How to find and keep good coaches for your club
Good coaches are hard to find and harder to keep. Where I found mine, and why giving them their own class to run matters more than anything.
Kane Foster, founder of Kanvas One and owner of Kanvas Academy in Newcastle
5 min read · Updated 19 October 2026
Your coaches are your club. Parents choose you because of the coach their child loves, and when a good coach leaves, families often follow.
Finding them
I found all of ours online. Good dancers are easy to spot on social media. You can see how they move, how they teach and how they come across before you ever speak to them.
- Look where people in your world share their work, like Instagram, TikTok and local groups.
- Look for someone who is great at what they do and great with children. You need both.
- Watch them take a class before you agree anything. How the children respond tells you more than a CV.
Keeping them: make it their class
The biggest thing I’ve learned is to give coaches real ownership. Not just turning up to teach, but their class, with their students.
- They plan their classes.
- They choreograph the routines.
- They take their students to competitions.
- They build the relationships with the children and their families.
When it’s their class, they don’t feel like an employee clocking in. They care whether it’s full, whether the children are improving and whether families stay, because it’s theirs.
Covering a class
- Teaches someone else’s plan
- The students feel like the club’s, not theirs
- Nothing to build, so nothing to stay for
Owning a class
- Plans the classes and choreographs the routines
- Takes their students to competitions
- Cares whether it’s full and families stay
People look after what they feel is theirs. Give your coaches a class to own, not just a class to cover.
Reward what you want more of
We give coaches incentives for growing their classes. When a new student joins their class, they get a bonus. It costs us a little, and it gives them a real reason to make every trial brilliant.
And when the club does better than expected, a surprise bonus here and there goes a long way. It doesn’t have to be big. It shows them you noticed.
Make them feel part of something
More than any bonus, coaches stay when they feel like an important part of the club. You want them to care about the business and the students, and to feel looked after in return.
- Thank them for the work nobody sees: the planning, the late nights on routines, the messages to parents.
- Ask for their ideas, and use them.
- Tell them how the club is doing.
- Keep their admin as light as possible, so their time goes on teaching.
A quick checklist
- Look for coaches online, where their work is easy to see.
- Watch them teach before you agree anything.
- Give them a class of their own to plan, choreograph and grow.
- Reward new students joining their class, and surprise them now and then.
- Make them feel looked after, appreciated and part of the club.
Questions
Where can I find coaches for my club?
Online is a great place to start. Coaches share their work on Instagram, TikTok and local groups, so you can see how they move, teach and come across before you speak to them. Watch them take a class before agreeing anything.
How do I keep good coaches?
Give them real ownership: their own class to plan, choreograph, take to competitions and grow. Reward new students joining their class, give a surprise bonus now and then, and make them feel an important part of the club.
Should coaches get a bonus for new students?
It works well for us. A small bonus when a new student joins their class gives coaches a real reason to make every trial brilliant, and it costs far less than the new member brings in.