Excellent article.
I have several friends who are assistant football coaches, and you really have to have a passion, because the pay is horrible when you consider the amount of hours you spend. Many have left coaching after the births of their children. It's not just the practices. Breaking down other team's film, as well as scouting a couple of their games takes a ton of time (charting the plays, noting special teams schemes . . . etc.). And now you add the offseason with it's plethora of camps/clinics. When I played, the offseason was dedicated to lifting weights. Now it's a structured weightlifting program, plyometrics, and cardio programs. All organized, and often overseen, by the coaches. And the parents? Don't get me started. I remember when I was coaching freshman football, one kid's parent was yelling at the coaches to play his son during a game. I will never forget after the game, I found the player in front of the school crying because of how embarrassed he was at his father's conduct.
If you want to compete in today's high school football, you have to go above and beyond. It leads to extreme burnout. That is why you see some coaches take a couple years off before they come back.
What is the answer? Not really sure. No school is going to increase pay, and even if they do, not sure how that prevents burnout.
Thanks for sharing coachcap.
