What does an Athletic Coach do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read

Athletic coaches organize professional and amateur athletes and teach them the basics of sports. The coaches train athletes to compete individually or as a team. They work before and after a match or game in the sphere of administrative duties. They provide assistance to the athletes to develop their full potential. They work as game coaches, leaders, performance managers, trainers, and leaders of the athletes. Also, they honor their clients as experts in their work and lives.

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Athletic coach responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real athletic coach resumes:

  • Perform additional responsibilities as deemed appropriate by school and district supervisors such as organizing and managing elementary school mathematics information nights.
  • Create a positive, team-base environment focuse on teaching soccer, flag football, baseball, and life skills.
  • Coach middle school women's volleyball, softball and basketball.
  • Coach girls sports year-round: including volleyball, basketball, track and field.
  • Implement monthly recruitment logs for contact with prospects to meet the NCAA rules.
  • Coach several players to post season accolades including a player who make an NFL training camp.
  • Provide training directions, encouragement, and motivation to prepare both typical and atypical children for soccer games.
  • Create PowerPoint presentations focuse on performance enhancement, decreasing burn out and useful coping skills to release stress and anxiety.
  • Serve as NFL liaison, working with teams and league officials in facilitating the evaluation and testing of SVSU student athletes.
  • Perform additional responsibilities as deemed appropriate by school and district supervisors such as organizing and managing elementary school mathematics information nights.
  • Coach QB, RB, and OL at all levels of the program.
  • Direct daily instruction of RB's.
  • Perform football coaching and physical education and student administrative duties.
  • Assist offensive and defensive lineman in developing and implementing football techniques.

Athletic coach skills and personality traits

We calculated that 30% of Athletic Coaches are proficient in CPR, Student Athletes, and Volleyball. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Dedication, and Interpersonal skills.

We break down the percentage of Athletic Coaches that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • CPR, 30%

    Maintained CPR, First Aid and Concussion Certifications.

  • Student Athletes, 23%

    Plan and implement instructional objectives that ensure the overall educational development of student athletes.

  • Volleyball, 7%

    Instructed student-athletes in the fundamentals and mechanics of volleyball and provided assistance to the Varsity coach 8th Grade Girl's Coach.

  • Soccer, 7%

    Create a positive, team-based environment focused on teaching soccer, flag football, baseball, and life skills.

  • Public Schools, 6%

    Created and developed reports for CISA and the Atlanta Public Schools via Microsoft Excel and Word software.

  • Freshman, 4%

    Created and implemented the curriculum/lesson plans for the school's first freshman geography program.

"cpr," "student athletes," and "volleyball" are among the most common skills that athletic coaches use at work. You can find even more athletic coach responsibilities below, including:

Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for an athletic coach to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "because coaches instruct, organize, and motivate athletes, they must be able to convey information clearly." Additionally, an athletic coach resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "head, 2010-present * honed communication, leadership and organizational skills daily as an assistant and head coach. "

Dedication. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling athletic coach duties is dedication. The role rewards competence in this skill because "coaches must attend daily practices and assist their team and individual athletes in improving their skills and physical conditioning." According to an athletic coach resume, here's how athletic coaches can utilize dedication in their job responsibilities: "instill dedication, commitment, perseverance, teamwork, leadership, and sportsmanship in a group of male adolescence. "

Interpersonal skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of athletic coaches is interpersonal skills. This skill is critical to many everyday athletic coach duties, as "being able to relate to athletes helps coaches and scouts foster positive relationships with their current players and in recruiting potential players." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "coached grade school students in a variety of sports to improve their leadership, athletic, and interpersonal skills. "

Leadership skills. A big part of what athletic coaches do relies on "leadership skills." You can see how essential it is to athletic coach responsibilities because "coaches must motivate, develop, and direct athletes to help them reach their potential." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical athletic coach tasks: "provide effective leadership to develop academic achievement and fundamental skills to excel in sport assigned. "

See the full list of athletic coach skills

The three companies that hire the most athletic coachs are:

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Compare different athletic coaches

Athletic coach vs. Head baseball coach

The head baseball coach provides supervision and leadership for teams, individual sports, and works with the staff and administration. They promote an appreciation of physical fitness, sportsmanship, and teamwork. The essential functions of a head baseball coach include designing a training program and game program, working effectively with booster clubs and other community organizations, reacting to change productively and handling other tasks as assigned, also support philosophy and the value of an education, and help students achieve gains in athletic skill and team performance.

