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So, you want to become a qualified sports coach? It’s a great line of work to get into as you can expect some fantastic career progression opportunities once you have some experience under your belt. As it is such a popular career, though, you will have to face some strong competition once you try to land your first job as a sports coach. Here are the necessary steps you will need to take. It’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with this process so that you can try to stay one step ahead of all the other candidates!

Decide On Your Sport

Most sports coaches specialise in a specific sport. For instance, you might want to focus on training young children in football or tennis. Alternatively, you might prefer to work in a gym and teach fitness classes to adults. Either way, it is important that you decide early on what sport or fitness class you want to specialise in as this can shape the rest of your career journey.

Hone Your Skills

Next, you need to make sure that your fitness is up to scratch. All sports coaches will be expected to be a lot fitter than their clients, so this is something that you can’t ignore. Plus, if you want to become a coach for a particular sport or fitness class, you will need to make sure that your skills are finely honed. After all, it will be your job to teach others how to do your chosen sport!

Research The Industry

It’s always good to be up to speed with all the ins and outs of any industry that you want to work in. That way, you will have a good idea of how likely you will be to find a job shortly after qualifying. One way to research the industry is to read blog posts, such as 6 Key Issues In The Future Of Sports Administration, so that you get a quick overview of the various issues and factors affecting the industry right now.

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Get The Necessary Qualifications

Before you do embark on your new career, you will need to work towards some qualifications. You might want to look into some sports-specific qualifications or look at more general ones. While you are studying for these qualifications, you will learn everything you need to know about coaching others in various sports as well as plenty of health and safety tips.

Decide On Where You Want To Work

Finally, you need to make a decision as to where you want to work. If you would prefer to be employed full-time, then you should look for jobs in schools, fitness centres, and gyms. However, there are some sports coaches who like being self-employed and sourcing their own clients. In this case, you would need to look into setting up your own business.

So, are you still interested in becoming a sports coach? You just need to follow the five steps above, and you will eventually get to where you want to be!