I know several of you on this board have experience as strength and conditioning coaches at the NCAA level. I was curious to hear input as to what the job is really like. The good, the bad and the ugly of the day to day work.
Paul
Without going into a massive dissertation on the topic, I believe the experience varies greatly, depending upon:
- level you coach at (I,II,III)
- size of athletic department/ # of sports you work with directly
- other duties you may have (ex, running the campus fitness center, coaching a sport, etc.)
- support you/your program gets from both coaches and sports medicine staff.
- Number of other coaches on your S&C staff
This is all just off the top of my head.
If you want to narrow it down a bit, I’d be happy to delve into this further, if I don’t bore you to tears!
I second everything Devils said.
The one phrase that would pretty much sum up most D3 S & C Positions is …“Understaffed and U.nderpaid”
Well I’m Canadian so I don’t know a whole lot about what even is the “norm” for NCAA experience. I know basics like the differences between D1,2,3. But I really am just curious what a typical D1 or D2 experience would be. And what the major differences between the two would be. I know this would vary big time between a large school (big budget) vs. small school small budget. But as much information as you could give would be great. What to look for when looking at prospects schools your applying to? Is it common to have to do other jobs such as coaching other sports, supervising the gym, etc? What is the range for number of strength and conditioning coaches most schools carry? Do you work with a lot of athletes one on one or is the bulk of the work program design? From what I’ve seen salaries for assistant SC coaches tend to vary between 25-40k, would you say this is pretty accurate for what’s out there? Any info is appreciated, thanks in advance.
D1 big time schools you more than likely work with one team, all smaller schools more than likely work with all teams.
While I am NOT at a D1 school (but I have many friends who are), here are some of the differences in the “experience”:
Q: Is it common to have to do other jobs such as coaching other sports, supervising the gym, etc?
A. Not at DI. In fact, it’s not permissable, unless that sport wants to “count” you as a sport coach. I know of very few who have day to day coaching duties on the D1 level because they would count against the number of coaches that a team may have…at D3, yes, it happens, but that is being phased out (by NCAA legislation) as well.
Q. What is the range for number of strength and conditioning coaches most schools carry?
A. This varies widely by school and/or conference. Some staffs have upwards of 12 full timers. Others have a few as 3 or 4. Some smaller D1’s have only 1 or 2…
Q.Do you work with a lot of athletes one on one or is the bulk of the work program design?
A.Even at the D3 setting, very,very few workouts are ever one on one. There’s simply not enough time in the day for the huge numbers of athletes vs. facilities vs. strength coaches. It just doesn’t happen.
From what I’ve seen salaries for assistant SC coaches tend to vary between 25-40k, would you say this is pretty accurate for what’s out there?
A. I’d say that’s about correct. Just remember, certain sports are almost their own world. At “Big state U”, the “head” S&C coach might have a 60K salary, while an “assistant” S&C coach - who is the head S&C coach for football only - may get $120K. This is rare, but it does happen…
Hope this helps!