Coaches and Scouts
Instruct or coach groups or individuals in the fundamentals of sports for the primary purpose of competition. Demonstrate techniques and methods of participation. May evaluate athletes' strengths and weaknesses as possible recruits or to improve the athletes' technique to prepare them for competition. Those required to hold teaching certifications should be reported in the appropriate teaching category.
Most important skills
- Instructing
- Speaking
- Learning Strategies
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Social Perceptiveness
Key knowledge
- Education and Training
- English Language
- Administration and Management
- Psychology
- Customer and Personal Service
- Communications and Media
- Personnel and Human Resources
- Public Safety and Security
What the work involves
- Plan, organize, and conduct practice sessions.
- Plan strategies and choose team members for individual games or sports seasons.
- Adjust coaching techniques, based on the strengths and weaknesses of athletes.
- Instruct individuals or groups in sports rules, game strategies, and performance principles, such as specific ways of moving the body, hands, or feet, to achieve desired results.
- Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of opposing teams to develop game strategies.
- Evaluate athletes' skills and review performance records to determine their fitness and potential in a particular area of athletics.
- Keep abreast of changing rules, techniques, technologies, and philosophies relevant to their sport.
- Monitor athletes' use of equipment to ensure safe and proper use.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Social, Enterprising, Realistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree (48.9% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 4 years, up to and including 6 years (22.9%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (37%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 4: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Coaches and Scouts is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very high | Higher on contact with others than 81% of occupations compared | 80% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 68% of occupations compared | 31% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Teamwork | High | Higher on teamwork than 64% of occupations compared | 63% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 61% of occupations compared | 62% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 65% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very high | Higher on conflict situations than 90% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 59% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Low | Lower on consequence of error than 66% of occupations compared | 57% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: very high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 5.75%
- Contact with others most of the time: 13.91%
- Constant contact with others: 80.34%
n = 39, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 28.99%
- Fairly important: 11.16%
- Important: 11.63%
- Very important: 31.03%
- Extremely important: 17.18%
n = 37, Incumbent 08/2019
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 18.99%
- Very important: 17.54%
- Extremely important: 63.47%
n = 39, Incumbent 08/2019
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 5.75%
- Limited freedom: 8.54%
- Some freedom: 62.29%
- A lot of freedom: 23.42%
n = 39, Incumbent 08/2019
Time pressure
- Never: 1.02%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 11.69%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 25.17%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 43.14%
- Every day: 18.99%
n = 38, Incumbent 08/2019
Conflict situations
- Never: 0.96%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 7.02%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 30.82%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 46.94%
- Every day: 14.27%
n = 39, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 40.09%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 35.45%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 14.87%
- Every day: 9.58%
n = 39, Incumbent 08/2019
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 7.86%
- Fairly serious: 57.08%
- Serious: 12.92%
- Very serious: 6.22%
- Extremely serious: 15.92%
n = 38, Incumbent 08/2019
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O*NET-SOC 27-2022.00 · SOC 27-2022 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8