Grad School...Just to be a GA?

Graduate School
1

<p>So, I'm in a bit of an odd situation.</p>

<p>I'm currently in my undergrad at a small, private, LAC (not one of the big name ones), and I'm two years away from graduating. My career goal is to becoming a collegiate coach. Simple enough, right? The best way to do that, that I can see, is to secure a GA position working with a team, gain two years of experience, and get a Masters out of the deal. This is the "standard" path to becoming a college coach, since it gives one a chance to network with other coaches/association staff/etc, gives credible experience, and provides a path to a masters (something that more and more athletic departments expect their coaches to have). </p>

<p>The thing is though, I don't have any particular masters programs in mind. Don't get me wrong, I love school, and I love learning. I enjoy research and writing (My major is history, with a few minors). I could see myself enjoying just about any type of masters program, but I'm not really sure how to proceed. </p>

<p>The only list of schools I've begun to think of are ones where I am interested in working with the teams (aka, some of the top D1/D2/D3 teams in my sport). Looking at programs I've considered choices like an MBA, Political Science, History, Sport Psychology and Sport Management (the last two may be the best bets for a coaching career, but I'm a little short in science/math pre-reqs [I've got the psych covered]). </p>

<p>So, does anyone have advice on how I should proceed? Would a reasonable first step be contacting these programs (via individually tailored emails) to see if they will have GA spots starting the Fall of 2015? Or is it considered bad form to email about something like that, before applying? I don't want to apply to a program, only to find out they won't have what I'm really after (the GA spot with the team). </p>

<p>Stats/Breakdown</p>

<p>Goal: Become a college coach
Rough Plan: Secure a GA spot to gain experience and meet most requirements
Issues:
1.) Not sure what I would go for a degree in.
2.) A large number of possible schools in contention (upwards of 30 probably, and I'd consider more)
3.) Not sure of the process of looking into GA positions
4.) General advice at all.</p>

<p>Stats:
GPA: 3.55, will likely boost a bit over the next four semesters.
Experience:
1.) Youth coaching, will be 3 seasons before I'd leave for grad school, with a strong letter of rec
2.) Collegiate Experience, heavily involved (more direct assisting with the coach than would be typical for an athlete). Should be another strong letter of rec. Some minor competitive success.
3.) State Coaching Certification. Only needed for public schools in state, but I've taken 18 credits of coaching/pe courses.
4.) Possible Volunteer Coach at a HS, would be 2 years. Hopefully another letter of rec.</p>

<p>Other:
1.) Work Experience. Mixed, mostly office.
2.) I should be able to get at least one fairly strong academic letter of rec, probably two, within my major.
3.) Have not yet taken the GRE/GMAT or any other test. I'm planning on doing that either in the late fall or early winter. I usually do very well on standardized tests.</p>

2

<p>Your best bet is to look for specific job advertisements for graduate assistant coaching positions in your specific sport. If you are a qualified candidate, the athletic department will generally provide assistance in getting you in the door of the graduate school.</p>

3

<p>Do you think I should start that process now, in a few months, or next year?</p>

<p>It’s a little tricky finding out who has openings, since I feel a lot of them don’t get posted. Looking at the major job sites in my sport you’d think there were only 5-10 GAs in the whole nation. So I think I’ll have to email coaches (or should I email the ADs?)</p>

4

<p>If your sport isn’t one of the huge ones, there may not be all that many openings.</p>

<p>I would talk to your coach and find out about leveraging his network. Does he know people who know people?</p>

5

<p>Look up the kinds of master’s degrees that collegiate coaches have, and get a master’s in that. My guess is that they typically have them in athletic training, exercise science, kinesiology, health and physical education, sports management, sports psychology, or occasionally higher education. An MBA, or an MA in political science or history, is not going to really be suitable for your goal to get a position as a collegiate coach.</p>

<p>Yes, I would ask these programs ahead of time if students normally get GA positions in the athletics department as preparation for the kinds of job that you want. GA positions are often not posted publicly - I find out about the ones at my college through internal listings and listservs, plus they have a GA fair for the higher ed students or you get one through connections with your professor. So this is something you will need to ask.</p>

<p>I’m browsing through HigherEdJobs.com’s listings of assistant coaches, and most only require a bachelor’s degree with some experience. Some places say master’s highly desirable/preferred.</p>