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Meaning & use

head coach

noun·Everyday

Last updated

UK/ˌhed ˈkəʊtʃ/
US/ˌhed ˈkoʊtʃ/

Meanings

  1. nouncountable

    The person who is in overall charge of a sports team and decides how it trains and plays.

    Grammar: Countable, so it takes 'a' or 'the': the head coach, two head coaches.

    Patterns

    • the head coach of something
    • appoint someone as head coach
    • be named head coach

    After the losing season, the club replaced its head coach.

    She was the head coach of the national swimming team for six years.

    The head coach decides who starts and who sits on the bench.

  2. nouncountable

    In some schools and colleges, the teacher who leads a sport program and its other coaches.

    Grammar: Countable and often used with a school or sport name: the head coach of basketball.

    Patterns

    • head coach of basketball
    • the school's head coach

    He became head coach of the high school football team last fall.

    The head coach also teaches two physical education classes.

Word forms

pluralhead coaches

Common combinations

appoint a head coach
The board appointed a new head coach in June.
fire a head coach
Fans demanded that the team fire the head coach.
assistant head coach
He was promoted from assistant head coach to the top job.
head coach of the team
She is the head coach of the women's team.
former head coach
The former head coach now works as a TV analyst.

Synonyms and how they differ

manager
Common in British football for the person in charge of the team; 'head coach' is more common in American sports.
coach
A general word for anyone who trains players; 'head coach' specifically means the one in charge.
boss
Informal and general for a leader; it can refer to any workplace, not just sports.

Word family

coach noun
A person who trains athletes or a bus for long trips.
coaching noun
The work or activity of training a team or player.
coach verb
To train a person or team in a sport.

Commonly confused: head coach or headteacher?

head coach vs headteacher

A headteacher is the leader of a school, not a sports team; the two sound similar but describe different jobs.

Practice

The team played badly all season, so the owners decided to ___ the head coach.

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