High School Coach Resume: Examples & Tips

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Getting your team to execute a winning performance is what you’re great at as a High School Coach. But, are you having trouble correctly drawing up the Xs and Os on your resume? Our resume templates can help you come up with a job-winning game plan.

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ResumeGiants » Examples » High School Coach Resume

Being a good coach requires stability and perseverance.

These are important traits for a high school coach resume, yet are not easily marketable, especially when they have to be translated to paper. 

This is exactly why writing your high school coach resume can prove to be quite a challenge.

A good coach is someone who’s both skilled in their particular discipline, and incredibly good at motivating their team.

Applying for potential job positions at high schools can be quite stressful when you realize that you have less than one page to convince potential employers of your skills as a coach.

No need to despair, though—there are many ways to master the technique of writing an astonishing high school coach resume. To get started, you can rely on some help from our professional resume builder.

Read on to learn how to write your CV from scratch and how to write a resume that leaves potential employers impressed.

Before delving into the nitty gritty details, let’s first take a look at a professional high school coach resume example featuring the main sections you should include on your own coaching resume.

Resume Example

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[Bradley Pilgrim]
[High School Football Coach]
[Hazlet, NJ 55555 | (555) 555-5555 | bradleypilgrim@gmail.com | LinkedIn]

>> Summary <<

An ambitious and forward-thinking basketball coach with seven years of experience.
I have improved player performance, winning ratios and helped develop good leaders both on and off of the field.

An astute judge of character and capability with a proven ability to recruit top-rank sports players. I have drafted collegiate students, improved several season records and increased game attendance by 53% over three years.

>> Experience <<

Head Basketball Coach

The Pingry High School, Basking Ridge, New Jersey

2017–present

• Focused on player positioning and management of zones, leading to an average of 34% fewer points lost on average.
• Extra coaching sessions for stand-out players were organized, in addition to talent developing activities for 15 incoming freshmen.
• Won the regional championship trophy four times with the high school team

Assistant Basketball Coach

Drinkwater High School, Hazlet, New Jersey

2016 – 2017

• Helped to train over 40 high school basketball players in technique, team play, and sportsmanship
• Completed coaching certifications and a course in emergency medical treatment

• Organized meetings and events during the off-season for the team
• Recruited new student athletes for the 2016 school year

>> Education <<

• Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education, Sports Administration
  College of Southern Nevada, Henderson, NV
  09/2012 – 08/2016 | GPA: 3.97 (top 5% in generation)

• CPR Certification
  Red Cross, Henderson, NV
  2017
• Associate’s Degree, Sports Management                                                 Truckee Meadows Community College                                                    09/2010 – 08/2012

>> Skills <<

• Motivating
• Positive Mindset
• Tolerance
• Ability to Listen
• Communication

• Sports Rules Knowledge
• Strength & Conditioning 
• Flexibility Training
• Performance Psychology
• Leadership Courses

>> Certificates <<

• Certified Personal Trainer
• Master Certified Coach (MCC)
• Athletic Trainer Certification (ATC)
• First Aid Instructor

>> Hobbies and Interests <<

• Referee for soccer and basketball
• Hiking
• Camping organizer

Now that you’ve seen the base layout of what your high school resume should look like, it’s time to dive into the format and structure of the document itself and offer some tips and tricks to make it more impressive for potential employers.

The first thing we’ll cover is choosing the right high school coach resume format.

To make things clear from the beginning: splashing your entire life history on paper, and basically writing a chaotic book of nonsense is guaranteed to get you nowhere.

A good high school coach resume needs to be strictly structured in such a way that it sends the right messages to the people reading it. Messages like:

1. That you’re a professional fully in control of their craft
2. That you know exactly what you want from your future job
3. That you’re following a clear line of progress through your education and previous work experiences

The best way to capture this is to actually know how to format your high school coach resume.

In the world of writing resumes, there are three key types of resume format to choose from: (reverse) chronological resume format, functional resume format, and combined resume format.

