# How would I become a Division 1 coach?



## Jwill55gRizZ (Jun 8, 2003)

I am 18. i have played basketball since i was 8 years of age.. i am an exceptional defensive player and was captain of a team that was 30-6.. my team record is like 103-19 in 3 years, including preseason and charity games and scrimmages.

i have already got my level one certification for coaching and will get my level two as soon as possible.. i look to get my level three in the next few years.. i look to volunteer in the community's a youth teams to hone my skills.. and i think that eventually i can become one of the best coaches in Canada. My question is: what is the best way to become a division 1 coach? 

My style is very like Nolan Richardson meets Tubby Smith.
I like to press for 30 minutes a game and all my teams play defense. conditioning is essential and i like running motion offenses for smaller guard lineups, and i like throwing in errays of back screens and screen the screener type plays if i have athletic big men.. i am learning from some of the best coaches who like to use a similar style as well, So im developing a hybrid of my two coaches' styles.


you can give suggestions or a timeline in my life as to how i could become a division 1 coach..

i have a few questions as well

1. how much does a lower d1 coach get paid (financial security is all i need im not looking to be a millionaire)
2. Do you think i will be able to press american teams, who tend to have athletic players from 1-5.. i run 1-2-1-1 press where i double the ball in the corner and the second row's offside guard takes away the inbounder forcing the ball handler (hopefully a weak ballhandler (it doesnt matter) to throw the ball errantly, where the 3 row player (your most athletic/instinctive playmaker) reacts and makes a steal. the prototype player is a sf with athleticism and long arms so tips can be made.. 
3. i plan to get a masters in journalism, combined with physical education.. would that be enough education to get looked at by division 1 athletic directors..

thanks i know its a difficult post to answer all these questions.. but i think that the discussion will be interesting regardless... thanks and i will be looking forward to your well-informed responses..


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## VincentVega (Oct 12, 2003)

Contact the University of Missouri. There should be an opening there soon.


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## Jwill55gRizZ (Jun 8, 2003)

something tells me that they wouldnt be too eager to hire an 18 year old..


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## sov82 (Nov 5, 2003)

*Contact University's....*

Contact University's Athletic Departments that you are interested in and see how one becomes a manager for their basketball team and how difficult it is to become one.

I would try to find a university with a coach you admire and you could learn from.

I dont see how a journalism major would help you at all become a basketball coach.


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## Jwill55gRizZ (Jun 8, 2003)

journalism is something i want to have if this was to never pan out.. 


but i can just call up coach k and ask him for a manager position.. someone told me that there is a kid who takes all the free throws that duke players take at practise down and gets a full scholarship for it..

im intrigued by all this ..

keep the thoughts coming..

you get a 5 star rating for responding and giving me that good information thanks


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## kansasalumn (Jun 9, 2002)

First , I would go to a school that you can play some ball at and get a good education. Also find a place with a good coach. SInce you are a Nolan type coach wanna, maybe go to UAB and learn under tht coach. (forgot his name).

1-Goto a school to play ball under a good coach to learn from, and get good education. UAB is a good choice if you can play there. You will learn how to play Basketball of Hell or whatever that is called.


Really there are so many ways. I would contact a local D-1 school, and say that I would like to meet with someone in the coaching staff to give me on how I can reach my goal to become a D-1.


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## Jwill55gRizZ (Jun 8, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>kansasalumn</b>!
> First , I would go to a school that you can play some ball at and get a good education. Also find a place with a good coach. SInce you are a Nolan type coach wanna, maybe go to UAB and learn under tht coach. (forgot his name).
> 
> 1-Goto a school to play ball under a good coach to learn from, and get good education. UAB is a good choice if you can play there. You will learn how to play Basketball of Hell or whatever that is called.
> ...


im a good player.. but im not good enough to play division 1 ball.. its mike anderson btw, UAB's coach. and 40 minutes of hell..

do all d1 coaches have to have played at d1 level?


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## Jwill55gRizZ (Jun 8, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>kansasalumn</b>!
> First , I would go to a school that you can play some ball at and get a good education. Also find a place with a good coach. SInce you are a Nolan type coach wanna, maybe go to UAB and learn under tht coach. (forgot his name).
> 
> 1-Goto a school to play ball under a good coach to learn from, and get good education. UAB is a good choice if you can play there. You will learn how to play Basketball of Hell or whatever that is called.
> ...


im a good player.. but im not good enough to play division 1 ball.. its mike anderson btw, UAB's coach. and 40 minutes of hell..

do all d1 coaches have to have played at d1 level?


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## Tigerfan_2002 (Nov 29, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Jwill55gRizZ</b>!
> 
> 
> im a good player.. but im not good enough to play division 1 ball.. its mike anderson btw, UAB's coach. and 40 minutes of hell..
> ...


No, you don't have to play D1 to coach there. John Calipari, for example, played at Clarion University. Not sure what level its on, but sure it isn't D1. He also doesn't have a Masters degree.


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## bender (Jul 15, 2002)

Clarion is D2.

Lawrence Frank, for example, didn't play D1, too. He didn't even play for his high school team.


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## Jwill55gRizZ (Jun 8, 2003)

i heard that the duke manager got a full scholarship..? any truth to that? i would so be interested to going to UAB and manage their team and learn from Mike anderson if they could also pay for my education.. im not sure what tuition is like in america or living expenses..


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## Jwill55gRizZ (Jun 8, 2003)

bump


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

It's not easy to become a Head Coach (or asst. coach for that matter) without playing college ball or getting a manager gig at a top school w/ a condition that you could become a graduate assistant after you've finished your undergraduate work. 

