Volleyball coaches take their passion to the next level by educating themselves to train people or athletes professionally. They help in developing exceptional volleyball players by focusing on fundamental teaching and coaching principles.
If you are passionate about the sport and want to help people excel, writing a good resume is crucial to get the attention of those with the power to hire you. Let us begin by looking at these resume samples, one of which you’ll choose to create your own resume.
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Job Duties of a Volleyball Coach
A volleyball coach needs to encourage team members, and build the creative mindset of players.
Below are some of the principal duties of a volleyball coach:
Managing training materials and athletic facilities.
Compiling, maintaining, and filing reports and records of tournaments, financial purchases, and player assessments.
Establishing policies that comply with county, state, and federal laws.
Traveling with athletes and monitoring them in volleyball tournaments and competitions.
Using instructional techniques to train players according to their needs and capabilities.
Communicating with and motivativating players with constructive feedback.
Evaluating students’ athletic abilities according to performance criteria.
Ensuring athletes are performing well academically when coaching in school settings.
Volleyball Coach Median Salaries
According to PayScale, the annual average salary for a volleyball coach is $55,500 as of August 2021. The pay usually fluctuates based on work history and skills.
Top Skills for Volleyball Coaches
There are many skills volleyball coaches need to accomplish their responsibilities. While tailoring your volleyball coach resume, include a mix of soft and technical skills supporting your professionalism and talent.
Some of the must-have skills are:
- Knowledge of fundamental volleyball skills: If you are pursuing a career in volleyball coaching, you need complete knowledge of the sport and its rules. You must be an expert player because you are an active participant initiating drills and showcasing volleyball techniques. You need to have good underhand serving, defensive topspin hitting, and other fundamentals.
- Proper usage of volleyball-specific training equipment and exercises: As a volleyball coach, adding training equipment to programs makes your training more efficient. By incorporating different types of equipment, you can target both offensive and defensive positions. For example, incorporating volleyball plyometric exercises using jump trainers helps players move faster on the court and aids in increasing their vertical jump factor. Managing the pieces of volleyball equipment also requires constant maintenance and care that a volleyball coach should provide.
- Position training: Each volleyball position has a specific function, and it requires specialized training. For example, the setter is responsible for accommodating the ball so that a teammate can attack it. On the other hand, the libero is positioned in the back row to receive serves from the opposing team and set up the ball when the setter cannot do so. You must have complete knowledge of each position’s duties to teach players and make them excel at their roles.
- Defense versus attacking: Volleyball consists of offensive and defensive plays. You have to ensure the ball lands on the opposite team’s court, and at the same time, prevent them from scoring. Each play involves different dynamics. For example, blocking is a defensive play done to counterattack. Instructing the players on offense and defense best practices will ensure they become proficient in both. You need to know the dynamics, techniques to pressure the other team and find creative ways to score when leading the team as a coach.
- The difference between types of drills, including at-home practicing Shuttle passing, tip and chip, swing set and fetch are drills used to practice volleyball skills. After analyzing the areas for improvement, you must determine which drill is the best to correct players’ mistakes. Your job goes beyond practices and games. As a coach, you should know to give players advice regarding at-home practicing techniques and promote learning outside of practice.
- Injury management: Just like every other sport, players risk getting injured. So, as a volleyball coach, you need to teach players measures that cause minimum damage to the body parts and stretching techniques as a part of your training exercises. Many volleyball coaches make players perform plyometric or jumping exercises to strengthen the knees and avoid improper landings. These jumping-focus exercises teach players the correct form when landing after a jump. Emergencies also require you to know to administer CPR/first aid to players. Coaches should also handle minor injuries on the court.
- Communication skills: The job involves expressing your ideas and thoughts to players effectively. There will be many moments in which you will have one-on-one interactions with players or the entire group. You should provide constructive feedback, motivation, and explanations of volleyball techniques that players can understand using demonstrations or examples. During games, you have to communicate efficiently with players while being under pressure and in high-stress situations.