• (Reverse) Chronological Resume Format: The information is presented in reversed chronology. It starts with the summary or objective, moves to the experience section, then the education section and the skills section, and at the end, other activities. It is ideal for academic, or entry-level resumes.
• Functional Resume Format: It commences with the summary or objective, then goes straight to the skills section. Past experiences and education are intentionally not put at the forefront. It is perfect for applications and job positions for which the skills and functionality are essential.

Combined Resume Format: It is a balanced mix of the previous two formats, usually starting with the summary or objective, before equally emphasizing both the skills section and education or experience section. It’s mainly used by applicants with employment gaps, or people looking for a change of career.

High School Coach Resume Structure Tips 

• Keep the resume less than one page long
• Conspicuously divide the different sections
• Focus on bullet points
• Make it simple and legible
• Don’t add visual media
• Use only one font—not too small
• Don’t repeat yourself
• Proofread thoroughly lest you leave any grammatical or spelling errors
• Ensure that the information in your coaching resume is up to date

As long as you faithfully abide by these, the first impressions upon reading your high school coach resume will always remain in your favor. 

Still, that isn’t enough to fully get you the job.

We are now going to go through all the main sections separately and point out what you should focus on and why.

While many would argue that a summary or objective is a dispensable part of your coaching resume, we beg to differ.

It’s true that most—if not all—of the information mentioned in these 2-3 introductory sentences is also to be encountered in other parts of the coaching, such as the skills, education, or experience sections.

However, it’s precisely them being emphasized in the summary or objective that makes the resume more impactful.

The summary or objective is a short text which shortly introduces you and focuses either on your past achievements or on your future ambitions.

In fact, this slight difference usually helps us differentiate between:

• A summary is more suited for candidates with years worth of experience, who have a relevant career to “summarize”
• An objective is more suited for entry-level applicants, who’d rather discuss their vision for future improvements, in addition to their career goals and passions.

That being said, whichever of the two you end up choosing, you’ll essentially be giving your entire coaching resume a boost. 

Summaries and objectives give the resume a sort of drive, they put your character at the forefront, allowing employers to see your dedication to your purpose.

High School Coach Resume Summary Example

To start with, we’re going to have a look at a professional high school coach resume summary:

This an effective high school coach resume summary, because it clearly lays out how much experience you have while emphasizing your achievements in previous roles

It’s also a strong example because you are providing quantifiable statistics on how your actions helped to recruit top ranking players and improve attendance at games at your old school. 

This is a much weaker high school coach resume summary because you’re not providing any indication of how much experience you have or quantifiable results.

It’s also incredibly vague about your areas of expertise and character traits. The final statement also comes across as arrogant without providing concrete details about why you would be an asset to the school and its sport teams.

High School Coach Resume Objective Example

Now let’s have a look at right and wrong examples of high school coach resume objectives for entry-level candidates. 

Arguably the most important aspect of your high school coach resume is your past experience.

You need to be both short and concise when writing about your past high school coach jobs and experience without sacrificing details. 

Above all else, it’s important quantify your past achievements: the number of years you worked as a high school coach, the number of trophies your team won, and any figures that show the positive results you brought to the school.

Below you can find both wrong and right ways to describe your past experience on your high school coach resume.

Although the format is correct, this is a weak High School Coach resume experience description. There are no quantible results in the descriptions of your past responsibilities and no indication of how your actions benefited the school or your team. 

🌟 TOP TIP: Use numbers to lend gravity to your claims: for instance, number of trophies won by your team, number of people managed in a group, the difference in yearly percentages, and similar.

This is a much stronger High School Coach resume experience description. It contains quantifiable figures, and gives a much more detailed glimpse into your successes and achievements, as well as how you helped others and were clearly an asset to the school. 

When writing the education section of your high school coach resume, there is a certain type of information that you should always, without exception, include. 

This encompasses the basic data about your educational institution, and the parameters of your time spent studying there.

