The cost of coaching

[phoenix]

I'm not talking about lesson fees here, I'm talking about what we as coaches pay every year to get to go out on the ice and teach! I'm sighing over having to pay for YET another membership (ISI) because a rink requires it. Which will do nothing for me other than to say, "I'm a member of XX organization."

So let's hear it coaches--what are you paying (more or less yearly) to be a coach?

Here's mine:
Rink fee: $150.00
Rink jacket (required): $40.00
Other rink's jacket (required): $75.00
Home club/USFS membership: $95.00
PSA membership: $75.00
ISI membership: $75.00
Liability insurance (PSA): $95.00
Ice time to teach on public: $4.00/wk=about $200.00
PSA state seminar: $25.00

I'm not including my own lessons, ice time, & gas to drive the 45 minutes each way to the rink 6 days a week. And I don't need new skates in the coming year. Also not including things like sharpenings, appropriate clothing, etc.

Total is therefore about $830.00. I'm a part time coach--I coach between 4-6 hours a week.

Anyone else?

[AshBugg44]

Our rink pays our ISI memberships!!!

Coach fees: $110 (per month)
ISI Insurance: $95 (?)
USFS Membership: $75

I think that's actually it for me...except I'll be joining PSA this year so add whatever fee that is.

[Kirbykid]

These are year end tax write-offs. I don't think I understand what your frustration is. Keep your receipts and use them when you file your taxes.

[phoenix]

Of course they're write-offs. It's still money out of pocket, & quite a lot for a very low-hour part time job.

AshBugg: $110 a MONTH?! Wow!

[sk8nlizard]

For the most part I have the same cost of coaching as you, except my coaching fees are based on my hourly rate...20% of my hourly rate every hour I teach. So, since I teach about 12 hours a week, that's $537.60 a month!!! Wow, I never realized it was that much. I guess that's what we get for teaching in an area that has not very much ice and is not in a skating area!

[SynchroSk8r114]

Oh, boy! Here it goes...as a full-time coach (according to the PSA), I pay roughly:

- $100.00 PSA Full-member membership (required)
- $75.00 ISI Professional membership (required)
- $60.00 Professional Home Club membership (required)
- 95.00 PSA liability insurance (required)
- $15.00 rink jacket (required)
- $4.00/hr. coaches commission (required) x however many hours I teach that week; usually about $21.00 x at least 45 weeks/year
Grand total: ~$1290.00/year

But if you want to include the $800.00 skates I bought in May to teach/skate in...well, that total skyrockets to an estimated $2090.00 for this year alone! 8O

But it's not all bad...

:D Perks::D
- free skate sharpenings because I'm a member of the PSA
- tax write-offs for tolls, boots, blades, etc. (save those receipts!)
- 1/2 price freestyle sessions ($6.00 an hour)
- test session discounts for profoessional home club membership
- plush, polar-fleece rink jacket that cost so little, but feels so warm
- great pay from private and group lessons
- the ability to set my own teaching schedule
- doing what I love (you can't put a price on that!;))

[AshBugg44]

Of course they're write-offs. It's still money out of pocket, & quite a lot for a very low-hour part time job.

AshBugg: $110 a MONTH?! Wow!

Yes. We have 3 options for coach fees here...

- You can pay by the session ($5/public, $7/freestyle) if you teach less than 5 hours a month
- You pay $110/month if you teach 5-19.75 hours
- You pay $220/month if you teach >20 hours

[Isk8NYC]

Basic Fees:
Individual USFS membership: $85.00 (Includes new rulebook each year; switched to the excellent CD-ROM version last year.)
PSA membership: $85.00
ISI Associate membership: $75.00
ISI Rulebooks: $30 (Bi-annual unless there are major changes. I DO update my rulebooks every Fall.)
Liability insurance (PSA): $95.00
PSA state seminar: $25.00
ISI District annual seminar: free!

The ISI annual conference (4-5 days) in Boston, MA, in 2006 cost me about $850 total. Haven't attended a PSA annual conference, but I'm planning on going to PACE next year, which will cost about $350. (Including travel/lodging.)

One of my rinks requires a jacket; the fleece was around $65, the parka about $125. They staggered the purchases two years apart and they're both in good shape, so I don't have to replace them again for a while.

I also buy incidentals, all tax-deductible, like music CDs, blank CDs/cassettes, boombox, costumes for the Pro Number in our Show, and new skates or blades every 2-3 years. (I get a PSA discount at Klingbeil)

Our pro shop always gives me a discount on whatever I buy; if I let them sharpen my skates, it would be free, but I instead pay someone that I've been using for years.

