Coach to Coach – College Coach or High School Coach: Comparing the Two

As I wrote in May, I recently resigned from my decade long head coaching position at Foothill High School and accepted the associate head coach and offense coordinator job at Shasta College in nearby Redding. The transition from high school head coach to college assistant coach has actually been easier than expected. It certainly helps that I am familiar with both the college assistant role and the Shasta College program as I previously spent six seasons (1997-2002) as an assistant coach there.One of the interesting things in my full circle experience is the perspective that it has given me regarding the similarities and differences of coaching at the high school and college levels. I am sure there are plenty of you that have spent your entire coaching career in one or the other. I want to share with you a few things that I find similar and things that I have found that are different in coaching at these different levels. Of course, these are only my experiences and thoughts but they may help some of you that are contemplating making a move in your coaching careers.

I wrote in my article entitled “The Coaching Carousel” about a professional coach who stated, “All high school coaches want to be college coaches and all college coaches want to be professional coaches and all professional coaches want to be high school coaches.” That quote has always stayed with me. I think the point is that coaches in general are competitive and driven people who want to push themselves to the highest level possible. However, it also points to the fact that the true nuts and bolts of this profession are often found in high school football and the things lost in moving up in the profession are often the very things that those who have made it to the top miss the most.

In my football coaching career, I have served as a head junior varsity coach, a head varsity coach, a college assistant and now a college associate head coach. I also spent five seasons as a player at the Division I level. The myriad of experiences over the years has taught me some valuable lessons and, while I have never coached at the highest levels, it has shed some light on the differences of the college and high school coaching experience.

One area that I have found to be different in coaching high school as compared to college is the player / coach relationship. In high school, I took an active role in the physical and mental development of my players as they grew from 14-year old children to 18-year old men. The changes at that stage of their lives in both mental and physical maturity are amazing. This critical time of growth allows the high school coach to often build father-like relationships with his players.        

In college, there is a different type of relationship. You certainly have influence over aspects of the player’s life that reach beyond football, but the relationships are more business-like and a little less paternal. In high school, the daily contact with athletes stretches from the classroom to the weight room to the playing field as most high school coaches serve as teacher, weight instructor, coach and much more. I think this is one of the reasons that “professional coaches want to be high school coaches” – the ability to build personal relationships with people at a critical time in their life is one of the more satisfying aspects in coaching. In contrast, the role of the college coach is more clearly specified and, therefore, your interaction with a player is more specified. Professional or personal – which is better? That, I suppose, is best answered by examining your personal reasons for coaching. I have been fortunate to have experienced both and I have enjoyed both and, in the end, I think it comes down to personal preference and professional goals.

Another area of difference is in compensation. The amount of money that football coaches  make across the country and throughout  the different levels differs greatly. In high school, most coaches are paid a stipend that varies from level to level and from position to position. Usually the pay received, if calculated by the hour, would make minimum wage look very attractive. High school coaches who also have a teaching contract, earn the majority of their income by teaching. Most high school coaching pay is for the “season” only and does not include spring and summer sessions. There are few states that actually understand the workload, responsibility and time away from family that is required to run a successful program. An example of this would be in the high school football mecca of Texas.

I interviewed for a head high school football job outside of Dallas in the spring of 2012. The difference in pay, teaching responsibilities and facilities compared to California was incredible. However, Texas is an exception when it comes to properly compensating their high school football coaches. The basic rule of thumb is if you are expecting to become rich in the coaching profession, don’t coach high school football. On the other hand, college football offers coaches the chance to be compensated very well for their time, experience and expertise.

I know that many college coaches make very little, especially in the small college ranks. However, most are paid primarily to coach. If a small college coach is making thirty thousand dollars on an assistant coaching contract, he is making that amount primarily for his coaching duties. As a head high school coach with 20 years of coaching experience, I brought home less than four thousand dollars in 2012 for my head football coach position. The vast majority of my income came from my teaching contract and other non-coaching areas. In comparing my high school coaching only salary to the top collegiate coach in the country, I made approximately $5.5 million dollars per year less. If making money as a football coach is one of your main objectives, I would suggest that you strongly consider college.

The last area of comparison is recruiting. As a high school coach, I dealt with many college coaches who recruited our area on a pretty consistent basis. After meeting with each coach and hearing their interactions with our players, it was obvious to me that some coaches are very good at recruiting while others lack the skills required to excel in this crucial area. At Shasta College, one of my main responsibilities will be serving as the recruiting coordinator.

As a collegiate recruiting coordinator, my focus is to connect with athletes who fit our program’s needs and to develop strategies that make Shasta College attractive to the athletes who we need to be successful. As a high school head coach, one of my jobs was to connect with coaches who were looking for players who  fit their programs needs and to develop strategies to get our players recognized and ready for the collegiate game. In experiencing both ends of the recruiting game, there are two words that I feel describe what it takes to be effective: relationship and sales. Unless you are coaching at a school that can simply recruit players or get players because of fame, location and facilities, you had better be great at relationship-building and sales. It was amazing to watch some coaches come into our high school football office to recruit a player without having a real sense of what high school kids or their families are interested in these days. New generations of social media immersed players are often being recruited by “seasoned” coaches who are still learning how to spell twitter and who think Instagram is something you take in the morning to stay regular. As a high school coach, you are focused on getting your players out. As a college coach, you focus on getting players in. The goals may be different but the skills required to be effective at both are often very similar.

These are just a few of my experiences in comparing the college and high school football coaching jobs. In the end, we are all blessed to have a chance to give back and make a difference in the lives of those who we are entrusted to coach. In return, every football coach at every level who is coaching for the right reasons is to be commended for the investment that they are making in schools, players and communities across this nation.