Texas Creates ROCKS Program to Keep Young Coaches In Industry

According to a report from KBTX, the Texas High School Coaches Association (THSCA) has lost 20 percent of young coaches in their first five years.

To help combat this concerning statistic, the THSCA has created the ROCK mentorship program that makes use of local resources while pairing veteran coaches with younger coaches to help prepare them for the position.

“It was happening at a large rate and at times I felt helpless on how we could save them,” Glen West, Assistant Executive Director of THSCA told KBTX. “We always felt like if we could just get them through the first year or the second year then they would be able to stay in the profession.”

According to KBTX, Texas is one of the few states to require coaches to be full-time staff of the school district, which West believes is a benefit.

However, how these coaches are getting certified to teach is one of the main causes for their reason for leaving, according to Joe Martin, the Executive Director of Texas High School Coaches Association.

“The [TEA’s] alternative certification process is a quicker way to get there, but once they get to the point where they can enter the classroom and start teaching and coaching, then they get overwhelmed,” Martin said to KBTX.

The ROCK Coaches Mentoring program focuses on cultivating and pairing young coaches from all sports with a mentor, who is an experienced coach in their perspective sport.

helping with this investment is the Texas A&M Thornton-McFerrin Coaching Academy. They have provided the curriculum that the program is based on.

John Thornton, Director of the Texas A&M Thornton-McFerrin Coaching Academy, says their goal is to provide these coaches the tools they need to succeed.

“You can do what you can do as far as gaining experience for yourself, but there is more to it than that, and that’s what we think through at The Coaching Academy and the programming that we do,” said Thorton. “We can enhance their ability to handle all the stresses and trials and tribulations of being a great coach and a great teacher.”

To read the full story from KBTX, click here.