How to Recruit a New Football Coach

Coaching sports can be more than a recreational activity; it can also help shape the minds of girls and boys by providing life lessons learned through winning and losing. An effective football coach is a teacher of the game, a motivator and a role model for players. Finding the right football coach can elevate a losing team's self-esteem and restore its love for the game, and energize a community's interest in its team.

Instructions

    • 1

      Make a list of qualifications and characteristics required for the new coach. This helps you identify the kind of person you want coaching the football team. The list can be specific ("at least five years' coaching experience required"), or more general ("candidates with some experience preferred"), but should give candidates a reasonable idea what skills and talents are needed to apply for the position.

    • 2

      Form a selection committee. Choose parents of team members who are active in their support, athletic faculty members and donors. Try to keep the number of committee members to between six or eight, to prevent "paralysis by analysis," if there are too many members with conflicting views.

    • 3

      Solicit candidates by placing an ad in the local paper and on the job board sections of football websites, such as the American Football Coaches Association and Comprehensive Online Access to Coaching Help (C.O.A.C.H.). These websites let you post coaching openings in a database that can be viewed for free by prospective coaches. Sell the position by mentioning the benefits of living in the community, the kind of lifestyle a new coach can expect and the football team's past achievements.

    • 4

      Review the applications and resumes for the position. Select the top 10 candidates based on the criteria you identified in your qualifications list.

    • 5

      Convene a meeting of the selection committee to discuss the 10 most-desirable candidates. Allow each member to give an opinion, then determine a short list of three final candidates.

    • 6

      Interview each of the final three candidates. Ask questions, such as the nature of the candidate's last coaching job, his coaching philosophy, how he would deal with losing and what attracts him to the community. Sell the football program and why you believe the candidate can elevate its profile. Express to the candidate the qualities he possesses that can provide leadership and victories for the squad.

    • 7

      Offer the position to the candidate who is the best match for your team and who you believe will become an integral member of the community. Don't tell the two candidates you did not hire that they are out of the running until your candidate of choice has accepted your contract terms.