A coach organises amateur and professional athletes and teaches them the fundamentals of a sport. Standards in coaching are constantly driven higher by the desire to beat your rivals. This has driven a growth of professionalism in sports coaching.

Coaches are expected to know more and more about management, fitness, teamwork and tactics, much of which is facilitated by sports coaching and sports science courses.

This is an area in which there are very limited careers and those that exist can be stressful and precarious. But even if you’re engaging in coaching as a volunteer or as a part time job, it can make you an incredibly valuable member of your community, whether you are working with developing young athletes or helping an adult team hit its peak performance.

Most coaches work for educational institutions while others work for community organisations. Professional teams also employ coaches. Many tennis and golf clubs would have professionals who offer training to club members. Advancement could come in the form of moving into coaching development. Since matches are often on evenings and weekends coaches can expect to work outside of regular hours. 

Many national federations, such as the IRFU, GAA and the FAI have coaching development officers, who work to develop the coaching abilities of coaches across the island, passing on their knowledge to the next generation.