The Sweetwater Union High School District is putting out a call to the community to help fill coaching vacancies in girls and less popular sports.
As student-athletes throughout the district become more interested in playing smaller sports, the more there is a need for coaches, said district spokesman Manny Rubio.
“Some of these sports that haven’t been as popular in the past now are becoming more popular,” Rubio said. “We are finding that there is a shortage of qualified coaches out there.”
In the past two years, the number of sports teams in less notable sports such as field hockey and lacrosse have drastically increased, Rubio said.
Rubio said the more popular sports — baseball, basketball, football and soccer — do not have a coaching shortage.
Sports that schools do not have, but students are interested in, have a tough time getting off the ground because the district can’t find coaches, Rubio said.
The district has coaches at different levels: varsity, junior varsity and freshman.
Rubio said often if there is a shortage coaches will be asked to coach at more than one level to accommodate the sports that the student-athletes want.
“More and more we’re seeing sports where there’s an interest by the students but there just aren’t enough coaches for that,” Rubio said. “With some of these smaller sports we’re just having trouble finding coaches.”
Rubio said there is also a coaching need for girls sports. He said traditionally there is less interest in coaching girls sports than boys sports.
“Really, we’re looking for coaching in general,” he said.
Rubio also said he heard anecdotally that several schools had to cancel less popular sports before they could even start.
Rubio said there isn’t a coaching shortage at a particular school, rather the problem persists districtwide.
A coach in the district receives a stipend of about $2,000 to $3,000 per season.
If interested in coaching, apply at www.edjoin.org.
All applicants must complete a screening process that includes a background check and finger printing.
A California teaching credential is not required.
Rubio said he hopes the district can get additional coaches by the winter.
“It’s about giving the students the opportunity to play in the sport they want to play,” he said. “It’s a tough thing to be able to tell a student you can’t participate in a sport because we don’t have anybody to coach you.”
