Interviews
Informational Interview
Interview someone with a position in a segment of the industry in which you are interested in potentially working. Write a report of the interview which highlights the following areas:
Interview Source: conference call
Personal Information:
Industry Information:
Tips for Students Aspiring Towards a Similar Position:
Networking and meeting new people is a great way to get your foot in the door. You often have to send a load of emails basically asking for an opportunity to work. Experience is also a great thing, so I would advise doing lots of voluntary coaching with kids of all ages; this will give you a good feel for coaching different ages and skill levels. Reach out to friends at different colleges, they often will put in a good word for you, or will hear about employment opportunities before they’re put online.
Informational Interview
Interview someone with a position in a segment of the industry in which you are interested in potentially working. Write a report of the interview which highlights the following areas:
Interview Source:
Personal Information:
Industry Information:
Tips for Students Aspiring Towards a Similar Position:
Get your coaching badges done, either here in America or wherever you are. This is important as it gives you the experience and requirements to be a great coach. Volunteer at local teams and do as much coaching as you can, you can never learn enough about soccer and the game is always changing so the more you learn, the better position you put yourself in.
Informational Interview
Interview someone with a position in a segment of the industry in which you are interested in potentially working. Write a report of the interview which highlights the following areas:
Interview Source: conference call
- Name of Person: Shane Howedes
- Title: Assistant Coach
- Organization / Company: William Carey
- E-Mail or Phone Number: 814-504-4334
Personal Information:
- General Responsibilities: Responsibilities include working closely with the players, ensuring they are doing what they need to do on and off the field. Grades are such an important part of our program as if you don’t have the grades, you cannot play. We have a homework session 3 times a week where all athletes have to attend a certain amount of hours depending on grades. The setting up and organization of drills is also a responsibility of mine, majority of the time I am in my office looking at drills and new ideas that could bring us further as a program.
- Likes: working hands on with the team is definitely a strong like for me. As I get to see the team go from strength to strength, and young players come on in leaps and bounds, it is really rewarding as a coach. Being heavily involved in the team builds strong relationships and you feel as if it’s not work that you are attending every day, you are working toward a dream with a family.
- Dislikes: budgeting is one of the biggest dislikes, as this is one of the hardest things to do as a coach. I can imagine budgeting being easy at big D1 schools where money isn’t an issue, but at smaller schools we have to take care of our money and make sure we are getting the most for our dollar.
- Hours / Attire: 30. Flexible depending on when we play games and if we are in or out of season determine the amount of hours I work.
- Pay / Benefits / Perks: $30,000 is the normal pay, insurance is normally covered and meals on the road are often covered by the program.
- Education: bachelor degree is the miminum required for a coaching position, but experience can be just if not more important.
- Related Experience: coaching experience is very important, as this is what you are going to be using once you get the job. The degree is just to ensure you have a general knowledge about what day to day things such as writing documents or working out budget sheets.
Industry Information:
- Salary Range $28,000- $40,000
- Turnover
- Opportunity for Advancement: the opportunity to move up toward a head coaching job is always there and is always the plan. The end game is normally the head coach position, as this is what we are all aiming for if were being honest. The opportunity to move onto a bigger school is also the option if you have a great year with a team and a position opens up somewhere else. It is all about timing and the people you know that puts you in these careers so meeting new people and doing well is always great
Tips for Students Aspiring Towards a Similar Position:
Networking and meeting new people is a great way to get your foot in the door. You often have to send a load of emails basically asking for an opportunity to work. Experience is also a great thing, so I would advise doing lots of voluntary coaching with kids of all ages; this will give you a good feel for coaching different ages and skill levels. Reach out to friends at different colleges, they often will put in a good word for you, or will hear about employment opportunities before they’re put online.
Informational Interview
Interview someone with a position in a segment of the industry in which you are interested in potentially working. Write a report of the interview which highlights the following areas:
Interview Source:
- Name of Person: Robbie Tarvar
- Title: Assistant Coach
- Organization / Company: Center College
- E-Mail or Phone Number: 713-264-2561
Personal Information:
- General Responsibilities
- Likes: seeing the hard work pay off on game day, when you put so much into the team through spring and pre season, it is so rewarding when your team plays to its full potential. Match day is always a bonus as a retired soccer player, it brings back good memories and it makes me feel as if I’m still living out my career through the team.
- Dislikes: facilities at smaller schools are often minimal; this is a pet peeve of mine as it limits the amount of training and the drills you can do. Big schools won’t have this problem as they have all the money in the world, but for smaller schools this is an issue along with budgeting we run into all the time.
- Hours / Attire: during season I probably work 45-50 hours a week, this is due to training and travelling with the team. As we train everyday in season and play two games over the weekend, it is a lot of time with the team and working. Attire is college tracksuit which all staff members where to training and to games.
- Pay / Benefits / Perks: I have full benefits as an assistant coach, and the pay varies from $35,000- $40,000.
- Education: bachelor degree minimum but experience is needed also.
- Related Experience: experience in soccer is important, collegiate or high school experience is very important as that is round about the age group and level of talent you will be working with,
Industry Information:
- Salary Range
- Turnover
- Opportunity for Advancement: opportunity to advance to a head coach if you do well and the right jobs open at the right time. This could be a job at a different program or at the program you are currently at if the head coach moves on.
Tips for Students Aspiring Towards a Similar Position:
Get your coaching badges done, either here in America or wherever you are. This is important as it gives you the experience and requirements to be a great coach. Volunteer at local teams and do as much coaching as you can, you can never learn enough about soccer and the game is always changing so the more you learn, the better position you put yourself in.