USA Hockey Coaches Certification Process

Here is a list of the steps necessary to complete the USA Hockey certification process. All coaches and assistants must complete each of the following tasks to be added to the roster. We realize that this can be a bit confusing so please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions.   

USA Hockey Number- If you have not already done so, register with USA hockey for the current season ASAP (https://membership.usahockey.com/) Please email your USA Hockey Number to Angela Tabb at angelamtabb@gmail.com. This should take all of five minutes

Coaching Profile- Log into/Create your coach’s profile (https://courses.usahockey.com/public/) Once in Select “My Profile” at the top and “Coaching Information at the left. This will bring you to the coaching dashboard which will help you with the following tasks

Background Screen- Complete the background Screening form. It takes 5-10 minutes to complete the form but up to two weeks to process so we recommend doing this early. Once on the Coaching Information page, look for the screening section (see below).  If you completed this last year, you are all set (these are good for two years). Please confirm your status on your coach’s dashboard if you’re not sure. If you do need to renew it, click the screening renewal link.

Safe Sport- Complete Safe Sport the first time (an hour) or Safe Sport refresher (30 Minutes). Again, the dashboard will guide you to the task and these need to be renewed annually. Note you need to use your USA hockey number to access the courses. Safe Sport applies to the calendar year (not the season) and must be completed annually.

Foundations of Player Development- Prior to registering for the appropriate age module (see below), you must first complete the Foundations of Player Development course. This is a one-time course that does not need to be repeated. It does need to be completed within 60 days of starting it.

Age Modules- Age modules need to be completed for each age group.  If coaching Mites/U8 you need to complete the U8 Module, Squirts/U10 the U10 etc. Note these do not expire so if you completed these in years past and are coaching at the same level you are all set. These can take an hour or two in total (you can skip ahead to the quizzes) and you can start and stop. Please be aware they can reset if you leave them dormant for a long time, so we recommend completing them within a week or two.

• Age Modules Completed will show up on the right side of your information page
• To register for a module, select the module information link here

Certification Clinics- All coaches need to attend a certification clinic annually. These clinics are sequential meaning you have to attend a Level 1 clinic before level 2 and 2 before 3 etc.  Starting in 2021, USA Hockey offered virtual clinics in addition to in person.

• If you are a new coach to USA Hockey, you will need to start by completing your level 1, no matter what age category you are coaching
• If you have a level 1 and are coaching 8U, then you are not required to take your level 2 even when your Level 1 shows expired you are still eligible to coach 8U or Mite.
• If you have a level 1 and are coaching any age category older than 8U or Mite, you must take your level 2.
• If you are coaching any age category older than 8U or Mite, you must complete the next clinic level in consecutive years
• It does not matter what district you live in or what district is putting on the specific clinic you need, you can register for it.
• You can only take 1 clinic per year (unless you are a level 4 or 5 obtaining continuing education credits)
• It does not matter what age group you are coaching, your coaching level is not tied to your age group (exception is the 8U or Mite rule stated above. 

These clinics are usually about 6-8 hours in total. We recommend signing up and completing them early. A list of clinics is available at https://www.usahockey.com/coachingclinics

There are also some clinics that focus coaching on female athletes but if you are a girls coach you do not need to sign up for these focused sessions. Also, for the in-person clinics there are some that do have a skating element so check whether you need to bring your equipment prior to attending.