We looked at the average athletic coach salary and compared it with the wages of a head baseball coach. Generally speaking, head baseball coaches are paid $1,052 lower than athletic coaches per year.Even though athletic coaches and head baseball coaches are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require student athletes, role model, and ncaa in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between athletic coaches and head baseball coach. For instance, athletic coach responsibilities require skills such as "cpr," "volleyball," "soccer," and "public schools." Whereas a head baseball coach is skilled in "cif," "head varsity," "travel arrangements," and "fund raising." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Head baseball coaches tend to make the most money working in the education industry, where they earn an average salary of $42,834. In contrast, athletic coaches make the biggest average salary, $47,957, in the government industry.The education levels that head baseball coaches earn slightly differ from athletic coaches. In particular, head baseball coaches are 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an athletic coach. Additionally, they're 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Athletic coach vs. Teacher and coach

An Assistant Football Coach helps the head coach train non-professional or professional athletes to enhance their playing skills and abilities. If they coach a school or college team, they also monitor student-athletes academic performance and athletic eligibility.

On average, teacher and coaches earn a $2,859 higher salary than athletic coaches a year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Athletic coaches and teacher and coaches both require similar skills like "student athletes," "volleyball," and "soccer" to carry out their responsibilities.

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, athletic coach responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "cpr," "freshman," "practice sessions," and "physical education." Meanwhile, a teacher and coach has duties that require skills in areas such as "classroom management," "math," "girls basketball," and "varsity football." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Teacher and coaches may earn a higher salary than athletic coaches, but teacher and coaches earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $48,513. On the other hand, athletic coaches receive higher pay in the government industry, where they earn an average salary of $47,957.teacher and coaches earn similar levels of education than athletic coaches in general. They're 4.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Athletic coach vs. Assistant football coach

An assistant baseball coach is primarily in charge of performing support tasks for baseball coaches and managers. Among their responsibilities include managing players and providing their needs, taking part in facilitating exercises and training, monitoring the progress of players, and liaising with physicians and other staff. They may also perform clerical tasks such as overseeing the budgets and schedules, handling inventory and procurement procedures, responding to calls and correspondence, producing reports, and running errands for the coach.

On average scale, assistant football coaches bring in lower salaries than athletic coaches. In fact, they earn a $225 lower salary per year.athletic coaches and assistant football coaches both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "cpr," "athletic program," and "role model," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, an athletic coach is likely to be skilled in "student athletes," "volleyball," "soccer," and "public schools," while a typical assistant football coach is skilled in "football program," "jv," "iii," and "football players."

Assistant football coaches make a very good living in the education industry with an average annual salary of $45,507. On the other hand, athletic coaches are paid the highest salary in the government industry, with average annual pay of $47,957.When it comes to education, assistant football coaches tend to earn similar degree levels compared to athletic coaches. In fact, they're 2.7% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Athletic coach vs. Assistant baseball coach

Assistant baseball coaches tend to earn a lower pay than athletic coaches by an average of $1,031 per year.According to resumes from athletic coaches and assistant baseball coaches, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "student athletes," "athletic program," and "role model. "Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. An athletic coach uses "cpr," "volleyball," "soccer," and "public schools." Assistant baseball coaches are more likely to have duties that require skills in "baseball program," "jv," "hitters," and "assist head. "assistant baseball coaches enjoy the best pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $44,581. For comparison, athletic coaches earn the highest salary in the government industry.In general, assistant baseball coaches hold similar degree levels compared to athletic coaches. Assistant baseball coaches are 4.5% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.9% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of athletic coach

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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