Payment for coaches

Basketball coach
Author:  Sian Mulholland, Sports Consultant, Coaching and Officiating unit, Australian Sports Commission
Issue: Volume 27 Number 4

In Australia, coaching has been around for as long as there has been organised sport. Some coaches in some sports have even been paid handsome benefits for the work they have done with athletes. However, the majority of Australia’s coaches receive no financial remuneration or benefit for the time and effort they put into coaching.

The purpose of this article is to examine some of the issues surrounding when and how payment should be sought for coaching services. There are two discrete situations in which a coach might seek payment for his or her services. One is when the coach is engaged by a sporting organisation to coach its teams or individual athletes. The other is when a coach is approached directly by the athletes for coaching.

In either case, the situation may go something like this.

You are a coach. You have done the course, you have paid the fees, you are accredited on the National Coaching Accreditation Scheme through your sport and now you are coaching a range of athletes.

You love what you do and you are happy seeing your athletes succeed in competition as a result of the coaching you have given them but, at the end of the day, you start to look at how much it is costing you and you ask whether it is all worth it. Are the results that your athletes achieve reward enough for the hours you put in coaching them and the expenses you incur, or do you want a more tangible benefit?

For some coaches, the love of the sport will always be enough. Other coaches come to the opinion that they are providing a professional service and it should be recognised as such, either with their out-of-pocket expenses covered or a fee charged commensurate with the level of expertise being provided.

When should a coach seek financial remuneration?

As mentioned above, some coaches will always be happy to coach for the sheer pleasure of doing so. However, in order to achieve recognition for coaching as a profession, many would say that all accredited coaches should expect to be paid for providing their expertise. This may not apply in the case of a parent coaching weekend junior netball, but a coach of the local rugby league club is in a position of considerable responsibility and under pressure to achieve results, and may expect to receive some level of remuneration.

Another common situation in which coaches might charge for their services is in individual sports, where athletes seek out the coach for one-on-one training.

How much should a coach charge?

If a coach is employed by a sporting organisation, the level of remuneration will usually be determined in negotiations between the parties.

There is no single Australia-wide award for coaches.

There are a number of contractual scenarios in which coaches might find themselves. These include:

  • The coach who is not a company, but is an ‘individual contractor’ charging a fee-for-service to an individual or organisation.
  • The coach who has registered a company and who charges a fee-for-service to an individual or an organisation through the company and to whom a variety of company-based laws apply.
  • The coach employed by a sporting organisation under the National Sporting Organisations Award, which is a federal award with specific provisions. Not all National Sporting Organisations are party to this award.
  • The coach employed by a sporting organisation which is not a party to the National Sporting Organisations Award, but which may be covered by a state award.
  • The coach employed by a sporting organisation under neither the National Sporting Organisations Award nor a state award.
  • The coach employed by a state or local level sporting organisation either under a state award or not (minimum legislative requirements may still apply).

In all cases, coaches should check whether an award or other legislative requirements apply to their employment.

When a coach is not employed under an award, the amount that the coach charges can depend on a variety of factors such as:

  • level of qualification/profile/experience
  • nature of the sport (for example, if it has higher insurance requirements)
  • level of service provided
  • level of facilities provided (some coaches run their own gyms or fitness centres, others provide expensive training equipment)
  • age or competition level of the athlete
  • level of benefits that the coach receives from the employer (in the case of coaches employed by sporting organisations).

If you are considering charging for your services you should look at all these factors and investigate levels of remuneration other coaches have received for similar services. Some coaches receive an annual salary, while others are engaged on an hourly basis or a monthly fee.

When should a coaching ‘contract’ be put in place?

A coach should obtain a contract for employment or provision of services if they are being engaged by ‘an employer’. This may be a sporting organisation, a school, a fitness company or other commercial provider.

While there are no hard and fast rules, when a coach is providing services at an individual level, it may be valuable to develop a ‘service agreement’ between the coach and the athlete so that both parties are aware of their respective responsibilities.

Another reason to develop an agreement is to properly allocate risk and liability. Professional indemnity insurance is an essential requirement for coaches. If a coach is employed by a club, the club’s professional indemnity and public liability policies may cover the coach. Where the coach is engaged as an independent contractor, the coach should take out and maintain his or her own insurance policies .

All coaches should examine the expenses they incur and decide whether they are content to absorb these costs and coach for nothing beyond the pleasure of doing so, or whether they should be paid for the coaching service they provide.

BENEFITS TO THE ATHLETE of having a paid coach

Lindy is an age-group triathlon world-championship competitor. Lindy engaged her coaches on a fee-for-service basis in the lead-up to the world championships. Lindy describes the benefits of the arrangement:

  • I expected and received a professional service from paid coaches and felt more comfortable and justified requesting clarification, support or assistance with all aspects of training.
  • With the difficulties juggling a multidiscipline sport and work and family, a paid coach provided a short cut as an individually tailored program was delivered regularly, with meetings to suit my lifestyle.
  • Having paid professional coaches ensured individual attention and assurance when things went wrong or times got tough!
  • While it was not so much of an issue for me, a financial commitment also encourages compliance to a tough schedule and even just knowing someone is checking on you encourages you to try and achieve more.

BENEFITS of having a paid coach TO THE SPORTING ORGANISATION

West Belconnen Warriors Rugby League Club in the Australian Capital Territory engages a head coach on an annual contract. This person is required to have a high level of qualifications because they are then responsible for hiring and managing all other coaching staff. This system has been in place for around eight years and has proved very successful.

The major benefits to the club have resulted from one person having overall responsibility for the program — there have been fewer personality clashes and there has been a more coordinated approach.

The club has been able to attract coaches with specific qualifications and experience in the sport and, because the coaches are semi-professional, they are able to develop better training schedules for the teams, and research the strategies and form of the other teams in the competition to the club’s advantage.

 

 


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