General Characteristics of a Unified Staff

Expectations of an Assistant Coach

  Trevor Prichard

This is a very important topic, as I firmly believe that the success of a program rests on strong people of character and integrity surrounding and supporting it. In my program I am very lucky to have an amazing ensemble of assistant coaches who give up a great deal of their time by volunteering to help our athletes remain successful. These men do not get paid a dime and usually have to give up a couple hours at work each day to get to practices. These are the expectations that I have of our assistant coaches:

Foster Healthy and Positive Relationships with the Players

The most important part of sports are the memories that athletes leave with by being part of a program that focused on the positive aspects of their development. Assistant coaches must work towards proper communication skills regarding parents and players, both on and off the field. They must also model the habits that are necessary in teaching our young men the strong character traits and integrity of the game. This includes dressing appropriately for game day and team functions, using appropriate language and tone when address everyone within the program. Assistant coaches are expected to conduct themselves with the more professional values so that our young people will learn how to model that outside the world of football. Coaches must be working towards transformational coaching practices rather then those that are transactional.

Working Towards Being Better at the Game

Our assistant coaches are expected to be students of the game that take advantage of professional development opportunities whenever it is available We do a lot of professional development as a coaching staff, traveling throughout the United States on a yearly basis to find top coaching clinics to improve our own tactics and external coaching cues for the purpose of developing the skill of our athletes. We also take part in many guest coaching opportunities throughout Canada continuously learning how to bring new and novel approaches in regards to our practices and game strategies. Our assistant coaches are expected to put together weekly cut ups that they will use to coach the athletes in the film room. They are also expected to evaluate their individual players and units by watching both practice and game film.

Strong and Loyal Supporters of the Program

Assistant coaches are expected to support the program not only at practice or during game play, but also in the community by talking positively about what we do and what we stand for. Loyalty for our school, district and football program are essential for future success because it shows that all involved are shown in a positive light. Loyalty shows that we are the program that gives the best opportunity for young people to be well rounded student athletes that will not only learn the game, but will come out in the community to give back. The loyalty that our assistant coaches show towards the program is one of the major reasons why we have players that come back to our football program once they are finished at the junior or university level. Assistant coaches are also expected to be on time for practices and games. They should be waiting on the field for their positional group to begin practices. We have had the same nucleus of 6 coaches for the last 9 years, and this consistency has proven to help in our success.

Assistant Coaches are Leaders

Assistant coaches are expected to be leaders at all times. What they do in the community or on the practice field are very important to how players perceive them. Our assistant coaches continuously help out with some of the less enviable jobs. This includes room checks, locker room monitoring, equipment hand out and cleaning. We strongly believe in servant leadership from the top down. We do not expect or treat our rookie players in demeaning ways, but rather we pair our players up with veterans so that they veterans can show them how to help within our program. All the coaches are expected to model servant leadership and show our veterans how to lead in the appropriate fashion. Assistant coaches are also expected to support the head coach regarding decisions and upholding the values of the program. When they see misconduct of any sort, they are expected to take the initiative to act in a manner that would be acceptable within the program.