Coaching Information

• Coaching clinics will be posted in July.
• Coaches have until December 15 each season to complete their coaching clinic requirement. 
• Most clinics will be virtual (online) clinics.
• You can attend any clinic, hosted by any District/Affiliate across the country. 
• Clinics are first come, first serve, and are not guaranteed to have seats available if the class roster is at full capacity. 
• There will be a variety of available clinic dates and times which will fit to every coach's schedule. 
• If you're unsure about which Level coach clinic you need to complete this year, log-in to your coaching profile page to see what level coaching certification you are. In the coaching clinic section on your coaching profile page, you will see the next clinic you are supposed to complete. If you are a new coach with no certification, please check out the CEP flow chart to see which clinic you need to take.
• Make sure you register for the correct clinic level that you need.
• Coaches can only take 1 clinic per season.

A player between the ages of 13 and 17 who is currently properly registered with USA Hockey may serve as a student coach under the following conditions:

• Must review the USA hockey powerpoint below.
• Will need to complete Safesport if turning 18 during the year in which they are coaching.
• Must always be under the supervision of a carded, screened adult coach during all practices, clinics, try-outs, and in the locker room.
• May help out at practices, clinics, try-outs only. (May not participate as a player in scrimmages or games when acting as a STUDENT COACH).
• May not act as the head coach or an assistant coach during practices or games.
• May be on the bench during games with an adult. The STUDENT COACH will count as one of the maximum of four Team Officials allowed on the bench.
• Must wear a helmet with full face shield, gloves, and skates while on the ice. Must wear helmet during games while on the bench.
• May only work with players at least one full playing age level down (e.g., a 14U age player may act as a STUDENT COACH at the 12U, 10U or 8U level).
• RWD Youth Hockey must provide a form indicating on what team he/she is participating as a student coach, and, if applicable, what team he/she is properly registered/rostered as a player. The form is below. This form stays with the association.
• Upon reaching the age of 18, the STUDENT COACH must comply with the USA Hockey Screening Program and meet the USA Hockey Coaching Education Program requirements which will qualify him/her to act as an assistant or head coach.
• Student coaches need to be a positive addition to the practice environment. They are on the ice to help, not for extra ice time.
• Whether student coaches are welcome to help with practices and games, and the number of student coaches on the ice for practices is the head coaches prerogative. All student coaching applications are subject to the final approval of the head coach and/pr coaching staff for which the student coach is helping. We need to ensure that there is a suitable number of coaches available to supervise, space available for the student coach, and willingness and ability of the coaching staff to supervise the student coach's involvement. Our first and foremost consideration is to ensure a positive environment for the skaters participating in the program.