Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Are you ready for a football job?

Score a career in America's favorite sport.

Even if you’re too skinny or the wrong sex to make it as a linebacker in the NFL you can still have a career in football.

With a background in everything from public relations to groundskeeper to referee, odds are you can win a spot with a football team.

Cary Tapper, a former SDSU grad in communications recently made the move to Canada to become a part-time announcer for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, a Canadian football team in Manitoba.

“It’s freezing up here but I love this job,” said Tapper. “Football is in my blood. I know I’ll end up back in the States, and my dream is to announce for ESPN. If I have to start my career in the middle of Canada so be it. I still get to work in football.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

The National Football League has a website that lists internships and jobs. NFL.com posts jobs as diverse as their teams: news producer, account coordinator, and mobile apps project manager are just some of the gigs listed on their site.

As for coaching — these jobs can be more rare than a Chargers Super Bowl title. But there are positions for those who understand the X’s and O’s of the game.

Dave Knight was an assistant football coach for more than two dozen high school and college teams before he hung up his whistle.

“I coached so many teams and moved so many times I don’t even remember them all,” said Knight of Escondido. “I love football and I love kids. I never got to play for the big guys but I had a hell of a career. Now I just watch the game on TV.”

NCAA.org lists a few coaching jobs, but for the most part this coveted position is by word-of-mouth a reputation.

“I would get fired on a Monday and have a new position usually within a few weeks, because people knew me,” Knight said. “It’s a crazy life unless you love the game.”

If you’re good enough to coach college kids the pay is pretty good. According to Education Portal, Salary.com lists the average salary range for lower-tier coaches between $55,000 and $91,000, and the big dogs can receive paychecks over $2 million.

For those brave enough, referee jobs can be found on sites such as Indeed.com. The average salary for this unappreciated gig is around $24,000 a year, so a second job is usually recommended.

“I started as a ref by volunteering in my brother’s Pop Warner games and went on to ref in high school games,” said Josh Kai of Del Mar. “I would like to ref some college games or a pro game someday, but I doubt it will happen. I’m getting my degree in accounting to make my parents happy and earn a paycheck, but being a football ref is my dream job.”

Sportsmanagementworldwide.com offers online classes in football scouting, management, and marketing. While college classes in business and accounting are a good way to go, you most likely need to have suited up and caught a few passes before you can make it as a coach. Workinsports.com is a top site to find the gig you want in the football industry including coaching careers.

Football is more often than not seen as a manly sport, but the girls can cash in on game day as well.

Football offers woman the opportunity to be part of the team as doctors, athletic trainers, board members, communication specialists, stadium managers, hospitality managers, football journalists, catering managers, sports agents, and cheerleader coaches.

Kathy Michaels was a cheerleader for Poway High School 30 years ago and parlayed her cartwheeling skills into a career.

“I was an assistant cheer coach at Oklahoma for five years and went on to coach in Virginia,” she said. “Cheer is big at the college level, and back then not a lot of women took their cheer abilities as far as I did. Football isn’t always welcoming to women, but cheerleaders are another story.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Mary Catherine Swanson wants every San Diego student going to college

Where busing from Southeast San Diego to University City has led
Next Article

Aaron Stewart trades Christmas wonders for his first new music in 15 years

“Just because the job part was done, didn’t mean the passion had to die”

Even if you’re too skinny or the wrong sex to make it as a linebacker in the NFL you can still have a career in football.

With a background in everything from public relations to groundskeeper to referee, odds are you can win a spot with a football team.

Cary Tapper, a former SDSU grad in communications recently made the move to Canada to become a part-time announcer for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, a Canadian football team in Manitoba.

“It’s freezing up here but I love this job,” said Tapper. “Football is in my blood. I know I’ll end up back in the States, and my dream is to announce for ESPN. If I have to start my career in the middle of Canada so be it. I still get to work in football.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

The National Football League has a website that lists internships and jobs. NFL.com posts jobs as diverse as their teams: news producer, account coordinator, and mobile apps project manager are just some of the gigs listed on their site.

As for coaching — these jobs can be more rare than a Chargers Super Bowl title. But there are positions for those who understand the X’s and O’s of the game.

Dave Knight was an assistant football coach for more than two dozen high school and college teams before he hung up his whistle.

“I coached so many teams and moved so many times I don’t even remember them all,” said Knight of Escondido. “I love football and I love kids. I never got to play for the big guys but I had a hell of a career. Now I just watch the game on TV.”

NCAA.org lists a few coaching jobs, but for the most part this coveted position is by word-of-mouth a reputation.

“I would get fired on a Monday and have a new position usually within a few weeks, because people knew me,” Knight said. “It’s a crazy life unless you love the game.”

If you’re good enough to coach college kids the pay is pretty good. According to Education Portal, Salary.com lists the average salary range for lower-tier coaches between $55,000 and $91,000, and the big dogs can receive paychecks over $2 million.

For those brave enough, referee jobs can be found on sites such as Indeed.com. The average salary for this unappreciated gig is around $24,000 a year, so a second job is usually recommended.

“I started as a ref by volunteering in my brother’s Pop Warner games and went on to ref in high school games,” said Josh Kai of Del Mar. “I would like to ref some college games or a pro game someday, but I doubt it will happen. I’m getting my degree in accounting to make my parents happy and earn a paycheck, but being a football ref is my dream job.”

Sportsmanagementworldwide.com offers online classes in football scouting, management, and marketing. While college classes in business and accounting are a good way to go, you most likely need to have suited up and caught a few passes before you can make it as a coach. Workinsports.com is a top site to find the gig you want in the football industry including coaching careers.

Football is more often than not seen as a manly sport, but the girls can cash in on game day as well.

Football offers woman the opportunity to be part of the team as doctors, athletic trainers, board members, communication specialists, stadium managers, hospitality managers, football journalists, catering managers, sports agents, and cheerleader coaches.

Kathy Michaels was a cheerleader for Poway High School 30 years ago and parlayed her cartwheeling skills into a career.

“I was an assistant cheer coach at Oklahoma for five years and went on to coach in Virginia,” she said. “Cheer is big at the college level, and back then not a lot of women took their cheer abilities as far as I did. Football isn’t always welcoming to women, but cheerleaders are another story.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Houston ex-mayor donates to Toni Atkins governor fund

LGBT fights in common
Next Article

3 Tips for Creating a Cozy and Inviting Living Room in San Diego

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader