Carolina Amateur Hockey Association

All coaches must have the required certification level by January 1 of the current season, unless earlier deadlines are established by the district and/or affiliate. All coaches must complete the online age-specific modules PRIOR to participating with their team.

• All coaches must enter USA Hockey’s Coaching Education Program at Level 1, and must continue their education with a coaching clinic each year until, at a minimum, they achieve Level 4. Coaches of only 8 and Under (8U) players should remain at Level 1 until such time as they are coaching any older age level of play.
• A coach may attend only one (1) certification clinic per year. Once Level 4 is achieved, coaches will need to complete 5 credit hours of continuing education within each subsequent three-year period [as outlined in below].
• In addition to the training in paragraph (a) above, coaches must also complete online age-specific training modules specific to the level of play they are coaching, if they have not already taken that module. This requirement applies to all coaches at all levels, 1 through 5. Coaches may complete more than one age-specific module in any given season.
• Effective in the 2021-22 season, coaching certification at Levels 4 and 5 is valid for three (3) seasons, as indicated by the expiration date. Before the expiration of their level, coaches must accumulate 5 credit hours of continuing education by either taking Level 5, or by attending other USA Hockey continuing education clinics. The USA Hockey clinic listings will indicate all continuing education offerings and the credit value of each. The Coaching Education Program retains the responsibility for defining continuing education credit values, including clinic or online course work.
• Grandfather Clause
  For those coaches who received Level 4 or Level 5 PRIOR TO January 1, 2021, only coaches of Tier I and Tier II teams are required to do continuing education as required in (c) above.
• Previous/Expired Certifications Coaches with any expired certification will retain their previous certification levels provided the certification can be verified. Coaches may re-enter the certification system at that previous level and be subject to the certification guidelines in (a) through (c) above.

In summary, for grandfathered Level 4 and 5 coaches, you could be subjected to the continuing education as explained above. If you coached an approved roster at the Tier I or Tier II classification, for any age level, during the 2020-21 season your CEP expiration has been changed from 12/31/2099 to 12/31/2025. If changed you are now on the continuing education path needing to earn five credits over the next three seasons. You can view your coaching profile at https://courses.usahockey.com/public/ to see this change.

Currently, courses are being developed that will be available in the 2021-22 season to earn continuing education credits. Credits can be earned by taking specific coaching clinics or learning modules that will be in the e-learning system. Additional information on these courses and how to access will be available in near future.

All coaches must adhere to the new Coaching Education Program guidelines.

USA Hockey CEP Rules and Regulations

Thank you to the coaches that filled out our 2019 Coaching Survey. There are approximately 650 registered USAH coaches in CAHA. The survey was sent out in November 2019 and we received 149 responses or 24% response rate. The results are outlined in the attached documents but here are the headlines:

• Coaches responding were 95% male and 99% Caucasian (of those that noted their race).
• We have a wide range of experience, levels coached, age groups coached, and types of hockey coached.
• 75% of the coaches are parent coaches so if you recruit the players, we recruit coaches.
• Our coaches are coaching for the right reasons – to coach young people, because their child plays, teach life lessons, and pass on their knowledge of the game.
• Our coaches invest their time in the sport - 64% if our coaches spent 5 or more hours a week coaching, 60% spend between 2-7 hours a week.
• 94% of coaches said either that Skill Development was their priority or that Skill Development and Winning were equally important.
• Only 44% of Coaches said they had an Above Average or High level of confidence in their knowledge of High Performance Coaching Techniques.
• Coaches are using ADM principles in their practices with 88% using station-based practices, 76% using small games, 74% using shared ice, and 39% using an off-ice program.
• When asked about the best way to deliver coaching development – 58% of the coaches said on-line, 50% in-person seminars, 35% CAHA website, 28% Webinars, 24% Association training, 24% USA Hockey website, and 24% CEP classes.
• 91% said they would attend a Coaching Symposium in Charlotte or Raleigh in May or June.
• In the Open-ended questions about how USA Hockey/CAHA can support them or improve the hockey experience, the word “parent” was mentioned 43 times indicating that this is a big concern.

The USA Hockey Skills Progressions Manual now includes links to skills videos. This manual covers a variety of age-specific skill progressions and teaching points for all age categories, from 8U to 16U.

Skills & Drills Videos