Call the Shots! How to Become a College Baseball Coach.

Are you passionate about baseball? Would you like the opportunity to help other young athletes pursue their dreams? If so, being a college baseball coach may be your calling.

Luckily, you don’t have to be a professional athlete to land this job. With the right planning and dedication, you can carve a path to coaching greatness and start calling the shots for a college team. To get started, you’ll need a better understanding of what you must do to boost your odds of turning your dream career into a reality. 

What You Need to Know About Being A College Baseball Coach 

Understand Your Options

You must realize there is no single path to becoming an NCAA baseball coach. Before you decide on a career path, you must first determine what your options are and make sure they align with your goals. 

For instance, if you’re already a student yourself, during your undergraduate years, you could work or intern for your school’s sports or baseball program. Doing so will help you develop connections that will make networking much easier when you graduate. 

You’re in an even better position if you’re currently enrolled in a graduate program. Many sports programs and coaching staff make use of graduate assistants in various capacities. 

However, none of this is to suggest that NCAA jobs are inaccessible to those who are no longer college students. If your college years are behind you and you yearn for a shot as a baseball coach, you can also apply for internships or work your way into organizations through volunteering. And you should also be networking and meeting new people in the industry. Knowing the right person could help make your career. 

Get a Proper Education

Before exploring your options for pursuing college baseball coaching jobs, it’s worth noting that having the appropriate degree and certification will make you stand out among job candidates in the future. It’s also difficult to land a significant college coaching job without at least a bachelor’s degree. Ideally, your degree will be related to sports in some capacity — topics of study to consider are physical education and sports management. 

Don’t worry if you’ve already earned another degree in an unrelated area of study. It’s entirely understandable if your current life circumstances prevent you from being able to go back to college to complete another degree program. You can, however, supplement your current degree with a certification in sports management. Many programs awarding these certifications are designed for students just like you. They involve online classes, meaning you can complete the necessary coursework from anywhere. While you may not have a bachelor’s degree in a relevant subject area, you can fill in any gaps in your knowledge with a sports management certification.

Consider Earning Additional Certifications

You aren’t the only person interested in college baseball coaching jobs. There are others just like you with the same career goals. Therefore, you should do whatever you can to stand out in the crowd.

You might do so by earning additional certifications besides those mentioned above. For example, through the NFHS, you can become an official Certified Interscholastic Coach. Another option to consider is the U.S. Sports Academy National Coaching Certification. Earning at least one of these will indicate to potential future employers that you are passionate about this line of work and that you possess the qualifications necessary to work as a college baseball coach.

Network

The more people you know, the easier it is to get a job, which is true in virtually all fields and industries. With that in mind, you may want to attend the ABCA Coaching Convention regularly. This event gives you a chance to meet with coaches throughout the nation. A chance meeting here could very well lead to a career.

Gain Experience 

It’s unlikely your first job on a coaching staff will involve taking on the role of head coach for a major university’s baseball team. The odds are good that you’ll need to get related professional experience before you can take on that role.

There are numerous ways to do so. You may start out coaching at the high school level. If you demonstrate talent in this capacity, you can leverage this experience to make yourself a more attractive candidate for college coaching jobs.

Coaching for minor league teams is another option to consider if you don’t have the qualifications necessary to coach for a high school. Quite simply, your main goal is to illustrate you can lead a team to victory in a professional setting.

Work Your Way Up

Don’t make the mistake of assuming you can reach the top of the coaching staff without paying your dues first. It’s important to remember that the college coaching staff doesn’t consist of one person. They are practically teams themselves, with many different people playing many different roles.

Consider pursuing assistant college baseball coaching jobs before trying to take on the role of head coach. Doing so gives you the opportunity to develop your talents and expertise before accepting the full responsibility of leading a team. It also gives you a chance to demonstrate further to future employers that you do have relevant experience.

Keep in mind that you may also need to start at the assistant level before you even begin working at a university. For instance, if you were to start your coaching career with a minor league team, depending on the nature of the team, you may need to begin with an assistant position there as well.

Don’t look at this as another obstacle between you and your goals. While it can be frustrating to climb the professional ladder slowly, the more experience you have, the better prepared you’ll be when you finally do start your dream college baseball coaching career.

Don’t look at this as another obstacle between you and your goals. While it can be frustrating to climb the professional ladder slowly, the more experience you have, the better prepared you’ll be when you finally do start your dream college baseball coaching career.