REPORTS TO: Senior Director of Athletics & Scholar Engagement and Head Coach
HOURS: Dependent upon practice and game schedule as designed by Senior Director of Athletics & Scholar Engagement
TERM: Stipend: $1500
EXEMPT STATUS: Non Exempt
CAMPUS: High School
Summary
The High School Varsity Assistant Coach supports the Head Coach in operating a safe, organized, scholar-athlete-centered program for the assigned varsity sport. The Assistant Coach helps teach sport-specific skills, prepare practices and competitions, supervise athletes, reinforce team culture, and complete assigned operational responsibilities. Success is measured by reliability, athlete development, communication, safety, compliance, record keeping, and contribution to program progress - not wins and losses alone.
Requirements
In order to be considered for a High School Varsity Assistant Coach position at Foundation Academies, candidates must:
- Embrace Foundation Academies' college- and career-readiness mission and core values.
- Support a disciplined, joyful, and inclusive culture grounded in accountability, sportsmanship, effort, service, and equitable access.
- Teach assigned skills through organized instruction, clear progressions, useful feedback, and age-appropriate development.
- Communicate professionally, accept direction, use sound judgment, protect confidentiality, maintain appropriate adult-student boundaries, and work effectively with students, staff, families, and the community.
Certification
- Appointment and approval by the local educational agency and a valid New Jersey teaching certificate or instructional substitute credential; the substitute credential currently requires at least 30 semester-hour college credits.
- Current adult CPR/AED and Basic First Aid certification through an approved provider, including an in-person skills component when required.
- NFHS Fundamentals of Coaching completed before first employment as a coach, unless an applicable NJSIAA exemption applies.
- Annual NFHS Concussion in Sports and Heat Illness Prevention training.
- One-time NFHS Implicit Bias and NJSIAA BeNice training, plus all school-required safety, medication-response, mandated-reporting, and emergency training.
- Completion of criminal-history and employment-authorization requirements and the ability to maintain credentials throughout the assignment.
Responsibilities
Program Support & Team Organization
- Support the Head Coach's program vision and complete assigned duties for practices, contests, meetings, supervision, travel, and season operations.
- Use established program terminology, fundamentals, standards, and priorities and contribute ideas through the Head Coach.
- Support transparent tryouts and fair evaluation and provide input when requested. The Head Coach makes final roster, role, strategy, and playing-time decisions.
- Promote participation and multisport involvement and never promise roster placement, playing time, awards, or recruiting outcomes.
Practice & Athlete Development
- Prepare for and carry out assigned portions of practice plans, including skill instruction, team concepts, conditioning, situational preparation, recovery, and safe workload progression.
- Inspect assigned areas before use and report facility, equipment, weather, security, or medical-readiness concerns promptly.
- Teach current rules, techniques, and strategies and use observation, film, statistics, and Head Coach feedback to improve instruction and competition preparation.
- Provide honest, age-appropriate feedback that develops fundamentals, decision-making, confidence, leadership, and team-oriented habits while protecting student dignity.
Academic & Behavioral Expectations
- Reinforce academic eligibility, attendance, punctuality, preparation, communication, and respectful behavior.
- When assigned follow-up for a flagged scholar-athlete, complete a brief check-in and referral to existing support within three school days; no independent tutoring or team GPA guarantee is required.
- Apply team and school standards consistently, document significant concerns, and coordinate discipline or family follow-up through the Head Coach and school leadership.
- Model culturally responsive, non-discriminatory practices and professional conduct toward athletes, staff, officials, opponents, spectators, and families.
Communication & Stakeholder Engagement
- Participate in preseason scholar-athlete and family meetings and reinforce approved information regarding standards, schedules, safety, eligibility, transportation, playing time, and conflict resolution.
- Use approved communication channels, maintain professional boundaries, communicate urgent changes promptly, and route sensitive, disciplinary, roster, or playing-time matters to the Head Coach.
- Represent the program at approved events and support fundraising, social media, donors, sponsors, or partnerships only as assigned through athletics leadership.
Compliance, Safety & Procedures
- Ensure no scholar-athlete participates until the Athletics Department confirms registration, eligibility, medical clearance, and all required documentation.
- Review the site-specific emergency action plan, AED location and access, emergency communication process, and severe-weather procedures before the first practice and whenever facilities change.
- Provide active supervision from the assigned reporting time until all scholar-athletes are released through approved procedures; never leave students unsupervised.
- Follow concussion, sudden cardiac arrest, heat illness, injury-response, transportation, and return-to-play procedures; medical decisions remain with qualified medical personnel.
- Immediately notify the Head Coach and athletics leadership of serious injuries, threats, misconduct, hazing, discrimination, and other reportable incidents in accordance with NJSIAA, NFHS, school, and New Jersey requirements.
Facilities, Equipment & Records Management
- Assist with facility setup, breakdown, schedules, transportation, staffing, and other operational duties assigned by the Head Coach or athletics leadership.
- Follow procedures for the care, distribution, inventory, and return of uniforms, equipment, keys, technology, and supplies; report loss or damage promptly.
- Complete assigned attendance, roster, lineup, evaluation, emergency-contact, award, uniform, equipment, and other team records accurately and by deadline.
- Support accurate score and statistics reporting, use the official scorebook or designated source record, and report discrepancies promptly; final submission responsibility remains with the Head Coach unless athletics leadership assigns otherwise.
- Complete assigned awards, inventory, record, evaluation, reflection, and season-closeout tasks by the Athletics Department deadline.
Qualifications
- Previous coaching, playing, teaching, or advanced youth-program experience in the assigned sport is preferred.
- Working knowledge of current NFHS rules, NJSIAA requirements, sport-specific techniques, athlete development, and sportsmanship standards.
- Ability to implement the Head Coach's plan, collaborate with coaching and school staff, accept feedback, and perform assigned duties reliably.
- Competence with digital communication, scheduling, film or statistics platforms, score/stat reporting, and relationship-building in diverse school communities.
Goals & Performance Metrics
The Assistant Coach will be evaluated using coach-controlled evidence, assigned responsibilities, and reasonable program context. Competitive results matter, but no single win-loss target will determine success.
Coach-Controlled Measures
- Safety and clearance: Before the first practice, review the emergency action plan and AED access and confirm athletes under the coach's supervision are cleared. Report serious incidents immediately and complete assigned documentation by the next business day.
- Reliability and readiness: Attend at least 95% of assigned practices, competitions, meetings, and events, excluding approved absences, and arrive prepared by the established reporting time.
- Assigned duties and records: Complete 100% of assigned practice, game, attendance, score/stat, equipment, communication, and closeout tasks by the established deadline.
- Athlete development: Establish one Head Coach-approved development focus for an assigned group or skill area and review progress at midseason and season closeout.
- Academic support: Complete assigned check-ins or referrals for flagged athletes within three school days. No GPA or tutoring quota applies.
- Culture and sportsmanship: Participate in the preseason expectations meeting, model program standards, report serious conduct incidents the same day, and address assigned follow-up promptly.
- Communication: Use approved channels, communicate urgent changes the same day, and acknowledge or route routine questions within one business day when practicable.
- Collaboration and growth: Confirm role responsibilities before competition, participate in one midseason feedback conversation, and complete one season-closeout reflection with the Head Coach.
- Competitive contribution: Set one Head Coach-approved technical, tactical, or operational goal before the first contest and review it at midseason and closeout. Wins and losses are one data point, not the entire evaluation.
Evaluation & Renewal
Performance will be reviewed by the Head Coach and Senior Athletic Director or designee using direct observation, assigned work, program records, stakeholder feedback, compliance evidence, and the metrics above. Stipend renewal is based on program need, performance, conduct, compliance, and continued approval.
Work Environment & Physical Expectations
The assignment requires movement in athletic facilities, extended standing and supervision, demonstration of sport-related activities, travel, work in changing temperatures and crowd conditions, and reasonable handling of team equipment. Reasonable accommodations will be considered in accordance with applicable law.
Perform Other Responsibilities
Perform other related duties assigned by the Head Coach, athletics leadership, or school leadership. This description identifies the role's principal functions and is not exhaustive; duties may be adjusted for program needs, current law, school policy, and governing-body rules.
