Is it possible to be a coach and a physical therapist?

[ZP3]

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Hey, all. I am a student who is deciding whether or not to switch into exercise science to eventually apply to PT school. During the summers, I am a Junior High and assistant Varsity baseball coach. I love baseball and I love coaching, but I was wondering if it is possible to be a head coach while working as a physical therapist? I do not want to give up my baseball life, so any help would be hugely appreciated!

 

[PTMattI]

Obviously anything is possible, but the good thing about PT as a profession is that it is relatively pretty flexible as far as hours. It is certainly not impossible to find a job that will allow you to coach. It may mean working extra on weekends or starting earlier, or both, but its is certainly not impossible.

 

[callmecrazy]

You can definitely make it work, but it may take some creative scheduling. Many outpatient clinic require some 'late' nights that may not mesh with a coaching schedule, so you'll have to look for the flexibility when job searching. That said, I can be out by 3 every afternoon and am contemplating adding coaching to my plate, and my coworker is cross country coach as well.

 

[ZP3]

You can definitely make it work, but it may take some creative scheduling. Many outpatient clinic require some 'late' nights that may not mesh with a coaching schedule, so you'll have to look for the flexibility when job searching. That said, I can be out by 3 every afternoon and am contemplating adding coaching to my plate, and my coworker is cross country coach as well.

Does it work fairly well for your coworker who is a cross country coach? I just love coaching and cannot see myself giving it up!

 

[callmecrazy]

Does it work fairly well for your coworker who is a cross country coach? I just love coaching and cannot see myself giving it up!

I know it could be difficult because she absolutely had to be out the door at 3 everyday. That is usually doable in the school setting but can be difficult when something urgent comes up. I believe she also ended up needing to use PTO time so she could get to meets on time. If you coached in the late afternoon or evening I'm sure that would make things significantly easier, but that may mean moving out of the school sport system.