- Patience: Athletes understand and improve their volleyball skills at different levels and in different ways. While some may require help with serving, aiming, and work rate, others may not understand defensive skills and game tactics. In all of the above instances, you need patience and the ability to coach the players in a way they understand.
Educational Requirements for Volleyball Coaches
A GED or high school diploma with volleyball coaching experience is enough to land a job. However, to move up the ranks in this industry, coaches need degrees and certification. To coach at a higher level, such as professional volleyball, years of experience are required. It’s also required to become a member of USA Volleyball to work as a coach.
Degree
Coaches usually have bachelor’s degrees in relevant fields like kinesiology, sports medicine, and physical education to advance over candidates. Many employers prefer candidates that received formal education. Grand Canyon University has a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education in which you will learn how to teach team sports and train players.
Michigan State University offers a complete Sports Coaching and Leadership program that can enhance your professional knowledge and skills for the coaching industry. It includes courses like coaching science, safety and injury control, ethics, and leadership.
Colorado State University provides the Sports Management Interdisciplinary Minor that requires students to learn public relations, turf management, facilities, and event planning. Students can gain hands-on experience in the sports industry through internships and other opportunities.Certifications
Acquiring in-depth knowledge of volleyball coaching requires learning various principles through professional certification courses.
Here are some organizations and associations offering certification courses:- Non-profit member organization: USA Volleyball, as a part of the USA Volleyball Coach Education program, offers IMPACT Certification (Increased Mastery and Professional Application of Coaching Theory) for junior club coaches. It also offers the Coaching Accreditation Program (CAP) that provides an opportunity for professional preparation and advancement for coaches. There are three clinic levels for indoor (CAP I, II, and III) and two for the beach (BCAP I, II). IMPACT is the prerequisite to gain this certification.
- Industry-related organization: The United States Sports Academy develops certification programs in Sports Management and Sports Coaching to provide students opportunities to further their knowledge base in the sport-related areas of business, administration, and coaching methodology. In addition, you can take these courses to acquire the skills needed to start teaching at a higher level.
- For-profit organizations: E-learning sites such as Udemy and Coursera offer certification courses in various volleyball fundamentals, first aid, and physiological exercises and impacts to advance your coaching career.
Volleyball Coach Resume-Writing Tips
Volleyball requires a different style of coaching depending on the level of the sport. You can go from leading high school students to victory and helping young players to training teams for national or international tournaments. Progressing in a coaching career needs extensive work experience, and writing a good resume is a step in the right direction.
If you need to improve your resume, use these tips to help you land a job:
- Create a good profile summary. An objective statement or summary is the first thing a hiring manager notices. Showcase your accomplishments and attributes here. Do not forget to use action verbs to mention achievements. For instance, if you want to convey your effectiveness clearly and concisely, write: “Enthusiastic and energetic volleyball coach with the patience needed to work with students requiring help with game strategy.”
- Write a work experience section. Your work history defines the skills that you acquired over the years. List out relevant job titles in work chronologically along with skills and achievements. Add quantifiable metrics such as games won, years of experience, and performance-improvement percentages.
- Pay attention to the format. Don’t use unprofessional fonts. Instead, use bullet points and stick to basic fonts like Arial and Times New Roman. Resumes should not be more than one page. Recruiters take well-written resumes with a presentable format seriously.
- Use keywords in the resume. Most volleyball clubs, associations, and universities use applicant tracking systems like Oorwin to scan the words in your resume that appear in their job description. It is wise to refer to the job description and use those words while mentioning phrases from the volleyball industry and coaching. Some of our suggestions include “team player” and “defensive skills.”
FAQ
How do I prepare for a volleyball coaching interview?
If you are attending an interview, prepare thoroughly. Take a good look at your resume and practice what you say when asked about work experience and skills. Don’t forget to attach certifications and research about the institution or club to demonstrate your knowledge to hiring managers.
Where can volleyball coaches work?
Volleyball coaches can work in high school, national, collegiate, and other types of clubs. Some companies hire volleyball coaches for summer camps and other recreational activities.
Do I have to include references?
No. If a recruiter is interested in you, they will let you know if they want references to proceed with the next step of the hiring process.