Post by Coach J Campbell on Feb 3, 2008 11:40:15 GMT
When is the Grass Greener?
By The Old AD
This time of year many coaches are logging into the job boards and dreaming of a better situation. However, what constitutes a better situation? When is the grass greener on the other side of the fence? For this week�s advice from the AD, I want you to consider several things before starting the search for another job.
With all of the considerations you need to keep one at the top of the list; Begin with the End in Mind. This is one of Stephen Covey�s Seven Habits for Highly Successful People. If you want to promote your coaching career, keep in mind that every decision that you make is in preparation to advance and will be make impact on your career. A negative impact or a positive one is up to you. If you want to be a head coach, start acting and thinking like a head coach now! Start practicing how you would handle an irate parent, media questions, motivating teenagers, etc.
Other Considerations:
#1 Pay vs. Success: I see this mistake made by coaches every spring, especially young ones. Coaches jump to another job to make a few hundred more dollars a month. However, the new job may be a dead-end and not have the success of the previous job and the long-term effect may impede the coach�s career track.
Allow me to illustrate with an example;
Coach Smith coaches freshman ball in a very successful program and gets the itch to be a varsity coach. XYZ High School comes calling and offers Coach Smith a varsity position with an added bonus of a pay raise. However, XYZ High School has not been very successful and has no real promise to get better. In my opinion, Coach Smith has set his career track behind a few years by changing jobs. When screening applications I always search for a coach from a successful system. If Coach Smith�s goal when he started coaching was to become a coordinator then a head coach, then he may be behind the ball. It is much easier for an AD to hire a coach from a successful program, even if they are a sub-varsity coach, then it is to hire from a program with little success.
#2 �It is in the best interest of my family� Really consider this one, because I hear many coaches say this. I am even guilty of making a career move because it �was in the best interest of my family.� In reality, my career move was selfish and could have been very harmful in the long run. OK, if you are at a place where the AD/HC is not family oriented and you never see your spouse and children then I can see move. However if you are feeling pinched because of a lack of time at home or a shortage of money, then please consider the profession that you have chosen. Coaching hours are not standard forty hour a week jobs, but there are not many other professions that I can think of that you have flexibility in the summer and off-seasons like coaching. And on the money part, go investigate what your friends in other careers make and what they have to sacrifice.
Sure you may work 80+ hours a week during the season, but how many hours a week do you work the rest of the year? How much time off do you get on the holidays and summers? Trust me, if you switch careers you will be working as hard if not harder than you did coaching to provide for your family. If money is the issue, take a look at your lifestyle and expenditures. I have known many coaches whose spouse stays at home to keep the kids, they are living off of one salary, and they are as happy as can be and the kids are well adjusted.
Also consider that your children do look up to you as a hero because you are a coach. They will learn to appreciate the career that you have chosen and the influence that you
have in the school.
#3 Don�t Get too Anxious Again, I see this mistake made all too often. Coaches are in a hurry to move up and they make decisions on the fly. I have seen coaches move on to another job and the job that they would have moved into at their former school, if they had stayed, comes open a few days later.
#4 Don�t try to fit into a situation just because
Being a varsity coach, a coordinator, or a head coach does not guarantee happiness and satisfaction. Working in a good situation around good people and good kids will go along way to providing happiness and satisfaction. Do not take a job just because the title sounds good (see #3). If you are happy where you are and enjoy the people that you work with and around, then really consider this as a blessing. Many coaches move in the elusive search for the job and/or title that will bring happiness and satisfaction only to be disappointed. You veteran guys know coaches who move every year or so for this reason and always seem unhappy about their situation.
#5 Always pray about your decision to change jobs-this should really be #1
The power of prayer and God�s plan for you will be made clear through prayer. If the decision is not clear and the Holy Spirit is pulling you in a different direction, then maybe you should reconsider a move. God will appoint leaders of men as he sees fit and you do not know when or where that appointment will come until you are appointed and are able to realize how God is using you to influence lives.
