Club Coaches

Info for Clubs

Tips for searching for and obtaining a coach:

You SHOULD:

1. Create an "open" search by posting through university-sanctioned or other networks.
2. Have clearly defined specifications and duties that the position will entail.
3. Schedule phone interviews with any and all prospective candidates.
4. After phone interviews, in-person interview all finalists for the position.
5. In writing, agree upon the amount of compensation.
6. Create a system of evaluation, as well as a trial period, where open feedback/criticism can be fostered.
7. Allow for team evaluations to occur at least annually.
8. Create a clear level of communication between students and coaching staff.
9. Remember that this is a student organization, and the students control the direction of the team.

You SHOULD NOT:

1. Introduce a coach without having the input of all members of the team.
2. Discriminate when choosing a candidate based on a protected class, which is defined by CT law as the following: Age, Ancestry, Color, Criminal Record, Genetic Information, Learning Disability, Marital Status, Mental Disorder, Mental Retardation, National Origin, Physical Disability, Race, Religious Creed, Sex and/or Sexual Orientation.
3. Select a candidate that may look to micro-manage your team – Club Sports are student run organizations!
4. Place the administrative duties of the club’s officers on the coach – it is not his/her job unless something is specifically outlined in their contract.
5. Keep any kind of coaching staff without proper evaluation.
6. You cannot release a coach without just cause or evaluations by the players on the roster – you need proof of poor performance or dissatisfaction to contractually relieve any coaching member.
7. Promise any form of compensation until it is approved through proper funding channels.
   1. The Funding Board for the Undergraduate Student Government must approve all University Contracts to ensure payment of coaches
   2. Compensation by the Funding Board has limits per team, per semester and per coach. Anything over this amount must be subsidized from an additional source.
8. Compensate coaches before services have been fully rendered as outlined in your contract.
9. Apply for funding for a coach mid-semester if that coach has been under contract the whole semester – funding should be dealt with at the BEGINNING of each semester.
10. Let coaches make all the administrative decisions – students control the direction of the team.