with 57 % coaching high school , 37 % coaching youth / club , 6 % coaching college and even a handful coaching a pro team .
The part-time coach is a long-timer , strikingly similar in longevity to the career coach , with an astonishing 75 % having coached for 11 years or more . The vast majority ( 71 %) serve as a head coach . Their investment in the highest-level soccer education is a little less than the career coach , with 5 % having the United Soccer Coaches Premier Diploma and an equal percentage having the U . S . Soccer “ A ” License ( youth or senior ). However , they still have invested significantly in coaching education on both the United Soccer Coaches and U . S . Soccer pathways .
Women and minorities are even more of a modest percentage of the part-time coaches which rank 86 % Male and 80 % White . The largest percentage of part-time coaches seem to reflect mid-career professionals at more traditional “ day jobs ,” who played and love the game and now have the income and job flexibility to allow the time commitment of paid coaching of at least one team .
See a full statistical snapshot of part-time coaches on The Training Ground .
Part-Time Coach Compensation Snapshot
• 66 % are employees of their club or school ( W-2 ); 31 % are independent contractors ( 1099 )
• 74 % have a contract ; 26 % do not
• 68 % with a contract have one year ; 26 % have a contract for the season ; 2 % have a two-year contract
• 25 % have a secondary paid coaching position
• Of secondary positions : 30 % are youth head coach ; 17 % are high school varsity head coach ; other positions include ( but are not limited to ) high school assistant coach ( 9 %), youth assistant ( 4 %), college assistant ( 4 %) and head college coach ( 2 %)
• 58 % receive no additional benefits ; 25 % receive coaching education stipend or reimbursement ; 18 % receive United Soccer Coaches membership
• Total combined annual income from coaching roles and non-coaching “ day job ( s )”:
» 21 % are $ 100,000 + » 29 % are $ 50,000- $ 100,000 » 7 % are $ 30,000- $ 50,000
• In their role as a part-time , non-career coach :
» 47 % make $ 5,000 or less » 35 % make $ 5,000- $ 10,000 » 10 % make $ 10,000- $ 20,000 » 7 % make over $ 20,000
What do the stats tell you ?
• Pivotal to the game . Part-time , non-career coaches are the backbone of high school soccer and a significant contributor to youth / club soccer .
• Mid-career . The largest percentage of parttime soccer coaches are 35-55 years old , or mid- to late-career in their non-soccer work lives .
• Less high-level playing experience required . Pro and college playing experience is considerably less a hiring factor for part-time coaches than for career or aspiring coaches .
• Part timers are long timers . Their role may be part time , but their longevity as coaches is very similar to career coaches .
• Less diversity . A smaller number of female and minority coaches are included in this part-time category of coaching .
ASPIRING CAREER COACH
Definition : Aspires to having full-time soccer coaching as a livelihood
12 % responding to the survey identify as aspiring career coaches .
Aspiring to a full-time career as a soccer coach is both a challenging and exciting path . According to the 2023 survey data , a relatively small percentage ( 12 %) of coaches who do not already have their full-time coaching career in place are taking the plunge with minority coaches ( 27 % Hispanic ; 6 % Black ) making up a third . Some of that challenge may be less the credentials or skills of the aspiring coach than the longevity of career coaches in their job role ( once they have a good job , they tend to hang on to it !) and the large number of part-time coaches that coach individual teams as a complement to their “ day job .” However , every year hundreds of soccer coaches around the country make that breakthrough to their first full-time , “ living wage ” coaching job that puts them on the career trajectory .
A dilemma for many aspiring coaches is determining how to plan for and fund an
Coaching soccer is something I would have loved to do full-time after my college career . Early on , I realized how difficult it would be to support myself , never mind a family .
7 %
29 %
7 % 10 %
35 %
PART-TIME COACH
Combined coaching income for a part-time , non-coaching “ day job ( s )” coach in the U . S .
$ 100,000 +
$ 50,000- $ 100,000
PART-TIME COACH
$ 5,000 or less
$ 5,000- $ 10,000
$ 30,000- $ 50,000
Combined coaching income for a part-time , non-career coach in the U . S .
$ 10,000- $ 20,000
$ 20,000
21 %
47 %
I would become a full-time coach if the pay was better . I think I would maximize my pay and abilities by stacking coaching with another job like teaching . I am invested in both and I don ’ t want to fulfill the terrible high school soccer coach trope .
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