If you’re a Third Culture Kid who’s back in the United States for college and your school has a competitive basketball team, the month of March holds particular influence in the minds of sports fans and the head coach has a lot to do with it.

Every university with a basketball team — male and/or female — needs a head coach and assistant coaches who are familiar with the game and have a strong background in fundamentals to teach young men and women.

Basketball Coaching Requirements

College and professional coaches usually must have a bachelor’s degree, typically in any subject. However, some coaches may decide to study exercise and sports science, physiology, kinesiology, nutrition and fitness, physical education or sports medicine.

All college coaches must have a four-year degree to be eligible to coach, but many begin their careers as graduate assistants, taking courses at the school where they are coaching before learning the ins and outs of the profession.

Money

A lot depends on the school, as well as the program’s progress and the coach they are working with. To attract the most qualified and experienced head coaches to their staffs, most top-level universities will offer salary raises and lucrative benefit arrangements for their assistants.

Another reason why many head coaches are so well-paid is the NCAA championship tournament held every March, which pits 65 teams from the 366 Division 1 teams in a bracket that culminates in the final two teams facing off in early April. However, that represents just a small percentage of the teams that compete in college basketball.

It’s safe to say that coaching at the college level is tough. This job requires so much of your time just to be somewhat successful. Futhermore, to claim that coaches at top-tier colleges devote a significant amount of time to their positions during the season is an understatement.

During the season, most spend 80 to 90 hours a week consulting with players and the rest of the coaching staff, the athletic administration, answering calls from prospects and high school or community coaches at all hours of the day and night, and meeting with boosters.

Recruiting

Recruiting is also a big hassle. Coaches must be able to build relationships with kids while in season. Coaches must consult with community and high school coaches, watch recruit videos, meet with the recruits and their parents or other friends, depending on the family situation, and also meet with the compliance officer at the school they work with to ensure they are following NCAA or NAIA rules.

(A new wrinkle added in recent years are Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) agreements where college athletes, while prohibited from being paid by the universities they play for, can sign contracts with outside sponsors.)

One important thing about recruiting is grades. Coaches must make sure their recruits are good both on the court and in the classroom.

Coaches spend an excessive amount of time in high school and college gyms, but most will assure you that what they do and the time they spend doing it is well worth it because they are able to mentor and mold young men into people while still feeding their own competitive and success-oriented drives.

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