High school athletic directors in the South Weekly region arehaving a difficult time finding qualified coaches.
At Blue Hills Regional Technical School in Canton, the juniorvarsity soccer program is a wash out: The season has been suspendedbecause athletic director Paul Torney could not find a coach. Theposition, which pays between $900 and $1,500 for the season, hasbeen advertised for three months with no qualified applicants comingforward.
Weymouth athletic director Bob Donovan has been searching for ajunior varsity and freshman lacrosse coach for four months. If noqualified coach is found, one of the programs will be abandoned.
Last year, Weymouth was in desperate need of a gymnastics coach.Donovan had to persuade Dick Hayes, who coaches girls' soccer andindoor and outdoor track, to take over the program because hecouldn't find anyone else with a gymnastics background to lead theteam.
It is such a common problem that schools are offering to help eachother.
'I got a fax from the AD at Foxborough giving me a lead on avolleyball coach,' said Frank Tricome, the athletic director atBraintree, who was having problems filling the slot.
There are many reasons behind the shortage: the booming economy,the graying of the teaching population, and the proliferation ofathletic programs.
'It's difficult getting anyone these days because everybody'sworking,' said Bridgewater-Raynham athletic director Bill Walker.'We're even having problems getting referees to officiate games.'
'Look at it realistically,' added Torney. 'You can make moremoney working at McDonald's for a few hours every afternoon than youcan make coaching during the season.'
Then there is the expansion of athletic programs. Some 30 yearsago, before Title IX and girls' sports, most coaches were physicaleducation teachers. 'There were only four or five sports for thewhole school year, and many of the coaches doubled up. The baseballcoach, for instance, would be on the football staff as an assistantcoach, and so would some other coaches,' said Tricome. 'But today wehave 14 sports for boys and 14 sports for girls.' When you includeassistant coaches and junior varsity and freshmen coaches, there arewell over 100 in each school system's program.
Historically, coaches were teachers. But with a large number ofteachers near retirement age, schools have shifted in recent years tohiring coaches who aren't teachers.
'I think that will change in a couple of years,' said Torney. 'Ina few years there will be an influx of younger teachers who arewilling to coach.'
A new state law giving veteran teachers the option of taking earlyretirement with full pensions provided they have been employed acertain number of years, may prove to be a double-edged sword forschools seeking coaches.
On one hand, it will provide more openings for younger teachers,who are more apt to supplement their incomes by coaching.
On the other hand, it also may decimate many coaching staffs thathave older coaches. For example, Ed Meehan, who has been a cross-country coach at Weymouth for many years, will be taking earlyretirement and doesn't intend to coach when he leaves the system,said Donovan.
'I'm not sure if we are going to lose that many older coaches,'countered Bob Lynch, the athletic director at Dedham. 'I think itmight bring some early retirees back to coaching. I know that whenthe time comes for me to retire, I'll come back and become anassistant football coach.'
Lynch said that schools closer to Boston have a better chance ofhiring young coaches. 'There are many former college athletes workingtoward their master's degrees in Boston, and they want to supplementtheir income by coaching,' said Lynch.
'It's difficult getting qualified coaches, even from the privatesector,' said Tricome, who has 10 coaches who work either outside theschool or in other school systems. 'The problem with those who wouldlike to coach and do not teach is the hours. If they work, most jobswon't let them out at 3 o'clock in the afternoon so that they cancoach.'
Women coaches are in high demand with the expansion of sportsprograms for girls. But according to several athletic directors, manyaren't coaching long-term because of family responsibilities.
Torney says he had a wonderful group of women coaches who were,'young and energetic. Most were single or just married. However, manyof them have started families and don't have the time to coachanymore.'
'We had a terrific gymnastics coach in Kara Carney,' said Donovan.Since the birth of her child, however, she has given up coaching forthe time being.
So Donovan asked Hayes to fill in as the gymnastics coach. Hayeshas been coaching girls' sports in Weymouth since Title IX wasenacted in the 1970s. 'I coached boys' and girls' gymnastics before,and I knew we were in a bind, so I did it. They are a great bunch ofkids, and we were undefeated in the league. I inherited a great team.Kara was a terrific coach.
'Coaching isn't a long-term situation for most men, as well aswomen. I think no matter what happens, we'll always be looking fornew coaches.'
One way of keeping coaches is producing winning programs, andthat's what they've done at Walpole High School. 'I've got to thankmy predecessors, Jim Burke, Tim Collins, and John Lee. They all hiredcommitted coaches,' said Walpole athletic director Jim Erker.
Most of Walpole's coaches are teachers. 'I think it's important tohave teacher/coaches. They understand the rhythm of a student's day,'said Erker. Walpole has a few non-teacher coaches, such as swimmingcoach Cheryl Cavanaugh, soccer coach Lee Delaney, and hockey coach EdKirrane. 'But they have been with us for 15-20 years, and they knowwhat's going on at the high school,' said Erker.
It is more difficult finding qualified coaches in specific sports,such as gymnastics, field hockey, lacrosse, and swimming. 'When I wasa swimmer,' said Walker, 'we had this old football player who coachedthe team. He knew how to train athletes, but he didn't know muchabout technique. With many of the new sports we've added, we'relooking for coaches who have an expertise in the sport, too.'
'It's not much of a problem getting coaches for the major sports.Everyone seems to have played football and baseball, soccer andbasketball,' said Donovan. 'It's the other sports, like swimming andgymnastics and lacrosse, where you need coaches with specificqualifications. You need someone with that special expertise insports such as gymnastics because there are so many safety issues andspecific techniques to the sport.'
This season, Weymouth secured a new gymnastics coach. The girls'winter track coach who took over for Hayes left for a teachingposition in another school system. So Hayes returned to coachingwinter track.
Such turnover is 'another factor,' said Donovan. 'There used to bea time, in all vocations, where people worked for one company for 40years and retired. Today, people change jobs a lot more frequently.'
Junior varsity and assistant coaches make between $900 and $3,000,depending on their experience, for a 13-week season. 'If you coach,you coach because you love it. It's not something you're in for themoney,' said Tricome, who was the football coach at Braintree HighSchool before he was hired as athletic director.
'Being a coach can take a toll on your family,' he added. 'Youmiss family functions because of your commitment to the program. Itisn't always afternoons after school. Sometimes it's weekends andeven holidays. Thanksgiving? It's a great holiday if you win and notso great if you lose.'
As they get older, many teacher/coaches shy away from coaching. 'They work all week with youngsters and at this time in their life,they want their weekends free,' Walker said.
Also noting the low pay, Walker said, 'Those who coach, coach forthe love of it. The hours are countless - and you never get what youdeserve.'