COACH, SPORTS CHALLENGE (Basketball, soccer, volleyball)

Job Identification:

• Permanent or Contract: Contract
• Stipend: $1,250
• Location: Sanford School in Hockessin, DE

Contract Schedule:

• • Dates of Contract: Saturday, June 14, 2025 – Friday, June 27, 2025
    • In-person Sports Challenge Staff Training: Sanford School in Hockessin, DE
      • Saturday, June 14 & Sunday, June 15, 9am-5pm daily
      • No staff training Monday, June 16 – Thursday, June 19
      • Friday, June 20 – Sunday, June 22, 9am-5pm daily

• Virtual Office Hours

• • • Strive staff will hold OPTIONAL virtual office hours on Monday, June 16 – Wednesday, June 18 (times TBD) for Coaches and Coaches in Training
  • Sports Challenge Program: Sanford School in Hockessin, DE
    • Monday, June 23 – Friday, June 27, 7am-6pm daily

How to Apply:

Please email your resume to Krista Bacchieri at krista@striveleadership.org. Positions will be filled on a rolling basis.

Job Summary:

Sports Challenge Coaches uphold the positive, energetic, fun and competitive culture that the program is known for. They serve as coach, teacher and mentor to Sports Challenge student-athletes. Their active participation throughout the program is imperative to its success. All coaches must participate in the four days of staff training prior to the start of the program. 

Strive is seeking coaches for each of the following sports: basketball, soccer and volleyball.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Serve as a coach.
  • Active participation with the student-athletes during all training sessions, including daily program-wide workout.
  • Complete all responsibilities during practices as outlined by the Athletic Program Director. 
• Serve as a teacher for a leadership class. 
  • Staff will be provided with training, curriculum and feedback.
  • Provide short class evaluations of student-athletes.
• Serve as a mentor to student-athletes.
  • Goal-set with assigned mentees and frequently check-in on their progress.
  • Write a comprehensive evaluation and letter to your mentees (an outline will be provided).
• Supervise student-athletes.
  • Oversee responsible behavior of all student-athletes throughout each day in all facilities. 
• Participate in all coach development sessions and preparation time. 
  • Actively participate in coach development sessions to ensure maximum impact for coaching and classroom teaching. 
  • Perform necessary prep work for coaching and class sessions. 
• Participate in and support all program-wide activities, such as:
  • Sports Challenge Games.
  • Vitamins morning workouts.
  • Leadership Forum.
• Support with administrative tasks.
  • Assist in setting up and cleaning up the facilities.
  • Support with drop-off, check-in and pick-up.
  • Complete post-program evaluation survey. 
  • Other responsibilities as assigned. 

Qualifications: 

Qualified candidates:

• Currently or previously play(ed) college sports
• Currently play and/or coach their sport
• Possess experience working with young people
• Are passionate about leadership and athletics
• Believe in working hard and working as a team
• Believe that leadership skills can be taught
• View sports as an extraordinary medium for teaching leadership skills as well as other life-lessons
• Believe in self-improvement and continued learning
• Take their responsibilities seriously without taking themselves too seriously

Expectations:

• Strive asks that staff utilize their personal laptop for Strive-related work, although it is not a requirement. If you do not have a laptop, please communicate this and we will lend you a laptop for work-related tasks.
• Strive expects all staff to have a reliable means of transportation to arrive on time to in-person events.
• Strive will run background checks on all staff prior to Sports Challenge staff training.

Details:

• Housing will be covered by Strive for non-local staff.
• Lunches and snacks will be provided by Strive on in-person days of the contract.

Strive: How You Lead Matters is a non-profit organization dedicated to spreading the power of character-driven leadership. We deliver dynamic experiences in sport, school and community spaces. With over twenty years of robust research based curriculum, we develop leaders who are prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Strive’s foundational program, Sports Challenge, develops character-driven leaders on and off the field, applying the rigor of sports training to the practice of leadership. We bring together a diverse group of high school student-athletes to play soccer or basketball at a competitive level. This highly demanding, yet nurturing, program offers a unique 1:5 coach:athlete ratio. Sports Challenge takes place over five days, where student-athletes learn and work together, immersed in a growth-mindset culture.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Strive is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage individuals to apply regardless of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, pregnancy status, national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, and/or any other characteristics unrelated to merit.

How we define Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Strive 

Diversity: Who’s present? Who is not? 

The understanding that each individual is different; the recognition of our differences as it relates to the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies.

Equity: Does everyone have access to resources that meet their needs?

The presence of structural factors that benefit all individuals, groups, and communities; an intentional effort to transform the status quo by providing opportunity and resources for those who have historically not had access.

Inclusion: Does everyone feel included? 

A state of belonging and connection; the act of including and supporting people who have historically been marginalized or excluded.

How You Lead Matters

Strive’s purpose is to spread the power of character-driven leadership. We know that effective and successful leaders are self-aware and bring their full identities and values to any situation. Through social emotional learning and character-driven leadership, we believe that anyone can lead, and that when everyone brings their differences and individuality to the table, we are all more motivated, innovative, and collaborative.

Strive is committed to ensuring that individuals from all backgrounds have the opportunity to become character-driven leaders through our intentionally designed social-emotional learning curricula and programs. 

We are committed to creating and maintaining a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment. 

We know that modeling and leading by example is an integral part of leadership, and we therefore strive to always put our core values into action.