How I got that job: Willie Taylor, 50, St. Paul

Job: St. Paul Central High School head girls basketball coach, where he's coached for 10 years, made it to five state tournaments and won two state championships (in 2007 and 2008). Taylor was also inducted into the Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Association hall of fame in 2009. He also is head track coach at Central and coaches AAU summer basketball. During the day, he works at Central as a study hall monitor.

Coaching salary: $5,000 to $8,000 per sports season (for a head coach in the St. Paul public schools).

Sports background: I did track and field and basketball in high school and college.

Education: I went to the University of Minnesota, Duluth, the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and I'm currently enrolled at Metropolitan State University, finishing up my bachelor's in a design-your-own degree program.

Current sports? Racquetball.

How did you begin coaching? I had a sports background, and I've always been interested in coaching. I started coaching at the YMCA here, and I worked there for over 20 years. I applied for the boys basketball coaching position at Washington Junior High, and didn't get the job. So a friend asked if I wanted to help him coach girls. My first high school coaching job was as assistant girls basketball coach at Harding High School in 1985. So I got into girls basketball and was successful, and that's where I've stayed.

What do you do every day as a coach? Starting out, you use experience you got when you were coached. You watch basketball, and there are basketball tapes and basketball clinics that you can go to, and you talk with other coaches.

That changes as you get older. Now, I really get enjoyment out of seeing kids set a goal, work for it, and the happiness on their faces from completing that goal. Not just in sports, but in life.

What's hard about being a coach? You are always coaching. Sometimes I get phone calls or text messages at 1:30 in the morning. Even after kids graduate, they have problems from time to time and you're still "Coach Taylor" all the time in your life. You've got to make yourself available.

What inspires your work? I really like to see people succeed at their goals. It's the greatest feeling when you see a kid that you knew in ninth grade [who] was going nowhere ... come back to Central and say, "Hey, Coach T!" and they give me a big hug because they're successful in life. That's the biggest thrill that I get out of coaching.

In 10 years I'd like to be ... Working just one job (probably working with kids), living life and focusing on enjoying my family and my little girl Julia (who's 3).