Casey Smith

When I got into coaching in my early 20s, it was tough to even get an interview for a junior high job, let alone a head coaching position at a 5A or 6A school. You had to put in years, work your way up, and prove you could coach before you were seriously considered for those jobs. That has changed dramatically. Now we’re seeing people with little to no legitimate high school coaching experience landing jobs at some of the biggest schools, and it’s not because the coaching pool has gotten better. It’s because the pool has gotten smaller. School boards, unreasonable parents, entitled players, and the constant headaches surrounding high school athletics have driven a lot of good coaches away. Jobs that once would have attracted dozens of qualified candidates are becoming harder and harder to fill. And ultimately, the people who lose the most are the kids. High school sports need good coaches. But if we keep making coaching an increasingly miserable job, we shouldn’t be surprised when good coaches decide it simply isn’t worth it anymore.