Take care and God Bless,
The Old AD
By The Old AD
This time of year many coaches are logging into the job boards and dreaming of a better situation. However, what constitutes a better situation? When is the grass greener on the other side of the fence? For this week�s advice from the AD, I want you to consider several things before starting the search for another job.
With all of the considerations you need to keep one at the top of the list; Begin with the End in Mind. This is one of Stephen Covey�s Seven Habits for Highly Successful People. If you want to promote your coaching career, keep in mind that every decision that you make is in preparation to advance and will be make impact on your career. A negative impact or a positive one is up to you. If you want to be a head coach, start acting and thinking like a head coach now! Start practicing how you would handle an irate parent, media questions, motivating teenagers, etc.
Other Considerations:
#1 Pay vs. Success: I see this mistake made by coaches every spring, especially young ones. Coaches jump to another job to make a few hundred more dollars a month. However, the new job may be a dead-end and not have the success of the previous job and the long-term effect may impede the coach�s career track.
Allow me to illustrate with an example;
Coach Smith coaches freshman ball in a very successful program and gets the itch to be a varsity coach. XYZ High School comes calling and offers Coach Smith a varsity position with an added bonus of a pay raise. However, XYZ High School has not been very successful and has no real promise to get better. In my opinion, Coach Smith has set his career track behind a few years by changing jobs. When screening applications I always search for a coach from a successful system. If Coach Smith�s goal when he started coaching was to become a coordinator then a head coach, then he may be behind the ball. It is much easier for an AD to hire a coach from a successful program, even if they are a sub-varsity coach, then it is to hire from a program with little success.
#2 �It is in the best interest of my family� Really consider this one, because I hear many coaches say this. I am even guilty of making a career move because it �was in the best interest of my family.� In reality, my career move was selfish and could have been very harmful in the long run. OK, if you are at a place where the AD/HC is not family oriented and you never see your spouse and children then I can see move. However if you are feeling pinched because of a lack of time at home or a shortage of money, then please consider the profession that you have chosen. Coaching hours are not standard forty hour a week jobs, but there are not many other professions that I can think of that you have flexibility in the summer and off-seasons like coaching. And on the money part, go investigate what your friends in other careers make and what they have to sacrifice.
Sure you may work 80+ hours a week during the season, but how many hours a week do you work the rest of the year? How much time off do you get on the holidays and summers? Trust me, if you switch careers you will be working as hard if not harder than you did coaching to provide for your family. If money is the issue, take a look at your lifestyle and expenditures. I have known many coaches whose spouse stays at home to keep the kids, they are living off of one salary, and they are as happy as can be and the kids are well adjusted.
Also consider that your children do look up to you as a hero because you are a coach. They will learn to appreciate the career that you have chosen and the influence that you
have in the school.
#3 Don�t Get too Anxious Again, I see this mistake made all too often. Coaches are in a hurry to move up and they make decisions on the fly. I have seen coaches move on to another job and the job that they would have moved into at their former school, if they had stayed, comes open a few days later.
#4 Don�t try to fit into a situation just because
Being a varsity coach, a coordinator, or a head coach does not guarantee happiness and satisfaction. Working in a good situation around good people and good kids will go along way to providing happiness and satisfaction. Do not take a job just because the title sounds good (see #3). If you are happy where you are and enjoy the people that you work with and around, then really consider this as a blessing. Many coaches move in the elusive search for the job and/or title that will bring happiness and satisfaction only to be disappointed. You veteran guys know coaches who move every year or so for this reason and always seem unhappy about their situation.
#5 Always pray about your decision to change jobs-this should really be #1
The power of prayer and God�s plan for you will be made clear through prayer. If the decision is not clear and the Holy Spirit is pulling you in a different direction, then maybe you should reconsider a move. God will appoint leaders of men as he sees fit and you do not know when or where that appointment will come until you are appointed and are able to realize how God is using you to influence lives.
Take care and God Bless,
The Old AD