Lake Fong, Post-Gazette Jennifer Bruce Scott in her nursing role at Allegheny General Hospital. She chats with Maria Ortega-Barnett, right, during a check up at Dr. Cathy Saunders' office. Click photo for larger image. More on the story Chart:Two-career coaches
	Matt Freed, Post-Gazette And as Gateway's head coach, leading her team against Woodland Hills. Click photo for larger image.

Every now and again, Jennifer Bruce Scott becomes a contortionist on the outbound Parkway East.

"It isn't easy," she says. "You should try changing from your work clothes into a pair of basketball shorts while speeding down the Parkway in your car and trying to get to Monroeville as fast as you can. And, believe me, I've done it more than just a few times."

Such is life for Mrs. Bruce Scott, 44, who leads a Clark Kent-esque dual existence as a registered nurse by day and the Gateway High School girls' basketball coach by night, often racing from Allegheny General Hospital to arrive at Gateway just in time for the start of practice.

Mrs. Bruce Scott, a former standout player at Pitt, isn't alone, though, as each year more and more local high schools hire coaches whose "real" jobs are outside the walls of the school district.

"Absolutely, it has changed," said Terry Smith, Gateway's athletic director who graduated from the school in 1987 and went on to a solid football career at Penn State. "When I was in high school, it is factual to say just about every coach was a teacher. Now, yes, it is much different."

A few decades ago, the high school coaching life was rhythmic and predictable as the day progressed from morning to afternoon -- teach, then coach.

Educators would wrap up their teaching duties in mid-afternoon, snap shut their lesson plans and head to the playing surface with a whistle around their neck. On game days, that progression bounced from the classroom to competition.

Now, the landscape has shifted. With fewer teachers choosing to coach -- or being passed up for coaching jobs -- everyone from postmasters to ministers to mortgage brokers and dentists are in charge of instructing high school athletes.

Michael Pfeuffer, 29, understands the constraints on Mrs. Bruce Scott's time, for his existence is confined by the same clock.

Mr. Pfeuffer is an attorney at Downtown law firm Swartz Campbell and the boys' basketball coach at Keystone Oaks. He's also a husband and the father of a 2-year-old son.

"Most of the time during the season, I work through my lunch or just have something quickly at my desk to eat," he said. "What I have found is that, on game days, it is common to put in a 16- or 18-hour day. But I knew that going into this, I understood the responsibility and wouldn't have it any other way."

Nor would Mark DeIntinis, 45, who moonlights as the Seton-LaSalle boys' basketball coach. His main job is director of sales and marketing for the Marriott Pittsburgh City Center, Downtown.

Mr. DeIntinis spent 1994-2003 as coach at Seton-LaSalle, quit the position for three years before returning to the bench this season. He concedes that his free time expanded in his non-coaching years, but that it left a void.

"If, in my life, I want to realize the monetary rewards from my job at Marriott and also the rewards both myself and my team get from winning a big game, then this is the schedule I must keep," Mr. DeIntinis said. He leaves his home at 5 a.m. each day and returns about 9:30 p.m.

"Is it hectic? Yes. But, is it worth it? Absolutely."

Isn't there a rule?
Most school districts in the area have language in their teachers' union contracts stating that current district employees must be alerted to coaching openings before they're advertised outside, but current employees gain no further advantage.

Child abuse and criminal background checks are standard for all applicants.

"Pretty much every district has a normal protocol where ... they must post the job internally for a fixed number of days before opening it up to outside candidates," said Mike O'Brien, Fox Chapel's athletic director, who formerly held the same position at Brentwood and Bethel Park.

"But that doesn't mean you have to give it to someone internally. What it means is that they are just alerted to the openings first and, I'd say with almost all openings, outside candidates get interviews."

Under its teachers contract, the city school district must advertise coaching positions districtwide, and, if there are qualified candidates, interview them first, said athletic director Mike Gavlik.

Pressure to win
Behind the increase in the number of non-teachers who are coaches is the pressure to win, according to Fox Chapel's Mr. O'Brien, who oversees 21 coaches, 11 of whom have day jobs outside the Fox Chapel district.

"We feel pressure as athletic directors from the community and the school to create a climate in which we are successful, and, honestly, that is measured to a large degree by wins and losses," he said.

"We have a responsibility to find the coaches who are going to put our programs in the best position to win. Now, many times, that honestly isn't the man or woman teaching math or social studies down the hallway."

And even if it were, a growing number of teachers don't want the parental scrutiny and irrational parental expectations that go hand in hand with coaching.

"Working from 7-3 each day and dealing with parents in that time frame is enough for a lot of teachers," said Brian Geyer, Seton-LaSalle's athletic director. "We all know some sports parents can go overboard and, after being in the school building all day, many teachers don't want to deal with what comes along with the extracurricular activities.

