Teachers coaches in sports have been very common in recent years. Even though we’re told by schools that there are so called “benefits” in this practice, in my opinion that’s just an excuse to cut down costs necessary for students’ growth. I believe that teacher coaching is a factor that limits a student’s potential in sports performance, and here’s why.
I run Super Meteors Basketball. As a sports professional, I’ve often come across teachers who are “just there.” After consulting with a couple of them, it becomes abundantly clear very quickly that coaching is to them simply an obligation, a requirement of their contract they resign themselves to because they want the job. According to the Houston Chronicle, it’s common that teachers do not receive any compensation for their coaching duties, even if they are compensated, the average is an additional $5000 for their work per year. After discussing this topic with my colleague, Coach Ken, he shared his viewpoint that having teachers also serve as student-athletes’ coaches might not be the best approach as it often involves placing undue pressure on students rather than nurturing them into well-rounded athletes.
Now from a student’s perspective, imagine having to see a teacher every day for their class, and having to see them again at practice – where students should be able to fully express their emotions and feelings while they’re on the court. With a teacher, they’re not able to do that; Most students see their teachers as authoritative figures who’re there to hold them accountable academically. If any negative interactions happen at school between a student and their teacher-coach, it risks jeopardizing the student’s growth in sports excellence since they’ll feel threatened by the situation and wouldn’t want to have that experience. Sports professionals are trained to mentor kids emotionally through sports, teachers are trained to teach. Hiring sports professionals should not be considered “unnecessary costs,” let the professionals do their jobs.
From any objective standpoint, as a practice this is purely unethical. Teachers should be paid well enough to teach and shouldn’t rely on a mere $5000 compensation for their coaching work to make a living. There are teachers who have limited experience in sports, but want to acquire the money, and we should not let that happen. We want our students to learn from sports, not having to suffer through the experience. The only way to achieve that is through sports mentorship by professionals, there’s a big difference between coaches and teachers: teachers should teach, while sports professionals connect with kids off the court through sports.
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This Post is republished on Medium.
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