“Coaches are burned out. Burnout is real and comes a lot more quickly when you’re not being paid well or are overworked; you feel that so much is being asked of you and time is being taken away from your personal and family life. At the end of the day, coaches may be seeing a nickel an hour if they’re lucky. It truly is a labor of love.
Do the head coaches need a salary different from supplemental because of the risk they’re taking on because of the number of students in their program? If there was a way to find a way with integrity to pay coaches more on a salary basis, I think that would be supported, but how would you do it? Other states do it. Alabama is doing it. Texas is doing it. But then, how do you do that with quality and equity? Because that might be happening with just the head football coach. But does the women’s swim coach receive the same benefits in those states? I don’t have the answer to that.”
Valerie Miyares
County Athletic Director
Valerie is a county athletic director, supporting the athletic directors in one of the largest school districts in the United States. As she alludes, coaches within the district are not well-funded compared to those in other states.
Coach pay at the high school level is a constantly discussed topic nationwide, and it is not just discussed at the high school level. Many college and professional coaches are poorly paid. If I told you what I was paid as a head coach of a national team, you would laugh.
Valerie’s description of how burnout occurs is quite accurate. The coaches are overworked, underpaid, and have no time for family or friends. Is salary the solution? Not necessarily, but it might help. Coaches might put up with the day-to-day stressors and minutiae a little more, knowing they are being adequately compensated. Every state is different in this respect, but it is important to note that burnout is not just because of money. Make sure that, if salary or stipend is a cause for stress and potential burnout, do everything you can to ensure that other areas of your life are reducing, not adding to your stress.
Ask Yourself
What is my primary motivator for being a coach? Is it really a labor of love?
Concerning Valerie’s description of what causes burnout, which area worries me the most?
If I’m underpaid, what can I do about it, and who can I talk to?