with a few connections on CF, Coach Mcdermott should respond to me within a week, and Mr. Pollard also forwarded my email to him, so CF has actually opened a few doors for me.

kg-cyclone · 04-07-2008, 02:38 PM

Originally Posted by cyismydog

Thanks, with a few connections on CF, Coach Mcdermott should respond to me within a week, and Mr. Pollard also forwarded my email to him, so CF has actually opened a few doors for me.

Hope things work out for you...

cybsball20 · 04-07-2008, 02:41 PM

Originally Posted by cyismydog

Thanks, with a few connections on CF, Coach Mcdermott should respond to me within a week, and Mr. Pollard also forwarded my email to him, so CF has actually opened a few doors for me.

So what did he say?

cyismydog · 04-07-2008, 02:45 PM

Originally Posted by cybsball20

So what did he say?

Coach Mcdermott is at the final four, then is going to be unavailable for a week after that, so I won't have a response for some time. However, a fellow CF'er was kind enough to give him my contact info, and he said he will contact me soon.

CyKline · 04-07-2008, 02:51 PM

I was a student assistant under Coach Morgan for his first year, then I graduated. I wasn't interested in a career. But my buddy, Josh Carper, was. He stayed on as a manager after Morgan left and now McDermott has hired him on as staff. I personally don't advise emailing the head coach directly. Start by getting to know other members of the staff. They can then point you in the right direction. Tell them you would like to volunteer at the summer b-ball camps. That will get your foot in the door. Remeber there are literaly hundreds of kids just like you who want to help out. The way I got the student assistant job was by emailing Coach Sundvold and offering my tutoring help for athletes. I then stepped into the student assistant/manager role. It was a great time, but it is like a full time job. You are there before the players get there and you are there well after they leave. Let me know if you have any questions. I still have contacts with the current ISU team.

wartknight · 04-07-2008, 02:55 PM

In all honesty, the guy you need to pick the brain of is football assistant Jeff Koonz. He is just out of college and is coaching major college football.

cyismydog · 04-07-2008, 02:56 PM

Originally Posted by wartknight

In all honesty, the guy you need to pick the brain of is football assistant Jeff Koonz. He is just out of college and is coaching major college football.

Thanks, I'll send him an email. He does seem like a great coach, especially on that mic'd up segment on CZ.

cybsball20 · 04-07-2008, 02:59 PM

There was a guy that played baseball at Iowa State that went straight from an Ames High Assistant coach to Director of Basketball Ops at Southern Miss with LE. Still not sure how he pulled that off...

usedcarguy · 04-15-2008, 11:53 PM

Lots of good info here. Learn to talk with the coaches on the teams you play against and the camps you attend. They'll admire that you admire them. Should any of them ever go anywhere, it's just one more contact. If they don't, you will have learned the valuable skill of networking, plus you'll have contacts for recruiting when you make it. You'll be a pro by the time you get to college. It is a who you know business, and the more you know, the better. I don't think it's possible for a college coach to have too many contacts.

I'd also buy every book on coaching theory I could get my hands on. Learn how coaches think.

You seem to have a good head on your shoulders for your age. You'll go far. As for out of state tuition - keep that 4.0 going and you won't have to worry about it.

For networking don't worry so much about the college coaches right now except at the camps. Who you want to look to are those who will be moving to the college ranks by the time you're through college.

Good Luck.

cyismydog · 06-25-2008, 08:26 PM

Update: I attended the skills camp, and got to talk with Coach Rutter, Coach D-Rob, and several other assistants. It was a lot of fun, and they are all really helpful and nice.

ornryactor · 06-25-2008, 09:14 PM

That's good to hear. Thanks for coming back to the topic and letting us know how it's going!

There have been lots of great suggestions in this thread, but I'd like to suggest something a little less vague. Another poster mentioned the Kinesiology department and the coaching minor available at Iowa State. I am actually getting that coaching minor right now, as a music education major. Here's what you should consider:

Most coaches don't start out at the college level. They typically begin at high schools, and move up into the college ranks (either as a higher position at a small school or a low position at a big school) and get experience that way. The best way to coach high school sports is to also be able to teach in a classroom. You can pick pretty much any academic program you want, major in that, and take an education track while getting that major. You'll then graduate and be able to teach that subject in a high school. Get your coaching certification or coaching minor, and you're also eligible to coach any sport. That's a HUGE double-whammy for schools looking to fill positions, and will put you ahead of the game. It's also a great background for moving to college ranks: the biggest part of being a coach is being a teacher. You have to be an effective educator in order to be the best coach possible. Having a solid education background will be encouraging to potential collegiate employers, and will help you get those positions you want.

When I teach in high school, I'm planning on finding a job where I can be both the choir director and the varsity volleyball coach. If I find that I really do enjoy my coaching job and I'm good at it, then I may look for full-time coaching jobs or jobs in a collegiate program. If I don't like it or can't find a college job, then I still have a viable degree and can earn a good living as a teacher. Talk to head coaches at your high school (and any others in the area, especially big schools) and see what recommendations they have. Many of them probably interact with college coaches that are recruiting their student-athletes, and they would be able to provide a lot of great information on how to reach your goals.

It's GREAT that you're thinking about this now. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you're dreaming too big! The path to your dreams won't be easy, but it will ALWAYS be worth it. Do realize that there is more than one way to get there, though!

cyclonekj · 06-25-2008, 09:17 PM

1. Play college basketball for a "name" program.
2. Be one of the best players in the country.
3. Play a few years in the NBA.
4. Return to your alma mater as an assistant coach.
5. Help lead your team to a national championship.
6. Wait for every lesser-known program in the country to call.
7. Take your pick of head coaching jobs.
8. Profit.
9. Get a college degree to fall back on when steps 1-8 fail.

Dolokaju · 06-25-2008, 09:21 PM

Read the book called Taking Shots by Keith Glass. Keith was a lawyer, turned assistant coach(on a UCLA runner-up team) turned sports agent. Over the first few chapters, he discusses how he got to know Larry Brown, John Wooden and others. Those relationships pretty much made him the success he is.

CrossCyed · 06-25-2008, 09:23 PM

Just like anything else....

It's ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS who you know in the end.