CCollegeMatcher

Coaches and Scouts

US occupation · SOC 27-2022

Job titles people report: Baseball Coach, Basketball Coach, Coach, Cross Country Coach, Football Coach, Gymnastics Coach, Soccer Coach, Softball Coach, Track and Field Coach, Volleyball Coach

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025
$47,320
Half earn more, half earn less
Middle half earn
$35,330 – $64,710
25th to 75th percentile
People employed, May 2025
248,950
Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
Projected change, 2025–35
+6.1%
At or above the all-jobs rate (3.5% to under 7%)
Openings a year (projected)
36,400
New jobs plus replacing people who leave
Typical education to enter
Bachelor's degree
BLS
  • All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
  • Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
  • Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Instruct or coach groups or individuals in the fundamentals of sports for the primary purpose of competition. Demonstrate techniques and methods of participation. May evaluate athletes' strengths and weaknesses as possible recruits or to improve the athletes' technique to prepare them for competition. Those required to hold teaching certifications should be reported in the appropriate teaching category.

Main tasks

  • Plan, organize, and conduct practice sessions.
  • Provide training direction, encouragement, motivation, and nutritional advice to prepare athletes for games, competitive events, or tours.
  • Adjust coaching techniques, based on the strengths and weaknesses of athletes.
  • Instruct individuals or groups in sports rules, game strategies, and performance principles, such as specific ways of moving the body, hands, or feet, to achieve desired results.
  • Plan strategies and choose team members for individual games or sports seasons.
  • Monitor the academic eligibility of student athletes.
  • Counsel student athletes on academic, athletic, and personal issues.
  • Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of opposing teams to develop game strategies.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)
Bachelor's degree
O*NET Job Zone 4
Considerable preparation
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Interests it suits

The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.

  • Social: helping, teaching and caring for people
  • Enterprising: leading, persuading and making business decisions
  • Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 4 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Psychology

  • Performance and Sport Psychology

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Psychology at the Major step.

Where many students take psychology

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Education

  • Physical Education Teaching and Coaching

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Education at the Major step.

Where many students take education

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Kinesiology & Sports Science

  • Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness, General
  • Sport and Fitness Administration/Management

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Kinesiology & Sports Science at the Major step.

Where many students take kinesiology & sports science

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

← All careers

Sources

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0

Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk