WAG Coaches "hobbies"?

[Muddlethru]

From reading posts in chalkbucket, I've deduced that many coaches are "underpaid." So, I guess many assistant coaches have second jobs. How about head coaches? Do most of you have second jobs? How about other ambitions? I know many assistant coaches that have full time professional jobs. But head coaches who have acting aspirations or are members of a band. So, they go to acting classes and auditions. They record music, compose and do shows. Do you think this could affect their coaching? I wonder which "job" is more important to them? Would you stir clear of a head coach with these kind of other interest. I am not referring to an assistant coach or a one apparatus coach. But the head coach who is in charge of the entire team, planning meets and overall training, etc. I just can't help but think this type coach may not be able to put 100% into training a team and/or i worry about the coaches longevity. I know from living in the west coast, there are many aspiring actors, singers and dancers who have day jobs to sustain their true passion. And when their 'night' job picks up, they have no problems quitting their day job. Any insight on this situation?

 

[JBS]

Wow...crazy good question.

I think a head coach should be full-time salary...well paid...enough to make coaching the only thing that they need.

Anything is possible though...Swiss Turners is the #1 boys L10 team in the nation again this year...below is their staff page...

Swiss Turners Staff

...here is Stacy's band...

http://www.2morrowevrafter.com

...here is Stacy's acting career...

Stacy Maloney - IMDb

...US Hall of Fame...

Biography: Maloney, Stacy

...haha!

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Wait.... you mean..... coaches are allowed to have real lives?

WHY DON'T PEOPLE TELL ME THESE THINGS?

 

[JBS]

Wait.... you mean..... coaches are allowed to have real lives?

WHY DON'T PEOPLE TELL ME THESE THINGS?

Haha...nice!

I get paid well...and I have a life...and a wife...and a family...

...family...football...BBQ...beer...NASCAR..............those are some of my hobbies.

 

[JBS]

The thing is...

...second jobs and hobbies are different.

 

[aerialriver]

No if you are a coach you eat sleep and dream gymnastics you are not allowed to even think about other things that interest you! LOL. Just like any other job in the world as long as you night life, hobbies, or aspirations don't interfere with your paid job then so be it. Obviously you can't stay out until 3a.m. and come in to coach at 9a.m. hungover and not caring about doing your job other than something like that who cares do what flies your flag!

 

[BlairBob]

I know a fair amount of head coaches who are often school teachers. A few that are stay at home dad's because their wives are programmers or work for Intel.

A side job that can be fun, non committal and some great cash is Promotional work. Unfortunately, there only tends to be a lot of promo work in the big cities and there is way more promo work if you are female.

 

[Muddlethru]

I am not saying coaches are not allowed to have real lives, a second job, or even a primary job, hobbies or families. That goes without saying. I did not want to be too specific for obvious reasons. The drawback in not providing specifics is the post is often misinterpreted, as it was in this case. Without going into specifics, the bottom line is I wondered if there are head coaches who prefer to be doing something else? And if a coach has his/her passion elsewhere can that make them a less affective coach. I will say, without exception, all the coaches in this website (at least those that I've had the pleasure of reading their posts) have a level of dedication that is above scrutiny. If you are spending your leisure time reading chalkbucket, providing insight and sharing your expertise to us ignorant , needy and crazy parents, I can't help but believe you love what you do and are 100% vested in your job.

A head coach with a full time professional job and then coaches in the evening because this is what brings them joy and fulfillment is oftentimes a great coach. You don't need to live, breath gymnastics. But I wonder about a head coach who maybe coaching just to pay their bills but their passion lies elsewhere. The necessity and preferential aspects in the two scenarios are opposites. I know when I was younger and had a full time professional job, I tried to quickly perform all my duties, so I may have time to work on my true passion. Needless to say, I did not give my day job 100%. I taught dance at night and was the director of a successful dance company. And although I did a good job at my day job, I know I could have done better. I was rushing through my work and often times had my mind elsewhere, thinking of a new choreography, how a show was going to come out, costumes, venue, lighting, problems that kept arising and everything I had to do after work. My night job had my heart. It fed my soul. I could not wait to get to it. Luckily, my day job is such that if my mind momentarily wonders, (or not so momentarily), it will not be catastrophic. I can't say it is the same with a gymnastics coach. With the mobile technology, iPhones, iPads, these days, business can be conducted while at the gymnastics floor. And because they are head coaches, they are beyond reproach, especially if gym owners are rarely present.

Maloney, as JBS points out, is able to mix both passions successfully. But is he the rule, or an exception? I am curious to find out at what point in his gymnastics career did he start his band. It is without a doubt Maloney has a proven gymnastics track record. But he may also have a great support staff that can support his physical and mental absence. How about a younger, newer coach without as good a track record yet and whose coaching abilities is the heart of the team? Forgive me, but I believe I would expect and want the coaches that coach my daughter to give their full undivided attention and dedication while coaching on the floor. What they do outside of the gym is their business and wish them the best on that. But how can a coach whose heart maybe elsewhere be a successful coach? I am hoping this can be done.

 

[JBS]

I understand what you are saying.

My opinion is the same....a head coach should be a full-time salaried employee. I also believe the head coach should be in charge of the team and the team only...not birthdays...or rec...or field trips...or open gyms. An owner as a head coach works as long as they have people in place to allow their gym to run smoothly. If the owner has to do everything...they will not necessarily make a good head coach.

