Grand Junction girls basketball coach Sydni Brandon, left, gives instructions to her team during a game this season. Low pay and long hours can lead to burnout for coaches.
Grand Junction girls basketball coach Sydni Brandon, left, gives instructions to her team during a game this season. Low pay and long hours can lead to burnout for coaches.
School District 51 has seen some turnover in head coaching positions at the four major high schools. Each school has had a new coach in at least six sports over the past five years. Some sports have had as many as four new coaches since 2017.
The reason why coaches leave is complicated but can be narrowed down to three general points — pay, workload and parents.
“The pay is terrible. Think of how much time you’re putting in to be a basketball coach. You’ve got summer activities, activities year-round for $4,200,” said District 51 Athletic Director Paul Cain. “You gotta have flexibility with your work schedule, and now you have the challenges of demands and expectations of parents is difficult.”
Coaches work long hours and there is basically no offseason. Coaches work year-round to keep up with the competition, plan for new rosters and adjust schemes.
Given that workload, the pay is low. Coaches receive stipends through the district as pay. A first-year head football coach in D51 makes $4,275. When compared to four school districts in Colorado with similar enrollments (according to niche.com) — Greeley Evans School District 6, Colorado Springs School District 11, El Paso County School District 49 and 27J Schools (Brighton) — that’s the second-lowest total.
Fewer than half of D51 coaches work in the schools where they coach. The rest work in other schools or have day jobs to focus on.
Another major issue coaches face is dealing with parents. Each coach stressed that most parents are no problem. Some even mentioned parents who went out of their way to be helpful. But there are just enough who are difficult. That can range from something mild to regular angry messages — with playing time as the most common reason, coaches said.
Cain himself came up through the coaching ranks and coached high school basketball in Hawaii.
“It’s not like Texas where you’re a football coach who teaches some PE classes. Here, their job is to be a teacher,” said Cain. “When you don’t have educators, I think you lose the picture that it’s not all about winning, you’re here to educate kids. You want to win but it’s about more. You’re developing young men and women. Sometimes we have people come in who don’t see that education piece. Sometimes it works great, sometimes it doesn’t.”
Cain added that the district does have out-of-building coaches who do see the bigger picture.
Most coaches The Daily Sentinel talked to agreed that those who leave the profession do so because one or a combination of factors may be overwhelming.
The degree to which coaches struggle with parents varies — for some, it can be a constant headache, for others, it’s a nuisance. Cain said the district has a 24-hour rule that urges parents to wait one full day to speak with a coach if they’re upset about playing time.
“We want to have a partnership with parents in the athletic world to bring opportunities to their kids,” Cain said. “Most parents are great. They’ll do whatever they can to bring a great experience for their child. The vast majority of parents are that way. But there’s a minority who are very difficult.”
Filling any coaching opening proves difficult for the district.
The ideal candidate varies based on the program, Cain said. A coach who emphasizes structure is likely ideal for a program that has been too lax and a calmer coach may be best for a program that struggled under a strict coach, Cain said.
The district has had some job openings with fewer applicants than expected.
“Here’s my philosophy,” Cain said. “I want coaches who teach the game and life lessons while building lifelong relationships with the kids.”
