The Ultimate Guide to Winning Lacrosse Coaching Jobs

Do you have a passion for the sport of lacrosse and want to be a meaningful role model through a coaching job? These jobs can involve long hours and be competitive, but many coaches find the work incredibly fulfilling.

Often when someone has an interest in lacrosse coaching jobs, their first two questions are about average pay and job availability. This article looks at the typical salary made by lacrosse coaches and the astronomical growth of the sport (which, in turn, is generating more coaching positions). Then it reviews eight tips to land high school and college lacrosse coaching jobs, including earning lacrosse coaching certification and utilizing niche sports industry networks.

How Much Do Lacrosse Coaches Make?

The short answer is $40,000. A May 2020 assessment found that lacrosse coaches for Division I colleges receive salaries ranging from $31,441 to $47,450. However, the national average hourly rate is about $60 for private lessons, with some coaches charging as much as $110 an hour for one-on-one instruction.

Skyrocketing Popularity Means More Lacrosse Coaching Jobs

More today than ever before, experience and knowledge are needed in lacrosse coaches at schools nationwide. After all, the sport has been growing astronomically in recent years. According to researcher David Lange, lacrosse participation in the United States increased from 253,931 in 2001 to 829,423 in 2018. In other words, participation has more than tripled since the turn of the century. Lacrosse coaching jobs increase as participation increases, so these numbers are good news for the job market.

8 Tips to Help Land A Career As A Lacrosse Coach

Here are seven pieces of advice for succeeding in your efforts to obtain a high school or college lacrosse coaching job:

Tip 1 – Get experience.

You will need to have experience playing and coaching lacrosse to have a strong chance of landing a college lacrosse coaching job. Volunteering is also sometimes a necessary stepping-stone to land these prized roles.

If you do not yet have any coaching experience, a great way to get started is to volunteer to coach at the elementary-school level while attending high school or college. You can also potentially assistant coach a high school team while attending college. Once you complete your education, you can volunteer with your high school or college program. 

Tip 2 – Attend clinics. 

Through clinics offered by organizations such as US Lacrosse, you can sharpen your coaching skills. 

Tip 3 – Get licensed as a teacher. 

Some high schools may require you to get state-licensed to teach to get lacrosse coaching jobs.

Tip 4 – Get a bachelor’s and, if possible, a master’s. 

One industry analysis found that 15 percent of lacrosse coaches have master’s degrees, while 72 percent have bachelor’s. The remainder only has a high school diploma or GED. While education is optional, it will be easier to impress schools with your resume if you have one or more post-secondary degrees.

Tip 5 – Get lacrosse coaching certification.

Getting certified with US Lacrosse is a tedious process that is intended to take 3 to 5 years. The certification program called the US Lacrosse Coach Development Program will help open doors for coveted positions, such as NCAA lacrosse coaching jobs.

While the certification process can be tiresome, it expresses your commitment to coaching professionalism. In so doing, it impresses both administrators and parents. Plus, it is required by many leagues around the country.

Once you are certified as a lacrosse coach, you will be able to excel at the following:

• Teaching core lacrosse skills
• Being a positive, supportive coach
• Instructing youth safely and age-appropriately
• Designing drills for the best results
• Coming up with complex team strategies.

Tip 6 – Get in touch with the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA).

US Lacrosse has a partnership with the Positive Coaching Alliance to improve coaching quality. If you contact your local chapter of the PCA, you may learn about youth coaching opportunities. 

Tip 7 – Apply for whatever openings you can find.

It is intensely competitive to make it in college coaching, even though lacrosse opportunities have been expanding. Be prepared for a long job hunt to secure lacrosse coaching jobs.

As you search for coaching positions, volunteer at the high school or college level if you can. Keep pushing forward with your hunt for a dream job at one of your favorite schools.

Tip 8 – Network with other sports industry professionals.

It is key to meet as many people as possible in the sport and coaching to land these positions. People will be likelier to hire a person if they have been familiar with the individual for years. 

Introduce yourself to people and go to camps. Be proactive in building your network. Promote yourself and express your expertise without being salesy or aggressive. 

Here are a few key tactics:

• Sports industry conventions can be incredibly helpful when it comes to meeting people who can be allies throughout your career. The US Lacrosse National Convention is important. Coaches at all levels can benefit from this gathering. If you are interested in landing NCAA lacrosse coaching jobs, it can be powerful to attend the NCAA Convention.
• Along with coaching certification, become a member of US Lacrosse to enhance your credibility so you can attend as many of its events as possible. Meet people within the sport at regional and national events.
• Get your information out there. Share business cards and online network information with those you meet. 
• If you like someone’s work, be bold and introduce yourself. If you appreciate how amazing a coach’s leadership has been, let them know. You could say that you have admired their accomplishments for years. Even mention a specific game you found incredible.
• Organize group dinners. When you attend clinics and conferences in person, it is a good idea to organize a small group for dinner. It is beneficial for everyone at these networking events to find spaces for deeper conversation.
• Network online. Last but not least, it can be extraordinarily powerful to network online – particularly if you use a network exclusively for sports industry professionals (see below). 

The Network To Score A Career Win

Do you want to coach lacrosse? At JobsInSports.com, we offer the premier sports network for professionals within the sports industry (now 12,000+ strong). Join today to get connected with industry professionals and start paving the way to a successful career as a lacrosse coach.