Thus, you will need to include:

1. The degree that you had pursued and the title you now have
2. The university where you studied
3. The length of your studies—preferably with starting and finishing dates
4. The state where the university is located

The important thing to note is; if your university studies were not in any direct way connected to the sport which you are now coaching, you are better off not mentioning any extra information concerning your education.

Keep the section short and simple and, if possible, don’t put it at the top of your resume.

However, feel free to mention if you have: 

• Achieved an impressive GPA score (usually above 3.5),
• Studied at a sports university, 
• Participated in your university’s sports team during your studies, attended championships, and won awards,

You are expected to emphasize your education section and mention details regarding your past achievements at the educational institution(s). This will be relevant in convincing potential future employers of you possessing the coaching skills they seek.

Below you can find a correct example of a high school coach resume education section.

When it comes to writing a good resume for a high school coach, the skills section tends to have a privileged position. After all, regardless of your education or past experiences, you’ll never be a good coach unless you possess the right skills. 

The type of skills you’re expected to have, however, can be divided into two categories: hard and soft skills.

Hard skills include full mastery of the sport you’ll be coaching, as well as organizational, training, and first aid skills. Trying out different tactics, practicing safe training, and being able to discern stand-out students is a must. 

On the other hand, some soft skills that you need to have include solid communication, understanding, leadership, time management, and empathy. These basically make you a stellar motivator to other athletes, and someone who can help them improve.

Skills you could use on your coaching resume include: 

• In-depth knowledge of multiple sports and their techniques
• Motivation and inspiration
• The ability to teach and train athletes in relevant training techniques
• Communication with superiors, sports team, and parents of students
• Problem-solving, assessing, planning, managerial, and coordinating capabilities
• Providing feedback
• Interaction abilities and proficiency to work with school children
• Empathic and compassionate approach
• Leadership
• Coach psychology
• Experience with checking, inviting, and approving the purchase of batches of quality sports equipment
• Individual training
• Experienced in organizing a variety of sports events for the school throughout the school year
• Time management
• Safety and first aid
• Figuring as a positive role model to athletes and students

You should organize the skills as in the example below.

In the “other” section of your coaching resume, you are free to include any hobbies which you may enjoy in your free time (even though it’s recommended for them to be at least marginally connected to sports or physical activity).

Here, you can list any volunteer work that you’ve done, alongside achievements, any conferences that you’ve attended, or even publications you have.

Interests, as well as language skills, can also be a plus. 

High School Coach Resume Sample “Other” Sections

You can find examples of right and wrong high school coach resume other sections below:

These are good activities to list on a resume of a high school coach because many are related to education and sports, showing that your passion for your field extends outside of the school gymnasium. 

It’s not a good idea to list activities such as going to bars and traveling to beer festivities if you’re applying for a job as a coach in a high school (even if it is true!). 

The hiring manager may see you as an irresponsible candidate, and may even worry that you have an alcohol problem and cause problems for the school in the future!

A lack of additional certifications may also cause concern, as the recruiter may feel that you are not fully dedicated to your job or furthering your career. Therefore, it’s best to list any certificates or additional qualifications you may have.

We’ve pretty much covered all the tips and tricks that you’ll need to know before writing your own high school coach resume!

Now we’ve come to the end of the article, these are the main things to take away from our guide:

• Select a resume layout that matches your current career situation;
• List skills and experience that match the job description;
• The summary should be concise by specific about goals and accomplishments;
• List all responsibilities in bullet points
• Use numbers to accompany your claims
• Include hobbies that demonstrate you are a sports enthusiast and a responsible leader

Finally, you should also include a cover letter to round things out.

Almost an expanded version of a summary or objective, a high school coach resume cover letter helps employers see the person behind the raw data, allowing them to get a glimpse of what you want from this job and your future career.

A good cover letter should summarize your professional life in about 200 words or so, giving a sense of momentum to all of your coaching endeavors. 

If you follow these steps, you’ll see that sooner rather than later, job offers will start pouring in!And remember, if you’re struggling to get started, our free resume templates are great to kick you into gear! Good luck!