A sports trainer or coach is the perfect work at home job for a teen who is athletic and loves teamwork. As a coach, you will help teach safety, exercise, and a specific sport to children younger than you. You have spent many years of your life receiving good coaching on the sport that you love, why not share that training with others and make money while doing it.

The most important safety tip in coaching is: Never Ever, under any circumstances, put the child in danger or allow the child to perform any dangerous tasks. When in doubt - just don't do it. Keep the game clean, safe, and fun. The best advice is to have a rule of your own that at least one parent must be present at all times while the child is with you. Have the parent bring a book or laptop and keep the coaching sessions to an hour or less.

No matter what sport you choose to coach, there are rules that you need to follow to help the child's development. You are not only showing them how to play a game, or how to use the correct form, you are also helping to build a child's confidence and self esteem. A great coach not only helps the child push herself to her upper limits, but helps her feel good about herself while doing it.

• Show good sportsmanship and expect it in return. Your star athlete may be the best player or the worse player, but in either situation, he must help build other player's confidence and show he can be a part of a team. Watch for these bad moves and be sure to correct them:
  • trash talk
  • dirty playing
  • demonstrating superiority in a negative fashion
  • giving up and making the team hold their weight
• Good attitude: if they win or they lose, they should still be having fun and be professional and/or friendly to the other team/opponent.
• Effort: showing effort, even when a loss is eminent is an important skill you will help them learn and they will keep for the rest of their life. Never give up!
• Learn by doing: very few and close to nobody is good at something unless they have had a lot of practice. Make sure you show them that practice is key.
• Never offer rewards of toys or candy: the best reward is having fun and being proud of their own achievements. Rewards should come in the form of praises.
• Care about them and their success: pretending will not work, as children can see through your disguise. You must genuinely believe in them and tell them that you do.
• Be the role model you had or wish you had: children will mimic what you do and what you say. Show them a good team player and they will become a good team player.
• Meet with the parent (or attempt to) after every practice session. Make up small report cards and have something for the child to give to the parent that shows their progress.
• Make your rules and be consistent.

This is a business you are starting. Someone is paying you for your time and your expertise, and you will be charging them. Make sure they get what they pay for and make sure you get paid.

• When agreeing to a coaching job, you need to restate the time and day of the job. The next sentence you will give is "my charge is ______ per hour. At ____ hours, it will be _____ dollars." Do not be shy about this. Also, if you feel you need to, let them know that if they are late, they will need to pay another hour charge (or whatever amount you feel is fair).
• If you have another plan after the coaching job is over, you need to communicate to the parent that it is very important they pick up their child on time. Let them know you have another item on your schedule you must attend and can not be late for. Better yet, don't allow the parent to leave!

As a coach, you will need information from the parent before they leave you with their child. You may want to tell them to arrive 15 minutes in advance so they have time to fill out a little sheet for you. They will appreciate this extra step and it will make them feel much safer leaving the child with you.

• Emergency Numbers (for fire, police, etc if your area does not have 911)
• Parent's home phone number
• Parent's home address
• Name and number of the place the parents will be while you have their child
• Parents cell phone number
• At least one emergency contact besides the parent with name and phone number
• Medications (if they take any)
• Discipline
  • What are the house rules
  • How are you expected to discipline the child
• Miscellaneous Allergies
  • Outdoor allergies
  • Allergies to pets