Jim Berkman Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach Salisbury University
Jim Berkman the head men’s lacrosse coach for Salisbury University. Salisbury University is located in Salisbury, Maryland. Berkman is in his thirtieth season with Salisbury men’s lacrosse. He also has won twelve National Championship’s as head coach including Division III National Coach of the Year. Coach Berkman’s general responsibility as the Head Coach is to run all aspects of the men’s lacrosse program. He handles the recruiting for the incoming players and classes. He spends time throughout the team’s offseason looking for future gulls. He deals with budgeting for the team the budgeting includes hotels while traveling, meals for the team, gear/equipment, and home game day operations. Gulls are sponsored by warrior and brine lacrosse where they receive their team gear through them. Coach Berkman spends time talking with his elite coaching staff on practice and game planning to ensure that his team is successful when it comes to game time. Some of Coach Berkman’s likes about coaching and he explained that he enjoys helping his players not only grow on the field but also off the field into great young men. He also likes helping develop the student-athletes during their 4 years at Salisbury, getting to know his players. Coach Berkman’s did not have many dislikes about his job he explained he loves to go into work every day and help his team get better each day.
Coach Berkman explained that about eighty hours or more a week depending on if the team is in fall ball, off-season, or regular season and if he is on the road recruiting. As for the attire, he said they expect you to dress professionally but there are exceptions due to times when the team is practicing or game day. Coach Berkman did not have a comment on his salary but as one of the best coaches in all of college lacrosse I can only imagine that it is among some of the highest. Coach Berkman does not coach do his job for the money he does it for the love the game he has. He does get full benefits that include health care, dental, vision, and retirement. Coach Berkman received his bachelor’s degree from St. Lawrence in 1982 and then got his master’s from Salisbury University. He has been coaching college since receiving his master’s from Salisbury and has continued coaching ever since. Just this past season Coach Berkman became the first ever NCAA lacrosse coach across all divisions and genders to record 500 wins. I then ask how hard is it to obtain a position in the coaching field is. He answered with it is all about putting yourself out there getting your foot in the door. He explained that getting a coaching position now at the collegiate level is pretty easy.
I asked Coach Berkman to explain what was the salary range for a college lacrosse head coach, he replied with somewhere between $30,000 and $200,000. He then explained that the turnover was high within the women’s lacrosse coaching business. Opportunity for advancement he claimed was available if you do a good job and work hard. I then asked Coach Berkman if he had any advice for someone like myself pursuing a career in the women’s lacrosse coaching field. Coach Berkman advised, that I get on applying to graduate assistant or just assistant coaching positions very soon. He then went on to tell me that I did a great job and that I was a very big help to him and his staff this summer. He did give me one piece of advice that I will defiantly take moving forward, he said that I need to be more outgoing not so shy. He said especially when recruiting you need to really sell the school and the program. I really respect everything he had to say then and throughout my whole internship. I then thanked him again for giving me his time to help teach me what coaching is all about.
Justin Axel (assistant Coach/Recruiting coordinator)
Knute Kraus (Assistant coach)
Reference: Coaches Bio. (2017, June). Retrieved December 06, 2017, from http://www.suseagulls.com/sports/mlax/coaches/berkman_jim?view=bio