Athletic Coaches instruct, organize, and teach both amateur and professional athletes in the fundamentals and specifics of individual and team sports. In some cases, some entry-level positions for coaches or instructors only require that the applicant be a past or current participant in a sport or activity. However, public secondary school head coaches and sports instructors at all levels usually must have a Bachelor’s degree.

Professional Coaches usually have advanced degrees and/or years of experience playing and coaching the sport at lower levels. There are a number of degree programs which offer courses specifically tailored to coaching, and some of these include:

• exercise and sports science
• physiology
• kinesiology
• nutrition and fitness
• physical education
• sports medicine