How to Coach College Track & Field

Coaching college track and field involves focusing on one or two particular areas within the track and field sport. For example you may be the women's low and high hurdle coach, while another coach helps the male athletes on the long jump.

Instructions

    • 1

      Order coaching materials. There are instructional videos available in DVD format on the Sports Nation Instructional Video website. These materials help build on your current knowledge of coaching to make you a more effective and knowledgeable coach.

    • 2

      Volunteer as an assistant coach at a local college. Sometimes its best to just be around the coaching environment as much as possible. By shadowing a seasoned college track and field coach, you learn things about coaching that books and videos can't teach you.

    • 3

      Take coaching classes set up by the United States Track and Field organization for Level 2 certification. The Level 2 certification prepares you for an effective coaching career in college. Specific coaching techniques are taught for the individual areas of track and field.

    • 4

      Visit the Advantage Athletics website for great resources to enhance your coaching effectiveness. This site specializes in providing you with helpful sporting equipment, sequencing cards and articles that help develop your coaching strategies.

    • 5

      Receive your bachelors degree. Most colleges require a Bachelor's degree and previous coaching experience. Degrees in Sports Medicine and Physical Education can help develop you into an effective college track and field coach, but may not be required by all colleges.

    • 6

      Participate in track and field programs as an athlete to gain valuable experience. Think about what coaching styles did and didn't work well on the teams that you have been on.