Join The 2025 Coach Compensation Survey

Zohaib

December 9, 2025

Table of Contents

2025 Checklick Coach Compensation Survey Now Open

It’s a quick 14-question survey, and your input helps shape next year’s insights.

Beyond the Paycheck: What Really Keeps Coaches Coming Back

Budget season is wrapping up, and if you’re like most organizations right now, you’re walking that familiar tightrope: how do you make your job offers competitive when the money just isn’t there?

Here at Checklick, we get it. Keeping quality coaches isn’t just about signing checks, it’s about showing them they’re valued. So this year, we dug into the data to find out what’s actually working.

What We Asked

Our Coach’s Compensation Survey included a final question about non-monetary compensation. We wanted to know: what are the little extras that make coaches feel appreciated and supported in their passion for the sport?

We presented 13 different perks:

Opportunities for competition
Free use of club facilities/equipment
Honorary club membership
Full/partially paid prerequisite courses (e.g., first aid)
Staff party
Resources upon request (office supplies, manuals, etc.)
Full/partially paid professional development courses (e.g., coach training)
Free/discounted food during working hours
Free apparel
Equipment use for competition
Discounts on equipment
End of season bonus
Free equipment storage at place of employment

Respondents could also select “none of the above” if they weren’t receiving any perks.

The Top 5 Perks Coaches Are Actually Getting

Here’s what the data revealed:

49% – Free use of club facilities/equipment
34% – Full/partially paid professional development courses (e.g., coach training)
34% – Full/partially paid prerequisite courses (e.g., first aid)
34% – Staff party
32% – Resources upon request (office supplies, manuals, etc.)

But here’s the sobering part: 18% of coaches are receiving zero additional perks. Nothing. Nada.

The Low-Hanging Fruit You’re Probably Missing

Let’s talk about that number one spot. Nearly half of all coaches are getting free facility and equipment access and if you’re not offering this, you’re leaving money on the table (or rather, leaving talent on the table).

This perk is brilliant for three reasons:

It’s low-cost for you: You already have the facilities. The marginal cost of letting your coaches use them? Minimal.
It keeps your coaches sharp: Coaches who actively participate in the sport stay current, engaged, and genuinely excited about what they’re teaching.
It’s a recruitment tool: When learners see their coaches out there competing and training, it’s a powerful, visual invitation to push themselves further. It creates aspiration and builds community.

Professional Development: The Retention Secret Weapon

Notice those second-place ties? Both professional development and certification maintenance landed at 34%. This isn’t a coincidence it’s a pattern worth paying attention to.

Investing in your coaches’ growth pays dividends:

Better retention: Coaches who feel they’re learning and advancing are coaches who stick around.
Increased program capacity: More skilled coaches mean more diverse programming options for your athletes.
Competitive advantage: The knowledge level of your coaching staff can be the deciding factor when athletes choose between your program and the competition.

Let’s be real about the costs, though. Take the sailing world, for example: new coaches face at least 3 courses requiring periodic recertification, plus 4-5 prerequisites just to get insured. That’s a significant financial barrier to entry.

But here’s the silver lining: many of these perks can be structured as taxable (like club membership) or non-taxable (training and professional development) benefits, allowing you to write them off as business expenses. Smart organizations use this to their advantage.

How Many Perks Should You Really Be Offering?

We gave respondents 13 possible perks to choose from. One coach (yes, just 1%) is getting 12 of them to talk about an outlier. But what about everyone else?

53% of respondents receive between 1 and 4 perks.

22% receive between 5 and 7 perks.

18% receive zero perks.

Here’s the competitive landscape broken down further:

27% are getting only 1 or 2 perks
26% are getting 3 to 4 perks

If you’re only offering one or two perks, you’re falling behind. Organizations offering three or four are creating a meaningful gap in attractiveness, and that gap could be the difference between landing your top choice or watching them sign elsewhere.

The Bottom Line

Cash is still king, sure. But here’s what the data is screaming at us: the tipping point for retaining or attracting coaches isn’t always higher pay.

Sometimes, a thoughtful combination of perks can transform a slightly-below-market offer into an irresistible opportunity.

Before you finalize your next job offer, ask yourself:

Are you offering perks at all?
Are you offering more than one or two?
Are the perks you’re offering actually valuable to your coaches or just things that seemed like good ideas?

This list of 13 perks isn’t exhaustive. There are countless creative, low-cost ways to show your coaches you value them. The key is to think strategically about what matters most to the people you’re trying to attract and keep.