We don't have coaches' fees at either rink, however one rink has a two-tier private lesson commission. It's 10% of your revenue if you're on staff, 20% if you're a guest coach.

I never pay to skate at any of the rinks where I'm on staff, it's their policy that staff is free. I don't often skate there, however, because it's uncomfortable to have students' parents watching me skate so badly. I'll practice moves or spins at those rinks; jumps are too weak since I gained so much weight.

[Isk8NYC]

These are year end tax write-offs. I don't think I understand what your frustration is. Keep your receipts and use them when you file your taxes.Insurance is always a reason for memberships: ISI or Basic Skills membership means that the coach is included in the insurance plan.

These annual fees and expenses are all FIXED costs, whereas our income is all VARIABLE income. (Directors/Asst Dirs/Coordinators excluded - they usually get a small salary.) When you do an income statement for a skating coach, the upfront costs are becoming tremendous; now the USFSA is adding another fee in the form of a "coaches membership" in the 2008-2009 season, along with required PSA membership.

These membership fees stay the same (or go up annually) regardless of how many students or lessons are taught. To a coach who teaches a few hours a week for a low group-lesson rate, the expenses can be hard to justify. In many rinks, that's exactly why they're implementing "required" memberships. However, the PSA membership is being used to "weed out" instructors who aren't serious about teaching, and to discourage beginning coaches just starting out. It's called a "barrier to entry" into the industry.

A few years ago, I made a major push to step up my coaching, attending seminars, joining organizations, and buying all of the manuals and publications I needed. Unexpectedly, several of my family members became ill to the point of coming near death as well as dying. Family obligations required me to put aside all my private students, I lost my "tenure" in the group lesson program, and had to drop one rink entirely due to the distance. Last season was hectic, but I finally started to make some headway in terms of reliable, hardworking students as well as financially.

Because the IRS carefully reviews tax statements in the case of independent contractors, my accountant advised that I NOT show the real 2-year loss I incurred. It would have triggered an audit.

At one of the seminars I attended, there was a presentation about coaches and taxes. One of the full-time coaches with major expenses and revenue was being audited. The government was trying to drop her "Self-Employed Business" and claim that skating was her "Hobby." Hobby expenses are not deductible, whereas business ones could be taken off taxes. (Not sure about the outcome of that audit.)

If you want to make money, you have to spend money. Spend TOO much money and you'll be out of business. I agree that all these different fees add up and, while the full-time coach who is making lots of money through lessons, etc. can just "write off" additional fees and expenses, it's difficult to cost-justify those same expenses when a coach teaches mostly groups and a few privates. That's why so many rinks/clubs have implemented an annual "coaches fee" - they then use that for coaches' education and certification. (Actually, not a bad idea since group education is less expensive than individuals.) Ashbugg pays a coaches' fee, but receives ISI membership, etc. in exchange.

[Skittl1321]

I only coach group lessons- not privates. I do not know what is required of private lesson coaches.

After reading all of this, I feel very lucky. I do not pay anything. My rink pays my USFSA membership (as a basic skills coach, not a full member- so I got that for my own skating) so that I am covered under their insurance.

Right now I wear a spare fleece when coaching, if I continue this, and the rink orders them again- I will get my own. I suspect that will be about $50.

[Summerkid710]

As part time coach, the last time I added it all up for taxes, my expenses (the memberships, rulebooks, insurance, etc) didn't amount to whatever percentage needed to write them off.

[WeirFan06]

Wow, I'm not a coach, but I used to work at my home rink when I was in college and would have to process the coaches' payments... and at that rink it's 20% of your coaching fee if you teach group classes, and 30% if you don't teach group classes... or a flat rate of $600... whichever is less. Per month. And I'm pretty sure that's on top of the ISI/PSA/Insurance payments. I had to laugh when I saw pro fees at $110 or $150... where do you guys live??!!

[Isk8NYC]

I've compared notes with some California coaches, and commissions/fees are much more expensive in CA than NY/NJ. There are two rinks near me that charge admission to coaches who are teaching on their ice. I think it's done in lieu of commission payments, and the cost makes it prohibitive to teach there unless you can guarantee that you will have at least 1.5 hours of lessons on the two-hour session. If you're only teaching 30-60 minutes, it's less expensive to teach at another rink with a 10% commission charge.

I've never been required to pay a monthly or annual fee.