You have to be able to offer something to the coach to let him allow you to be around the team. Whether it was breaking down tapes, being able to offer shooting instruction, good repoire with the players and organizing practices. That is what Arizona asst. coach Josh Pastner had to do and still does with Arizona. It also helps that his father is Hal Pastner who runs the Houston Hoops AAU program (with a whole bunch of Elite Talent). 

So for this to work out for you, you need to be able to make this worth the coaches while, while also being able to keep up with the type of philosophy to make it work. It is not easy when you are not a former player or have some connection through recruiting that is favorable to maintain a relationship with you.

Good luck.


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## OwnTheBlocks (Jun 10, 2003)

Here is a chart to becoming a D1 coach:

#1 - Coach and learn as much as possible. Any team that needs a coach, coach them, and win. Keep track of every team you coach and get a lot of references. Learn from as many other coaches as possible to get as broad of a perspective and as much basketball knowledge as you can.
#2 - Go to university. Your best bet is an american school. Apply for as much financial aid as possible. Save and take out loans if needed. Get into contact with their admissions department and OSAP and try to make attending an american school as financially feasible as possible. The higher your grades are and the higher your SAT score is and the better your extracirriculars are, the chances of you getting a full academic ride increase. Attending a CIS school will probably hurt your D1 aspirations. If you have to go to a CIS school, get into the coaching program and get a job with the team. If you have to start off as a manager shagging balls in practice and editing film then do it. As much major coaching experience as you can get will have you in the best possible position. To make it big, you need to get to a D1 school and get on the staff as a manager. Put in as much work as possible and you might get a scholarship out of it. My buddy played at university of south carolina, and they had 8 managers. 2 ended up on scholarship. At my former school, High Point, the managers weren't on scholarship but they were paid for their time. While being an undergrad, you want to cover as many duties as possible. Being a manager of the team, organizing equipment and travel, assisting in practice, breaking down of film, and tape exchange are all great parts of experience. Over your 4 years of undergrad, you want to get in as tight with the head coach as possible. After you get your bachelors, you want to apply for your masters at the same school. You need your masters to further your D1 coaching chances. While taking your masters, you need to get on the coaching staff as an administrative assistant. Its an actual paid position, but its much like a manager. After a year of being an AA, you want to try to become a graduate assistant. After you get your masters, they might offer you a 3rd or 4th assistant job. If not, you need to apply for a coaching job at either a D2, D3, NAIA, JUCO, or high school. Whereever you end up, you need to win, and win often. If you end up at a high school, win a lot of games and form a dynasty. Coach AAU in the off season and run camps. Make contacts within the D1 profession. This way you will know when openings come up. When 3rd assistant positions open up, apply for them, and make it obvious to the coaches and AD that you are the only candidate for the job because you want it so badly. At a low D1 school, expect to make less than $20,000 a year as a coach. They will offset this low pay by giving you free housing. For a school that doesn't have a 3rd assistant, you might have to expect to get a full time job and volunteer your spare time as an assistant coach. Do whatever it takes to get on a D1 staff. Pay your dues and learn and grow as much as possible. Either you will be promoted to second assistant, or a second assistant job will open up somewhere else. Keep moving up the ladder to second and then to first and then maybe one day head coach. Build your resume and experience as much as you can, and you will one day achieve yuour dreams with the right attitude, knowledge, and hard work. My best suggestion for you is to go to the websites of your favorite teams and read their coaching biographies. This will give you an idea of the route you have to take to get on a staff and the qualifications you need. I played d1 for a bit and we only had 2 assistants and a head coach (low d1). The 2nd assistant got on the staff by getting a masters at bowling green, and being on their staff as an administrative assistant, and coaching AAU on the side and winning a bunch of titles. As soon as the assistant job opened, he flooded the AD and other coaches with information on how badly he wanted the job. He played one year of d3 and barely saw the floor. Our 1st assistant played 4 years at radford and rewrote the record books. He graduated and worked in the business world for a while. He realized he missed basketball so he started coaching high school. He got offered an assistant job at his alma mater, and eventually applied for the 2nd assistant job at my old school. Once the 1st assistant got offered a 1st assistant job at another school, he was bumped up the ladder. Our head coach played at Wake Forest in the 60's and after graduation got offered a job at a d3 school. He established a dynasty and got offered a job at HPU. He stayed there 30 years and established tenure and a legacy. It got to the point where they couldn't fire him and had to ask him to retire. With a head coach comes his coaching staff. If a head coach gets fired or leaves his job, the new head coach is allowed to pick his assistants. Both our assistants got let go, and our new head coach got offered the job after leading a d2 school to 2 elite eights. He brought his only assistant up with him. THe 2nd assistant job was filled by Sean Woods, who used to play at UK. A third assistant job was created, on a strictly volunteer basis. The guy who was given the position used to coach D2 in Florida as an assistant, and got a job in the area outside of coaching to support his family. 

Basically to summarize, if you want to be a D1 coach, you either have to be a big name player, or you have to put in a lot of work and earn you way to the top.


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## GTFan513 (Dec 4, 2003)

*What I would do...*

I would contact a University (Division II maybe) that is good in basketball, and talk to the head coach and find out how he got to where he was, do an interview with him to find out how he made his way up to where he is...then tread a path similar to some of those, it may require you becoming a head coach at a high school, and then an assistant at a Division II school, bbut just keep taking oppurtunities as much as possible and also GET A COLLEGE DEGREE, it is vitale to many peoples success...


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## hollowtip (Jun 9, 2003)

> At a low D1 school, expect to make less than $20,000 a year as a coach


I take it you mean an assistant coach.

In my not so prestigous conference, the average head coach makes about 70k a year, and head coaching positions from the more elite teams from the conference usually get around 80.


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