Hi,
Yes, I know this should maybe go in the coaches forum but I think more people will see it and respond to it here.
I'm a member of a rather large team which offers 20 coached workouts a week. Our four paid coaches share coaching duty. I'm curious how other large teams compensate their coaches and, in particular,how they compensate coaches for attending meets. Our coaches are paid an hourly wage and then receive a stipend for attending local meets. On an hourly basis, however, the stipend works out to much less than their normal hourly wage, in fact it usually works out to less than minimum wage.
Several of us are new on our team's board and we're wondering if this issue shouldn't be looked at a little more closely.
If you want to respond to me privately my email is jjeddelo@easystreet.com. But please don't spam me.
Swimmamma (I swim and I haul my two kids to swim team practice)
Former Member
I don't know about other coaches, but I found out that, approximately what our coach gets paid, and it just makes me cringe. He is so nice and always there for us, and , and works for what I would consider peanuts, something a person can't use to support a family.
I'm not on the board of the team, or anything like that... bit I've though once or twice about starting a petition to send a request to the board to give him a raise, even if it meant increase in dues for me.
Not only that, but over the last couple of years, due to his efforts, our master's team has grown from 30 to 115 members, and offers 23 workouts a week, and he tends to ALL of them. Honestly, I don't know how the guy holds it all together, and stays so nice all the time.
If you are a member of the board of the team, which I presume is the employing entity, you should contact a local attorney who specializes in labor and employment law. Paying any employee a sum less than minimum wage could lead to serious problems and liabilities. You should consult, sooner rather than later, with an Oregon lawyer who can gather the necessary information from you to provide your organization with sound advice.
carl botterud
