One of the largest initiatives using coaching has been Reading First, a federal project whose purpose is to improve reading outcomes for students in low-performing K-3 schools. The present study addressed two questions: (1) Who becomes a reading coach, and what background, skills, and qualifications do coaches bring to their jobs? and (2) How do coaches actually perform their jobs? That is, how do they spend their time, and what do they see as their focus? The research answers these questions with data from and about Reading First coaches. The answers are relevant for Reading First--which includes about 1,550 districts and 5,200 schools across the nation. They are also relevant for the many other schools and districts emulating Reading First. Simply knowing that literacy coaches are in schools does not imply anything about how those individuals spend their time--there is a difference between being a coach and doing coaching. The researchers identified five categories of coaches: data-oriented; student-oriented; managerial; and two teacher-oriented categories, one that works largely with individual teachers; and another that works with groups. The article begins by describing what the literature says about coaching and coaching. It defines coaching and explains what coaches do besides coaching, how coaching affects teachers and student achievement, and how coaching is done in the Reading First program. The article then details the findings of the present study which builds on the findings of the previous literature and looks at who becomes a Reading First coach and how coaches actually spend their time. Methods are presented in an appendix. (Contains 9 tables, 1 box, and 3 notes.) [This report was prepared for the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education by Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest administered by Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.]