LIGHTWEIGHT ASSISTANT COACH

Summary of responsibilities

Recruiting

  • Manages communications with PSAs and acts as the lightweight liaison to admissions/financial aid offices

Coaching

  • Coaching lower boats (3V, 4V, novice crews)

  • Focus on safety and skill instruction with lower boats/novice athletes

How long has the lightweight assistant been in this role at your institution?

Operations & Administration

  • Trailer driving and equipment maintenance

  • Social media content creation for team channels

  • Manages the team’s CARA calendar

Experience and recruiting

Of the 6 institutions that participated in this section…

  • The average number of years at an institution for a lightweight assistant is currently 1.5-4 years.

  • The average total number of years of full-time collegiate coaching experience for a current lightweight assistant is 5-8 years.

Is the lightweight assistant USRowing certified?

How many total years of full-time, collegiate coaching experience does the lightweight assistant have?

Of the 6 institutions that participated in this section…

  • 1 lightweight assistant coach indicated that they are involved with 25% or less of all recruiting responsibilities

  • 1 indicated that they roughly split recruiting duties with one or more coaches within the program and are involved with ~50% of all recruiting responsibilities

  • 4 indicated they take the lead on all recruiting efforts for the heavyweight team and manages ~75% of all recruiting responsibilities

The average number of days that a lightweight assistant coach spent traveling for recruiting purposes was 13.5 days. 4 indicated that they do no international traveling for recruiting but of the 2 that do, they average around 6 days per year of international recruiting.

In FY25, how many days did/will the lightweight assistant coach spend traveling for recruiting purposes?

Of the days spent traveling for recruiting purposes in FY25, how many of those were/will be international?

Salaries, contracts, and bonuses

Of the 6 institutions that participated in this section…

  • 4 indicated that the lightweight assistant coach is a full-time position

  • 1 indicated that the lightweight assistant coach is a 10-month contract

  • 1 indicated that the lightweight assistant coach is a part-time position

The pay structure for all of the full-time and 10-month contract positions was listed as “salaried”. The part-time position was listed as hourly with a rate of $19/hour in FY25.

The average FY25 salary range for a lightweight assistant coach was ~$52k-61k.

5 lightweight assistants indicated that they perceive they are underpaid relative to their peers, whereas 1 indicated that they perceive they are paid fairly relative to their peers.

All six coaches indicated that they coach within the Eastern Sprints league and are in High COL areas.

If salaried, what is the base range for FY25?

Of the 6 institutions that participated in this section…

  • 3 indicated that the lightweight assistant coach’s salary was university funded

  • 0 indicated that the lightweight assistant coach’s salary was funded through an endowment

  • 1 indicated that the lightweight assistant coach’s salary is funded through fundraising

  • 2 indicated that the lightweight assistant coach’s salary was funded through a combination of two or more of the above options

Of the 2 lightweight assistant coaches whose salary is funded through a combination of multiple funding sources, the splits included…

  • The position itself being endowed (50%) and fundraising (50%)

  • University funding (50%) and the position itself being endowed (50%)

On average, how frequently does the lightweight assistant do a compensation review with their supervisor?

Of the 6 institutions that participated in this section…

  • 4 indicated that they annually review their compensation with their supervisor

  • 1 indicated that they review their compensation every 2-3 years

  • 1 indicated that they review their compensation every 4+ years

How long is the lightweight assistant's contract?

Of the 6 institutions that participated in this section, all six lightweight assistants indicated that they have 1 year contracts with the option to renew. 

Only 1 indicated that they have bonuses built into their contracts, with race results, specifically team performance at Sprints and IRAs, being the sole condition for earning that bonus. This has the potential to provide $1k-2k in additional income.

Does the lightweight assistant earn additional income from coaching over the summer?

Of the 6 institutions that participated in this section…

  • 6 coaches said yes, through one-day/weekend clinics or short-term school-sponsored camps (either your own or at other institutions)

  • 1 coaches said yes, through summer-long club programs such as Vesper, Penn AC, Craftsbury, etc.

  • 1 said yes, through coaching with the USRowing JNT/U23 team or ODP camp

One average this provides an additional $7k-8k in income.

Traditional and non-traditional benefits

With regards to traditional benefits offered to full-time employees and of the 6 institutions that participated in this section…

  • 5 lightweight assistant coaches indicated they health insurance was part of their benefits package

  • 4 indicated vision/dental insurance was part of their benefits package

  • 5 indicated life insurance was part of their benefits package

  • 5 indicated retirement contributions/401k match was part of their benefits package

  • 3 indicated tuition reimbursement for themselves or their dependents was part of their benefits package

  • 2 indicated paid family leave was part of their benefits package

  • 2 indicated paid vacation time/sick days were part of their benefits package

  • 3 indicated short/long term disability was part of their benefits package

  • 3 indicated that employee assistantance programs, mental health/wellness initiatives, etc. were part of their benefits package

Only 1 lightweight assistant coach indicated that this position was not eligible for benefits.

Duties outside of coaching

Of the 6 institutions that participated in this section…

  • 1 indicated that the lightweight assistant has additional department-assigned duties - teaching a PE class - outside of and in addition to their standard coaching duties

  • 5 indicated that the lightweight assistant does not have any additional department-assigned duties

3 lightweight assistants indicated that they belong to one or more committees or working groups within their department, which include…

  • Culture, engagement, and community experience – Ad hoc groups within the department that focus on initiatives within the institution and/or athletic department

  • Assistant Coaches' Working Groups – Sharing best practices and advocating for the assistant coach role within the department