Money Making Millennials- Meet Assistant Woman's Basketball Coach, Lex Sharp.
- Brianna Donson
- Apr 11, 2017
- 4 min read
What ignited the spark in you to go into this occupation?
Well, I was fresh out of school and looking for what was next in life. The plan was to go right to Grad-School but I got a call from the coach the day after graduation about the position. I thought it over for about a week along with family, and decided that it was a great opportunity. One I shouldn't pass up. My main goal is to be in the administration part of sports, like an athletic director or something else behind the scenes. Just about everyone that has made it to where I want to be has paid their dues (started from the bottom). Coming straight out of school into a coaching position on a college level isn't something that happens everyday and I looked at it as a major stepping stone in the direction I want to go so I took the offer.
Did you go to college/school? If so what did you study?
Yes, I went to Ouachita Baptist University where I majored in Kinesiology with a minor in Business.
Why should I go into your field? What are the pros/cons?
Pros to this job would be being able to help others become better at what they do well or not so well, being able to build relationships with people whether its players, coaches from other schools, etc. Which is important because it’s all about who you know. So building those different relationships will help in a long run. A couple of cons would be long hours. Coaching is really a 24/7 job. Also another con that would tie in with that would be little to none personal time, especially during the season. You really have to find time for yourself.
Describe a typical day on the job.
Typical day for me depends on what part of the season we are in and what day it is. We have preseason, season, and off season. Right now we are in off season so I don't do much. The biggest thing during this time is finding players for the coming years. There's a lot of recruiting going, people coming in to visit the campus, and etc. Outside of that I just wait around til 2:15 when we would work the team out on the court (shooting drills) and lift weights. Preseason is pretty similar to off-season minus the recruit visits. During the season is when it gets tricky, like I said it depends on the days. Mon - Wed we'll be getting ready for the games we have for that week. So throughout the day I'll be watching game film, try to figure out who I want to guard who and stuff like that. Then we'll have practice for about 2hrs. Thursdays are game days. Friday we'll practice for about an hour to get ready for the game we have on Saturday and it’s pretty much that same rotation every week for 5months.
How much do you make a daily/yearly/ or monthly?
I make $25,000 a year. Pay day is once a month
(About $1,300)
For the amount of work you do, does the pay satisfy you?
With this being a D2 and private school, the coaching staff is very small and I tend to do stuff that someone else at a larger school would be responsible for, so no the pay isn't satisfying but the experience makes up for majority of it. I feel like if I took a similar job anywhere else I would be
prepared of anything.
Where do you live? Is the location good for what you do? Do you want to relocate?
I stay in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. The location is ok, a lot of people don't really know where it is or never heard of it. I know I didn't prior to my sister coming to school here. I plan on relocating but not any time soon.
What project(s) are you currently working on?
A project that I'm working on now would be finding another point guard for the team next year. Like I said, off season involves a lot of recruiting so I do a lot of traveling and searching for potential players this time of year.
What are your hobbies?
My hobbies include listening to music, cooking (to an extent, now that I have to cook for myself), and lifting weights (just to stay in shape)
What do you do in your non-work time?
When I'm not working I'm probably sleep or catching up on my TV shows.
What makes you happy?
What makes me happy the most is seeing those I love and care for happy. Even if I don't agree with whatever it is, if they are happy, I'm happy.
What sacrifices have you had to make to be a successful?
There weren't many sacrifices for me to make. But to be successful in this field one big sacrifice you will most definitely make would be the amount of sleep you get. Simply because you want to stay ahead of the game. There are some long days in this line of work but they usually pay off. Another sacrifice I think I've made are my weekends. Majority of the year I'm working on the weekends, whether its a game, getting ready for a game, or out recruiting for the up coming year. Those would be the only two sacrifices I could think of. At the end of the day, it's all worth it though.
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