The role of a mentor is respected worldwide. Whatever it may be the field, but a coach is enormously responsible for shaping up the life of their students. They give direction to raw skills and talents. In India, sportsmen are treated like gods and glittery stars. In fact, they themselves want to be worshiped. For this, they are highly dependent on their tutors and coaches in order to stay in form and perform well.
Educational Requirements
Qualification wise it is absolutely not a challenge to become a sports coach. You can simply be a 12th pass having Physical Education as one of your majors. You can study sports as a subject in some of the selected institutes and universities of India and abroad if you wish to be a coach with a thorough knowledge of sports. But the skill sets required to become a successful sports coach are
- Good communication skills to morally boost participants.
- Expert at playing any particular sportsman
- Good analytical skills, solution giver, and patience
- Great organizational skills, and supportive in nature
- Great physical stamina, aware of techniques to keep fit
- Leadership qualities with an endearing attitude
A Career as a Sports Coach
There are no obligations with formal education in sports coaching. One can be a senior or former player in any particular sport to pursue a career as a sports coach. There are however some institutes offering you a diploma in sports coaching which expects you to have completed your graduation preferably in a sports subject. A very successful goal-oriented sports coach can land up working with national and international clubs, schools and other academics. Start the career as a volunteer coach and shift to being an assistant coach until you finally reach the position of a head coach.
It is highly possible for a well-accomplished coach to open his new academy for sports coaching. And if the sport happens to be a well-known sport like cricket, tennis, badminton or soccer, they can manage aid from various government, state or even corporate houses.
Indian Institutes offering a degree in Sports Coach
| Serial No. | Name of Institute | Courses offered |
| 1 | Netaji Subhash National Institute of Sports, Montibagh, Patiala Punjab | Diploma in Sports Coaching |
| 2 | National Sports East Centre, Salt Lake City, Sector-III, Calcutta, West Bengal | Diploma in Sports Coaching |
| 3 | National Sports West Centre, Sports Complex. Sector-15, Gandhinagar, Gujarat | Diploma in Sports Coaching |
| 4 | Tripura University | B.Phy Ed. |
| 5 | Punjab University | B.Phy Ed |
| 6 | Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education and Sports Sciences | Graduate Course by Sports Authority of India (SAI) – B.Sc.(Health and Phy.Ed. & Sports |
| 7 | University of Delhi | PG Course(Sports) – M.Phy.Ed |
| 8 | SAI National Sports | Diploma Courses in Sports Coaching |
| 9 | Bangalore University | PG Course in Sports (M.Phy.Ed.) |
| 10 | Gulbarga University | PG Course in Sports (M.Phy.Ed.) |
Fees involved in such courses are really minimal. So monetarily these courses are not much of a problem to pursue.
Fee Structure
The salary of a sports coach is highly dependent upon, which sports he wishes to pursue his career in. On average they can draw a salary of Rs.20,000/ to Rs.25,000/-on a monthly basis. For the professional coach of any professional team, the sky is the limit. BCCI had offered Ravi Shastri, the former Indian cricketer an annual salary of Rs. 7000000/-.
Career prospects abroad
If you want to be taken very seriously as a sports coach in India, a master’s degree in sports coaching can really catapult your career in a big way. You can also choose to become a sports coach in many other games abroad, which can pay you handsomely. One may have to struggle far less in western countries than in India after choosing a career in sports coaching. The salary graph is shown below.
International colleges offering degree in Sports Coach
Here are some of the institutes abroad where you can pursue a career in sports coaching. Universities in the U.K. provide proper well-defined courses in sports coaching. Course fees can range from £8000 to £15000.
| Serial No | Name of Institutes | Course offered |
| 1 | St Mary’s University, Twickenham | B.Sc. Hons. Coaching Science |
| 2 | Kingston University London | B.Sc. Hons. Sport Analysis and Coaching |
| 3 | Middlesex University | B. Sc. Hons. Sport and Exercise Science (Teaching and Coaching Sport) |
| 4 | University of Roehampton | B.A. Hons. Sports Coaching |
| 5 | University of East London | B.Sc. Hons. Sport, Physical Education and Development |
| 6 | London Metropolitan University | B.Sc. Hons. Sport Psychology and Coaching |
| 7 | London South Bank University | B. Sc. Sports Coaching and Analysis |
Analysis of career
The satisfaction level reported by a most sports coach, big or small has been found to be immense by a survey conducted by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But in India, apart from some selected sports, other sports coach have to face quite a number of resistance and overcome red-tapism to finally get noticed and bring about significant change in the lives of those training under their tutelage. The salary figures are also not well defined for lesser-known sports, and it is a big deal to make way for this career in India.
Conclusion
Until unless the country realizes the importance of sports and its growth it is difficult to realize the role of a mentor. All sportsmen require tutelage in order to discover their hidden talents and channelize it. And this is only possible if tutors are given due respect in the country, irrespective of whatever sports they wish to deal with.
The iDC Editorial Team brings in a collective work experience of more than 25 years in diverse fields spanning from career counselling, management consulting, engineering, and technology to science, finance, and humanities. The team’s key competencies are in research and analysis of careers, jobs, and industries. The team boasts a few best-in-class writers on careers and education.