"I don't think the teachers understand how rewarding it is to be involved in extracurricular activities, but I can understand if they don't want involved and want to go home when the last class lets out."

Although pushy parents may discourage some teachers from coaching, money also plays a part.

"If you look at it, teachers right now are making very good money," Mr. O'Brien said. "Because of that, many teachers just don't see the time factor [needed in coaching] as worth the money."

Data from the Pennsylvania School Boards Association for the 2001-02 school year to the 2005-06 year, the average annual salary of secondary school teachers in Pennsylvania grew by $2,913 to $53,214.

Duquesne High School football coach Pat Monroe, on the other hand, is paid $4,500 per season for his coaching duties. His responsibilities routinely consume at least 30 hours a week and, this past year, the season ran from Sept. 2 until Nov. 10. Based on 30 hours a week -- and not taking into account one second of time in the postseason or above that 30 hours -- Monroe made $2.17 an hour.

Crunching the same numbers for Upper St. Clair football coach Jim Render, whose team won the PIAA Class AAAA title, produces a wage of about $4.20 an hour coaching. Often times, Mr. Render said, he worked well in excess of 30 hours.

But football, like basketball, is a high profile and bigger budget sport with coaches who are generally paid more than in some of the lower profile sports. For example, one boys' golf coach at a small school who asked to remain anonymous said he made slightly more than $1,000 this past season, which ran a few days over two months. His coaching duties took approximately 15 hours a week, which works out to 91 cents an hour.

"We have an assistant wrestling coach here," said Jefferson-Morgan athletic director Scott Moore. "He figured out the time he spent and the money he made coaching. It worked out to about 8 cents an hour. So, trust me, no one in the [Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League] is getting rich coaching high school sports."

Experiencing both sides
Lou Cerro, the Montour High School football coach, and Corey Gadson, McKeesport Area High School's boys' basketball coach, have coached both as insiders and as outsiders.

The 42-year-old Mr. Cerro -- while formerly coaching at Seton-LaSalle -- drove a truck for Breadworks, and Mr. Gadson, 52, worked at People's Oakland and PNC Bank before recently getting a job with the McKeesport schools.

Although neither are teachers, both work in the school buildings in which they coach, Mr. Cerro as director of facilities and Mr. Gadson as attendance coordinator.

"After living both sides of it, absolutely it is an advantage to be working in the building," Mr. Cerro said. "The players know, with me being around all day, that I am going to find out what they are up to in school -- good or bad. That is something of great value because I feel you grow closer to the kids."

In addition, if a coach is in the building during the day, he or she has an opportunity to extinguish problems as they arise, a luxury not realized if a coach holds an outside job.

"If you are outside of the building, as I was for a lot of years, all the problems of the day mount up," Mr. Gadson said. "Then, at 3 p.m. when you walk in the door, all the problems hit you at once from every direction. That is tough to manage."

For Mr. Cerro, there's no secret which setup he prefers -- he'd much rather coach and work on the same property.

"It wasn't conducive to doing much of anything outside my regular job and my coaching job with my old schedule at Breadworks because I was only running from work to school and school to work it seemed," Mr. Cerro said.

"Now, though, it is much different and much more enjoyable. Being a guy who has been on both sides of it, the advantages of being in that school building every day are huge. Then again, I can see where people see it as an advantage working outside of school."

Two-Career Coaches
A sampling of some WPIAL and City League high school coaches and their full-time jobs.
Name	School & coaching position	Day job
Mitch Adams	Gateway boys' basketball	Owner, trophy company
.Tim Banner	North Allegheny baseball	Home Depot
Jennifer Bruce	Scott Gateway girls' basketball	Nurse
Mark DeIntinis	Seton-LaSalle boys' basketball	Sales-Marriott Corp.
Chuck Dietriech	South Side Beaver softball	Steelworker
Dorthea Epps	Butler girls' basketball	Postmaster
Sarah Kirk	Moon girls' basketball	Pharmaceutical company
Debbie Lewis	Schenley girls' basketball	Dentist
Greg Perry	Seton-LaSalle football	Verizon coin technician
Mike Pfeuffer	Keystone Oaks boys' basketball	Attorney
Ray Reitz	Jeannette football	Pittsburgh Brewing Co.
Rod Scott	Penn Hills girls' basketball	Pharmaceutical company
Todd Sibert	Jefferson-Morgan wrestling	Cable, wire manufacturer
Rod Smith	Ellwood City boys' basketball	Minister
Randy Stoernell	Bishop Canevin boys' golf	Post-Gazette copy editor
Arne Thomas	Moon boys' soccer	Dentist
Kim Tirik	Ambridge girls' basketball	Education specialist-state prison
Terry Totten	Central Catholic football	Mortgage broker
Reggie Wells	South Park girls' basketball	State trooper

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