Coaching Resume Template Example

As a coach, your job is about more than winning games and titles — it entails bringing athletes together for the love of the game to develop their character on and off the field. Your coaching resume should demonstrate this sentiment and prove your ability to create a positive team environment. This guide will provide expert tips to write a results-driven resume that scores you an interview.

How To Write a Coaching Resume

For a well-structured, professional-looking resume, use a premade template. Be sure your coaching resume includes these sections:

  • Contact information
  • Profile
  • Key skills
  • Professional experience
  • Education and certifications

Contact information

Include your full name, phone number, email address, location, and links to your professional coaching profile in the header of your resume. Be sure all of your information is up-to-date so hiring managers can easily contact you for an interview.

Example

Your Name
(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
City, State Abbreviation Zip Code
LinkedIn | Portfolio

Profile

Your profile is a summary of your coaching philosophy and career highlights rolled into one brief paragraph. To make a strong first impression on the hiring committee, list your job title and those unique coaching skills that make you an excellent fit for the job. Consider mentioning relevant specializations, like experience with a specific age group or level of play.

Example

Dynamic football coach with nearly eight years of success in a high school setting. Demonstrated expertise in player development, team building, and program management. Leverages a deep understanding of sports psychology to enhance player performance and team dynamics. Strives for continuous improvement in all facets of coaching and team management.

Key skills

To demonstrate the range of coaching tools you have at your disposal, create a key skills list. You won’t have enough space to include every skill, so be intentional and look to the job posting for guidance on which ones to prioritize. Highlighting skills that directly respond to the job description shows that you’re not only a great coach, but the right one for this specific role.

Common hard and soft skills for coaches

Hard Skills Soft Skills
Athletic conditioning Active listening
Budget management Communication
Compliance knowledge Conflict resolution
Data analysis Decision making
First aid and CPR Encouraging and motivational
Injury prevention Leadership
Program development Patience
Sport-specific expertise Respect
Strength and conditioning Team building
Youth development Trustworthiness

Resume writer’s tip: Use strong action verbs

Action verbs command attention and emphasize the impact of your work. Use them in your professional experience section to show you’re not just sitting on the sidelines but taking initiative as a coach. Instead of saying something like “I was responsible for,” start bullet points with words like “developed” or “transformed” to clearly depict your past roles. Consider using some of the action verbs below to add a dynamic element to your coaching resume:

Action Verbs
Analyzed Coached
Coordinated Cultivated
Developed Directed
Encouraged Implemented
Improved Led
Mentored Motivated
Strategized Supervised
Trained  

Professional experience

This is where you detail your coaching history, describing the strategic moves and key plays that have defined your career. Show what you were in charge of and how you approached your duties. In addition to responsibilities, be sure to highlight your major successes, like improving a team’s win rate or taking home championship trophies, using numbers when you can.

Example

Head Football Coach, Pantano High School, Tucson, AZ
February 2019 – present

  • Oversee practice sessions and supervise locker room activities for over 100 student-athletes
  • Develop and maintain a consistent program aligned with district and school philosophy
  • Elevate team’s win rate by 40% over two seasons, achieving one of the best records in the school’s history
  • Manage an annual budget of approximately $10,000
  • Ensure compliance with all state and school district policies and rules
  • Organize and execute fundraising initiatives to raise more than $5,000 for program and equipment upgrades

Assistant Football Coach, Hamilton High School, Chandler, AZ
July 2016 – January 2019

  • Ensured constant compliance with district, league, and state rules and regulations
  • Supervised more than 125 athletes during practices and events, securing a safe and successful football experience
  • Monitored student-athletes’ academic eligibility, ensuring players averaged at least a B in each class
  • Spearheaded a community engagement program that involved players volunteering over 500 hours in local service projects

Resume writer’s tip: Quantify your experience

In the same way, stats and scores allow you to assess a team’s performance, quantified job descriptions give a factual, straightforward view of your impact as a coach. Numbers help provide a sense of the scope of your responsibilities and accomplishments. Use them to describe things like how many athletes you led, the number of wins your team had, or improvements you made.

Do
  • “Supervised more than 125 athletes during practices and events, ensuring a safe and successful football experience.”
Don’t
  • “Ensured the safety of athletes during practices and events.”

Resume writer’s tip: Tailor your resume for each application

Employment for coaches is expected to increase over the coming years, but you’ll still need a standout resume to land the best coaching jobs. To connect with hiring managers, you must tailor your resume for every role you apply for.

Each position has its own unique requirements and challenges, and your resume should prove you’re the right coach to tackle them. Carefully read the job posting and understand what the school or organization is looking for. Identify the skills and qualifications required and match them with your own abilities, incorporating those keywords throughout your resume.

What if you don’t have experience?

You might not have a long list of coaching victories yet, but every currently employed coach has been in your position. So, start with your related experiences, even if they weren’t coaching jobs. Maybe you were a team captain, sports camp counselor, or cafe supervisor. These experiences can help you demonstrate important skills like leadership, passion, and team dynamics.

If you’ve done volunteer work related to sports or coaching, include this in your resume. This could be leading a local youth team, assisting at sports clinics, or helping organize co-ed leagues. Also, be sure to highlight postsecondary degrees in physical education, sports science, or other related fields along with relevant coursework.

Education and certifications

For many coaching positions, especially at the high school or college level, a bachelor’s degree is often required or highly preferred. List your degree, the institution where you earned it, and the graduation year. Also, include relevant sport-specific, first aid, or specialization certifications. This additional training can differentiate you from other top coaches.

Example

Education

Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Physical Education, September 2012 – May 2016
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
GPA: 3.8

Certifications

  • Advanced Tackling & Contact Certification, USA Football, 2023
  • First Aid/CPR Certification, Red Cross, 2021

Coaching Resume Template Text Example

Mason Cruz
(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
City, State Abbreviation zip code
LinkedIn | Portfolio

Profile

Dynamic football coach with nearly eight years of success in a high school setting. Demonstrated expertise in player development, team building, and program management. Leverages a deep understanding of sports psychology to enhance player performance and team dynamics. Strives for continuous improvement in all facets of coaching and team management.

Key Skills

  • Academic monitoring and mentorship
  • Budget management
  • CPR/first aid
  • Leadership and team building
  • Player development
  • Public relations
  • Sports psychology

Professional Experience

Head Football Coach, Pantano High School, Tucson, AZ
February 2019 – present

  • Oversee practice sessions and supervise locker room activities for over 100 student-athletes
  • Develop and maintain a consistent program aligned with district and school philosophy
  • Elevate team’s win rate by 40% over two seasons, achieving one of the best records in the school’s history
  • Manage an annual budget of approximately $10,000
  • Ensure compliance with all state and school district policies and rules
  • Organize and execute fundraising initiatives to raise more than $5,000 for program and equipment upgrades

Assistant Football Coach, Hamilton High School, Chandler, AZ
July 2016 – January 2019

  • Ensured constant compliance with district, league, and state rules and regulations
  • Supervised more than 125 athletes during practices and events, securing a safe and successful football experience
  • Monitored student-athletes’ academic eligibility, ensuring players averaged at least a B in each class
  • Spearheaded a community engagement program that involved players volunteering over 500 hours in local service projects

Education

Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Physical Education, September 2012 – May 2016
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI

Certifications

  • Advanced Tackling & Contact Certification, USA Football, 2023
  • First Aid/CPR Certification, Red Cross, 2021
Andrew Stoner

Executive Resume Writer and Career Coach

A resume should be a forward-looking value proposition that showcases your most relevant accomplishments for a target role — not a rear view summary of your previous roles and responsibilities.

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