High school sports are often celebrated for their teamwork, character, and skill, yet behind every touchdown, goal, and homerun, there is a group of dedicated coaches who sacrifice their time and energy often without receiving the recognition or compensation they deserve.
According to research and information given on the types of agreements in coaching contracts, “At the high school level, coaches’ salary schedules are most often addendums to full-time teacher/administrator salary schedules that list compensation for ‘extra duties’… with provisions that similar stipends be paid to part-time personnel hired to coach. These stipends differ by geographical location and wealth of community.” (sportslitigationalert.com). While stipends provide more flexibility for schools, they also create financial uncertainty for coaches, and based on location, it may lead to unequal access to good compensation.
Stipends, the most common way of payment in San Diego Unified to coaches, is a set amount of money awarded by a school or organization that pays someone to perform a specific task. “When organizations pay a stipend, they don’t have to pay minimum wage. The organization providing the stipend usually also won’t withhold taxes on it. The stipend recipient is generally responsible for setting funds aside for income taxes” (rocketmoney.com). This can lead to financial uncertainty for coaches, as they must account for taxes and expenses without the security of regular wages for their coaching position.
“Stipends also aren’t considered wages, though they can be considered an addition to a salary. A stipend is meant to cover expenses you incur as you perform a specific job for an organization over a set period. Stipends are also sometimes used to reward employees for taking on extra work. For instance, a public high school teacher might receive a stipend for coaching the football team or directing the school play” (rocketmoney.com). Stipends are not classified as wages, but rather as fixed amounts given to cover specific expenses or as full compensation for their double responsibilities.
When pondering about the difference between on campus and off campus coaches, also known as walk-on coaches, Track and Field Coach John Hutsel said, “There were no [Walk-On Coaches] originally, and remember, [If you were a techer/coach]you teach five periods, one of those was your coaching… so 20 percent of your pay from one of those periods was coaching and you got a little bit extra because it was after school… You’re still making ‘70-80’ cents an hour, you’re not making even close to minimum wage as if it was part of your teaching. But if it wasn’t part of your teaching you’re not even close.” Although stipends are meant to cover extra duties or expenses, they often fail to adequately compensate coaches for their time and effort, particularly for off campus or Walk-On coaches, who may earn significantly less if coaching is not part of their regular teaching schedule.
According to a form about an Extra-Curricular Salary Schedule for San Dieguito Union High School District, it shows on a chart that stipend values go up depending on experience in coaching years. “Placement shall be based on years of experience paid via District payroll in each separate extra-curricular assignment (sport or activity) for years of service in that extra-curricular assignment… No experience credit shall be granted for outside coaching experience in other districts or the equivalent in the sport to be coached,” (sduhsd.net). This policy emphasizes that only in-district coaching experience is recognized, potentially limiting the earning potential of experienced coaches who have worked in other districts or sports.
As well as that, “An extended season stipend will be given to varsity athletic coaches who participate in CIF playoff competition. The bonus will be computed as ten percent of the extracurricular salary stipend for week one playoffs and five percent for week two.” Moreover, there was a shocking find stated on their form saying, “No additional bonus beyond week 2 of playoffs” (sduhsd.net).
When asked about the comparison between districts, Hustle said, “Different districts do it differently. The reason they [stipends] were so low originally, [was because] all of the coaches were teachers and they all had sixth period athletics, so 20 percent of their pay for teaching was part of their coaching, and then they got a little bit extra on top.”
Defensive Line Football Coach Corey Barrs discussed what he thought of the current stipend conditions saying, “I feel the current stipend structure could be better. Us coaches do so much for the program and the players. We all have jobs outside of coaching and during the season we spend more time with each other then we do our own families during the week when we’re in season. I can’t say what the correct number should be, but it could be better than what we’re getting now. Especially when we make the playoffs. That could be anywhere between one week or six weeks of extra practices and games. We don’t get playoff bonuses… I believe having fair compensation for coaches would give them the ability and get more resources to help these players out more than we already do. We can get extra equipment for them, and spend more time breaking down film which in turn will make us feel better and more at ease because we would be getting compensated fairly.”
Barrs said, “If we were compensated fairly, it wouldn’t impact the way I coach. I’d coach the same way if I was getting paid nothing or if I was getting paid a million dollars. It would just be nice to be compensated a fair amount for all the work we do throughout the season. Regardless, I’m going to give everything I have coaching wise to these players and my fellow coaches.”