Urban Coaching Fellowships: A New Framework for Hiring and Supporting Sports Coaches in Urban Schools

Abstract

Many public high schools in large urban school districts face challenges staffing their sports programs with knowledgeable and well-qualified coaches. Compared to smaller and more suburban districts, these schools have low student participation in sports and high coach attrition rates. These challenges make it difficult for districts to provide equitable educational opportunities for their youth through school-based sports. This article presents a vision for how these issues could be addressed by outlining a conceptual framework for an urban coaching fellowship (UCF) program. Inspired by alternative teaching pathway programs like Teach for America, the New York City Teaching Fellowship, and the Boston Teacher Residency, UCF programs would use partnerships between large urban school districts, colleges and universities, and local nonprofits to recruit, train and staff schools with well-trained coaches. Such UCF programs would aim to help urban schools increase student participation in high school sports by (1) increasing retention rates of coaches, (2) promoting innovative career pathways for youth coaches in urban high schools, and (3) recruiting and supporting a diverse workforce of high school coaches.