What I say above is probably not possible in most small gyms. For example...a gym with a team of 10 gymnasts could easily be head up by a part-time employee. There would be no need for a full-time head coach.

You will notice the two coaches below Stacy on the Swiss page...

Swiss Turners Staff

Andrei Kan is a treasure of gymnastic experience and accomplishment from the country of Belarus. Andrei has competed in all the major gymnastic competitions throughout the world, including three times at the World University Games, three times at the European Championships and four times at the World Championships. He has also represented his home country at the 1994 Goodwill Games and the 1996 Olympic Games where Belarus took 4th team. Andrei was consistently among the top 10 all-around gymnasts in the world from 1991-1997. Andrei has a Master of Sport of International class from his country, which is the most honored degree an athlete can achieve. He is happily married to Alena and is the proud father of a son Vitaly, who is a member of our boys team. He has been an invaluable asset to Swiss Turners powerhouse boys program since 1998 and in 2005 was honored as the Wisconsin Boys State Coach of the Year! We are honored to have him as part of our coaching staff.

Alex Belanovski comes to us from the great gymnastics country of Belarus. Alex has competed in every major world class competition including the 1995 World Games and the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. After retiring from competitive gymnastics in 1996, Alex became an assistant coach for the Sr. National Men's Team of Belarus. In 1998 Alex was hired to be the assistant coach for the Sr. National Women's Team of Belarus. Alex also has attained the Master of Sport from his country which is a degree of the highest honor representing his expert status and training in the sport of gymnastics. Alex was an integral component in their Olympic Team's preparation for the 2000 Olympic Games. A teammate of our own Andrei Kan and the infamous Vitaly Scherbo (multi-Olympic gold medalist), Alex came to us with the highest recommendations. Currently Alex is one of our boys team coaches. Swiss Turners is home to one of the nation's top boys team programs and Alex is one of the reasons for their success. He also teaches Cheer Tumbling, Tumbling, Superstars and Super Boys. Alex is married to Tatiana who is also a Swiss instructor. They have two children, Paulina their youngest and their son Dmitri is on our Boy's team. Alex is a very hard worker and a tremendous asset to Swiss Turners. We hope that he is with us for a long time!

Stacy has a lot of back up when he's off singing with the band.

 

[archangelcoach]

I'm a head coach and i have a day job. I've been in the gymnastics world 30 years as gymnast and coach. Reality is some gyms (small gyms) cannot pay full time coaches. I do what i have too do to coach and feed my family.

Sent from my DROID Pro using ChalkBucket mobile app

 

[bribri514]

I coach the L 4-6 girls at our gym and am starting to train with some of the 7s/advop girls now that I'm finally done with college! We're at a small YMCA gym and in addition to just finishing school I also work as an athletic trainer at my college. I will start a PE teaching job at a local high school in the summer. I'd love to coach gymnastics full time but it is hard to find positions. I feel lucky to have my job, especially as I work with all hearing girls..

 

[txgymfan]

Congratulations on Graduating and getting your new jobs!

 

[BlairBob]

Weightlifting is my hobby currently.

Besides the CrossFit forum, GymnasticBodies (somewhat barely anymore), the Pendlay forum and Facebook.

And some WoW and TV.

 

[coachmolly]

Coaching is currently a part time job to help me get through school, but I would love to turn it into a full time gig at some point. I've never been paid enough as a coach to make a go of it as a full time thing, but I've also never been a HC or worked at a larger club which allows for bigger pay opportunities. For me, gymnastics is both a job and a hobby, something I would be involved with whether or not I got paid well or at all. Though it would be nice to have a little extra money rather than just enough to pay the bills and put gas in my car!
I'm currently a grad student with a year left of school and would love to find a job that allows me to coach, whether it be working full time as a coach or a "day job" with hours favorable to coaching part time.

 

[bookworm]

Our head coaches have only ever had coaching as their job...one did dabble in collegiate gymnastics for a bit as an assistant but it didn't last very long. I don't know if it's significant that the head coaches we've had that have only coached, also were the owners of the gyms.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

To give a slightly more serious response:

Coaching has been the central focal point around which the rest of my life has revolved for the last ten years (since I started coaching, during junior year of high school). My other hobbies have changed with time. I was a professional juggler for awhile, I wrote music for a long time. Gaming (both the competitive aspect and the artistic aspects of gaming are extremely interesting to me).

But lately, I think almost all of my free time not spent on something gymnastics-related has just been spent studying and researching whatever strikes my fancy on that particular day. Astronomy, cosmology, futurology, anthropology, psychology, biology, sociology, animal behavior (especially dogs and primates), or whatever else may catch my interest on that particular day. Often as not, I'll start the day by bringing up Science Daily or Scientific American, read whatever article catches my interest, and spend the entire rest of the day finding everything I can on the subject online.

Really, I guess I just love learning, regardless of what I'm actually learning about.

 

[BlairBob]

I spend a lot of time on LiveScience or ScientificAmerican. Neato.

 

[Granny Smith]

My dd's HC is also the owner of the gym... she is fully vested in all aspects of gym (good and bad)!

 

[profmom]

I think our coaches' favorite hobbies are anything that looks dangerous or death-defying.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

I have my own construction company on the side.