Varsity Field Hockey Coach

Job Description

Job Description

Riverdale Country School, a Pre-K through Grade 12 independent all-gender school in New York City, is dedicated to inspiring students to live meaningful and purpose-driven lives. The school achieves this by fostering a culture of academic excellence, critical thinking, and curiosity, supported by a diverse and inclusive community. Riverdale emphasizes both high challenge and high support in its approach to education, encouraging students to engage deeply in interdisciplinary learning, research, and experiential education, both inside and outside the classroom and beyond our campuses. This holistic approach aims to develop well-rounded individuals who are prepared to make a positive impact on the world.

At Riverdale, we strive to reflect the diversity of the New York metropolitan area in our students, faculty, and staff. We believe that a diverse and inclusive community enriches the educational experience and is integral to our mission. With a student body of approximately 1,300 students from 117 different zip codes, Riverdale is a vibrant community where 48% of our students identify as students of color. 

We seek to employ educators and leaders who bring a student-centered approach, passion for their work, a commitment to DEIB, and a desire to contribute to the growth and development of our entire school community.

Riverdale Athletics’ mission is to provide a meaningful athletic experience for each student-athlete, while maximizing student participation, promoting sportsmanship, representing the school with integrity, and understanding the importance of balancing the commitments of being a student-athlete. We aim to hire coaches who emulate the values of both Riverdale Athletics and Riverdale Country School.

Our group of coaches are dedicated to their given sport, student-athletes, and team. Coaches are public-facing representatives of the school and interscholastic athletic activities. Coaches should be viewed first as teachers who utilize effective teaching strategies, striving towards having expert knowledge in their discipline. Effective planning, instructional skills, and the ability to set expectations, motivate, and discipline student-athletes are essential components of being a successful coach.

Coaches must set high expectations and expect high levels of effort and commitment, but must understand the physical and emotional stress of competitive sport, in conjunction with the Riverdale Country School academic expectations. At all times, coaches must maintain all applicable safety standards and report any unsafe environments.

Preseason begins on Thursday, August 20th and ends Friday, September 4th. Preseason practices are 8:00am-11:00am. Regular season begins Tuesday, September 8th and ends on Monday, November 9th. Practices and games are Monday- Friday after school with occasional Saturdays. Coaches must be available for the duration of the season.

• Plan and deliver daily practices that include sport-specific fundamental technique, strategies, rules, conditioning, and safety
• Develop and execute game strategies; conduct opponent scouting and film analysis to prepare the team for competition
• Collaborate and assign tasks to assistant coach(es)
• Stay current with rule changes and trends in your sport
• Seek professional development and collaboration with fellow coaches
• Communicate effectively with athletes, families, school personnel, and the athletic department
• Attend pre and post season league meetings

Coaching stipends will be determined by using the salary structure template:

1. A coach's years of experience will be determined by their cumulative coaching experience

2. The structure is based on years of experience, not seasons, and not the number of teams

coached

3. If a coach coaches multiple sports and teams in a calendar year, this will count as

one year of experience. Years of experience are not sport-specific.

4. Coaches must submit their years of experience in the format requested, prior to receiving

a contract. Playing experience does not count towards years of experience. Summer camp does not count towards years of experience.

5. Sports have been categorized into traditional and non-traditional sports.

6. All middle school and junior varsity teams/sports have been categorized as

traditional

7. Non-traditional varsity teams/sports require coaches to complete their

responsibilities for their sport, on a consistent basis, outside of the traditional

coaching hours. 3:45-6:00 framework.

8. Coaches of non-traditional teams/sports will receive an additional 15%

compensation for that season.

To apply for this position, please click on the red “Apply for this Job” button. Please submit a resume and cover letter.  If there are pronouns we should use in potential future communications, we invite you to share that information with us.  For information about this position and all open positions, please visit the Careers page of Riverdale’s website.

Benefits of Full Time Work at Riverdale Country School

Working at Riverdale Country School is a purposeful and meaningful career choice that comes with many benefits including:  

Transportation: Shuttle service is available to/from the 242nd St / Broadway subway station. Limited stops are also available near transit hubs in Manhattan including the Metro North Harlem Station and subway lines – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, N, Q, R, A, B, C, and D. If there is need in the community, we can also run a shuttle from the Henry Hudson Parkway / 246th St bus stop which connects to the #7, #10, and Express Buses to/from Manhattan.

Professional Development: A generous professional-development budget provides for conferences, skills training, and onsite training in areas such as mindfulness, coaching, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

Grants and Stipends: All employees are eligible for Frankel Fellow grants, known as “passion grants,” which pay for enrichment activities. More than 120 grants have been made to faculty and staff since the program started in 2014. Stipends are available for coaching, affinity group facilitation, advising clubs with significant out-of-school time, and chaperoning trips (including global trips!).

Sabbatical: Full time teaching faculty are eligible for a sabbatical after 10 years of employment.  

Health Benefits: Riverdale offers and subsidizes health, dental, and vision insurance.  In addition, the school offers a flexible spending account through which employees can use pre-tax dollars to pay for health-related expenses.  

Retirement:  Employees are eligible to join our Defined Contribution retirement plan through TIAA.  The school contributes 7% of an employee's annual salary to their retirement account.  

Vacation: Riverdale Country School has a generous time-off policy for staff in addition to vacations afforded by the school calendar.  

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.