Working With Kids: A Career Launchpad for Education, Phys-Ed & Child Psych Majors — and Collegiate Athletes

If you're an elementary education, physical education, or child psychology major — or a collegiate student-athlete looking for meaningful part-time work — here's the case for spending a semester (or four) coaching at The Recreation Academy.

For education majors

Classroom student-teaching is rare, supervised, and short. Working at a structured youth-enrichment program puts you in front of real kids, every week, for hours at a time — under the eye of trained Area Managers who give you real coaching. You'll practice classroom-management fundamentals: setting expectations, redirecting behavior, building rapport, scaffolding difficulty. By the time you walk into a student-teaching placement, you've already logged hundreds of hours of practice.

For phys-ed majors

Designing and running structured movement sessions is exactly what you'll do for a career. Our sports clinics, camps, and clubs give you reps in cuing, demoing, modifying for ability levels, and managing a gym full of energy. You'll learn how to keep kids both active and engaged — the holy grail of phys-ed.

For child psych majors

You'll see SEL frameworks in action: emotion regulation, perspective-taking, conflict resolution, relationship skills. Better yet, you'll facilitate them. Our debrief structure is essentially an applied lab in age-appropriate facilitation, and you'll watch growth-mindset language land in real time.

For collegiate athletes

You already know structure, accountability, and how to lead a team. Kids will eat up your energy and credibility. The schedule is flexible enough to work around practice and games, and the soft-skill development translates straight into your post-athletic career: communication, leadership, performance under pressure.

What the job actually looks like

• Run structured rotations and games for kids ages 5–14 • Lead end-of-activity debriefs • Work with a small staff team and an Area Manager • Background-checked, CPR/First Aid certified (we pay for it) • Flexible scheduling tailored to your class load

Why it matters on a resume

Hiring managers and grad-school admissions don't want generic "worked with kids" — they want evidence you can lead, observe, adapt, and reflect. A structured role at a fast-growing enrichment company gives you exactly that, plus references who can speak to specific skills.

Ready to apply? Visit our Join the Team page to see open coach roles in St. Louis, Kansas City, Nashville, and Medford.