Coach shortage: a retention problem?

The labor shortage has hit hard since the pandemic, in all industries, including sports. This has made it difficult for schools and sports associations to hire coaches.

How can we encourage young people to apply for these jobs? What do they need to hold the job for a long time?

The shortage of coaches represents a number of risks for sports organizations and schools. One major risk is the inability to meet demand for the sport. Going a season without coaches is virtually impossible.

• Training and certification requirements

The recruitment of coaches obviously requires a number of certifications or training courses, the most important of which is the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP).

What if you find people who don’t have the necessary training? Recruiting coaches can be complicated. They’ll have to take charge of several teams, and therefore several players. And train them to enable youngsters to flourish in a sporting environment.

Even if a candidate doesn’t have the necessary qualifications for the job, you need to be able to see his or her potential.

Someone who is enthusiastic and eager to learn may not have any formal qualifications. In this case, you can give them the help they need to carry out the tasks entrusted to them. And you can do this by offering them the necessary training, which the school or sports association will pay for.

• Where to recruit trainers?

Finding and recruiting a coach is a complicated process. With the shortage of certified coaches, you can look for young coaches on CEGEP sports teams. They can coach younger players. You can offer them step-by-step coaching. And offer them the training they need for the job.

Just as you can recruit CEGEP students to coach high school students, you can also use trainee physical education teachers from primary and secondary schools. Despite their lesser experience, these young coaches understand the realities of today’s young athletes. Young coaches can be a source of inspiration for young athletes.

When hiring a new coach, it is essential to carry out a police check at all times to ensure that the new coach has no history of creating a problem.

In the best of all possible worlds, the recruitment of coaches obviously requires the person to have several certifications or training courses. The most important of these is the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP).

What can you do if you find people who don’t have this training? Recruiting coaches can be complicated, especially in these times of coach shortage. Even if a candidate doesn’t have the necessary qualifications for the job, you need to be able to see their potential. Someone who is enthusiastic and eager to learn may not have official certifications or licenses, but is a good candidate. In this case, you can give them the help they need to carry out the tasks entrusted to them by offering them the necessary training, which the school or sports association will pay for.

• Is speed the new HR quality?

The offer of rewarding work and the opportunity to develop within a sports organization are now key factors in attracting and retaining this new generation of workers.

It’s also important to demonstrate a certain speed in the recruitment process. Many of them apply for several jobs at the same time, and are therefore much more likely to accept the first one that responds to their application, starts the interviews, and confirms their employment.

So it’s vital to have fast, efficient human resources processes to confirm job offers to the right people as quickly as possible. A process that is too slow could result in you losing candidates, and therefore incurring monetary costs.

Whatever your profession, it’s only natural that a lack of recognition should drive you to leave it. This is also the case for coaches.

From managing teams and registrations to planning practices and coordinating events, coaches also need to be recognized for their efforts throughout the season. The aim of this recognition is not only to retain the coach, but also to encourage and inspire other coaches, especially young ones, to become more involved in the sporting community.

Recruiters are aggressive in the job market, given the labor shortage affecting all industries, and salaries are bid up.

To be competitive and attractive, the solution is to enhance the value of coaches’ work in order to retain them. We suggest a few ways to achieve this:

• Create awards and recognition programs for coaches
• Offer competitive salaries to coaches to motivate them to apply.
• Provide regular training and development certifications to keep coaches up to date with the latest best practices.
• Facilitate the coach’s tasks, and save them time by using sports team management applications
• Nominate the season’s best coach

The shortage of coaches, referees, instructors, animators and volunteers is a problem facing the sports world these days. We need to ensure that we offer the right conditions, a stimulating and rewarding environment and the necessary encouragement for new recruits, in order to increase their retention. Keep in mind that there is a cost to recruiting, and that it’s always preferable to have a good plan to increase retention.