Coaching

What's the sector like?

Coaching is perhaps the avenue into sport with the greatest number of opportunities. There is a wealth of companies, large and small, that are in need of coaches in all kinds of sports. Unfortunately, many of these positions are unpaid and paid opportunities usually rely on candidates having a good background in voluntary experience. 

To maximise your chances, it's important that you consider volunteering a key part of your career progression.

Consider joining Coaching Edinburgh to keep up with coaching opportunities local to you.

Coaching Edinburgh

Developing your coaching skills 

The University Sports Union has its own Coaching and Volunteering Academy, which may be a helpful resource for those looking to build up their skill in this area.

The Academy offers workshops and online resources as well as a fund for University clubs looking to put members through an official coaching qualification. 

The Coaching and Volunteering Academy

Sports Scotland has advice on getting started in coaching.

Getting started in coaching

Coaching within schools

There are around a dozen independent schools in Edinburgh, which often advertise for coaches in specific sports such as rugby and hockey, as well as occasional coordinator positions. Here is an example.

Erskine Stewarts Melville vacancies

Find details of other independent schools in Edinburgh using this list:

Independent Schools Council

Coaching with the community

• Active Schools - along with Sports Development, Active Schools also supply a host of Coaching opportunities. The majority of these are voluntary but some are paid. If you plan to get involved in Active schools coaching volunteering, there will be no shortage of positions available and you will most likely be able to find something in your favoured sport. 
• Edinburgh Leisure - probably the largest local employer when it comes to paid work. The range of sports that they offer means that they also require a wide range of coaches. Here is their vacancies page
• Smaller independent groups - Edinburgh is home to dozens of smaller companies, usually dedicated to a specific sport. These can often be found on MyCareerHub or the sportscotland website.

The University's Centre for Sports and Exercise also has potential for coaching positions. For more details, see Internal Opportunities.

Active Schools coordinator, Ryan McGill, talks about how aspiring coaches can work on their experience with Active Schools: