There's a need for youth sports coaches, but time and cost make it hard for parents to commit

Kendra Seguin · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 02, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

London, Ont., hardball coordinator Kevin Bahadur has astir a period to find a manager for the South London Baseball Association U11 team, oregon other it whitethorn not beryllium this year.

"That would beryllium an utmost disappointment for those kids successful the organization," said Bahadur, who is besides the association's vice-president. "They whitethorn person to find a antithetic athletics oregon play determination else. The astir heartbreaking happening is not having kids capable to play."

He is 1 of respective younker sports coordinators successful London who spoke to CBC News saying it tin beryllium challenging to find and clasp unpaid coaches, usually players' parents, arsenic the summertime play approaches. 

"It's getting much and much hard to find coaches, particularly erstwhile you're adding much teams successful your program," said AEL FC Canada president and shot manager Milton Gougoulias. 

He said his academy has capable returning coaches for its 20 teams this year, but is incapable to adhd immoderate caller teams without much support.

Time, committedness and outgo are the astir communal reasons wherefore radical are hesitant to coach, said Coaches Association of Ontario (COA) enforcement manager Jeremy Cross.

"Many of our coaching opportunities are done volunteers and radical who are taking clip retired of their days, retired of their jobs and distant from their families successful bid to coach," helium said. 

A 2024 study from the COA recovered that implicit 70 per cent of Ontario coaches are unpaid volunteers and 11 per cent are paid connected a tiny honorarium. 

"It is not a well-compensated role, but the responsibilities are rather high," Cross said. 

Coaches walk an mean of 15 hours per week coaching astatine practices, attending games and readying lessons, the study said. Many caller coaches besides request to enactment clip into certification courses, added Cross, which includes grooming connected ethics, information and play planning.

While not each sports teams necessitate coaches to beryllium certified, Gougoulias said helium requires each AEL FC coaches to spell done basal training, which makes it hard to find radical who privation to measurement forward.

"The feedback I've received from a batch of the coaches is the committedness that you person to enactment toward the programme and toward completing the courses," helium said, adding that the clip committedness for courses tin scope from a fewer days to up to six months.

The outgo for certification courses besides varies, Gougoulias said, ranging from $300 for a basal people to thousands of dollars for certifications to manager higher level teams. 

Unpaid unpaid coaches besides enactment wealth into travelling to games, Cross said, which includes the outgo of gas, hotels and eating out. 

Incentives for coaches

The challenging hunt for coaches isn't a caller issue, said Bahadur. He said astir of their coaches instrumentality astir arsenic their kid players advancement done the league, but they person occupation uncovering caller coaches for younger teams. 

Bahadur said missing conscionable 1 manager not lone causes a occupation for the squad that year, but for different teams down the line. He said if helium cannot find a manager for his U11 squad this summertime and players permission the league, helium could conflict to capable his U13 squad adjacent season.

"You suffer those kids successful your strategy … It starts creating gaps successful the continuity of your players moving done your enactment done their property level," Bahadur said, adding that helium hopes to spouse with different London enactment to nonstop his players for the play if helium can't find a coach. 

Gougoulias said his academy provides incentives to coaches who amusement their committedness to the organization, including escaped registration, uniforms and cogwheel for their ain kids.

Cross said being a manager comes with idiosyncratic rewards arsenic well.

"Personally speaking, I've had players since they were 4 oregon 5 years aged and they are present 13 years old," helium said. "We've seen them make done the years arsenic a kid who can't adjacent footwear the shot and present we've got pro clubs that are looking astatine them."

"It's conscionable the restitution of processing a subordinate and processing a idiosyncratic successful life," Cross said.