A common problem with athletic departments is leveraging continuing education with their employees. Part of it is that most departments within the athletic department do not value continuing education as much as S&C. When requesting to be reimbursed for a seminar or a course, you get a funny look, as if that is your responsibility.

This leaves a certain feeling that is hard to describe. On one hand, you have to rationalize that your employer does not value education as much as you do. In a way, they are saying we do not care if you improve at all. On the other hand, it is liberating in that you are free to control what you learn and when you learn it. I can say personally that viewing education as my private domain is a freedom I personally enjoy. 

My current station in life is built upon education and consistency. I can say definitively that any success I have is built on those two key attributes. I have two bachelor’s degrees and two masters degrees and zero student debt. I have done on average 3-5 courses a year for the last 15 years. Anyone who knows the average cost of a course can imagine how much 50-60 courses cumulatively have cost. I have read 100s of books, the equivalent of three full book shelves, which can be a cost that is hard to even count. 

I remember a time when a colleague asked me why I spend so much on education. I was a bit taken aback by this. Part of it was that person probably felt inadequate by my level of commitment. The other part was I was confused as to why everyone doesn’t commit to learning as much as I do. The reality is that I have made these investments based on considerable personal sacrifices. 

I have lived and worked in spartanesque situations like a futon in a kitchen, a multi unit college dorm, multi unit student housing….I can honestly say that other than trips home on holidays, I never took a vacation. I relied exclusively on work clothes and work-based amenities like food and toiletries. In order for me to spend what has to be six figures on my education out of pocket, I have had to make considerable concessions when it comes to personal expenses. 

The big question is: what was the return on investment? I can say that for every investment I made into my education, I was able to proportionally increase my compensation. It could have been circumstantial, but every year I was able to garner raises, bonuses, and improvements in title. It was hard to not justify the approach based on the success I had. 

My goal was to become a head strength coach, which was heavily influenced by the network. Was being able to rise to the opportunity based on my education and experience combined? With each raise in title, I felt I was extremely well versed in all aspects of the job from my education and extending myself in regards to education. 

I have never worked for an athletic department that paid for or reimbursed me for my education. There were opportunities to go to conferences that I was not directly affiliated with. Not to knock these conferences, but I felt as though they were extremely narrow in focus. I would much rather pay out of pocket for a seminar or experience that brought me more direct knowledge or skills to differentiate me from my peers. 

The big gain I got from these conferences was a networking opportunity. Honestly, I always felt this was a cannibalism mentality. Part of my mentality was to volunteer and prove myself to get a job, while these national conferences were a bunch of people going for the same job and not leading to anything. If your goal was to move to a head role, you are in the wrong place. As soon as there is insight you are throwing chum into the water and the piranhas are putting their resume in for that position as readily, you know something isn’t quite right. 

My approach was to determine what will bring me more value as an S&C coach, first and foremost. If I had to charge on my credit card to pay for it, I would do it. I had no problem taking on debt for education because there was always a return from that investment. The trick is to determine what will bring back that value you invested rapidly. Going to a conference that may have been paid for by the school I was working at did not equate to going out and paying out of pocket. 

I find a lot of times that people associate the person with their current situation as if it just happened. It is not easy to look at success as the product of incredible investment of resources, time, and energy. Does everyone need to invest that much time and money into their development? I do not know. Can you be successful without investing that much money? Absolutely. The freedom to learn and grow always was more important to me than direct compensation. I, however, was able to continue my thought process of valuing education based on being rewarded over and over for it.