Course Components
The course includes excerpts from the Successful Coaching, Sport First Aid, and Coaching [Sport] Technical and Tactical Skills textbooks (delivered as PDFs), video clips, one-year access to the course, Coaching Aids (PDF downloads), the 50-question test and automatic test scoring, certificate of course completion printable from the website, and entry in the National Coaches Registry. You will have immediate access to the course upon purchase, and nothing will be shipped to you.

Course Description
Gleaning material from the Coaching Principles, Sport First Aid, and Coaching [Sport] Technical and Tactical Skills courses and accompanying texts, the Basic VHSL course provides up-and-coming Virginia coaches with the essentials to step on the field for the first time. Clocking in at six hours, the Basic VHSL course features interactive exercises, engaging graphics, poignant video vignettes, and quick pace to form a course that is informative, eye-opening, and enjoyable.

After completing this course, you should be able to do the following:

• Develop your personal coaching philosophy and coaching objectives.
• Recognize your role in helping your players develop good character.
• Evaluate and improve your communication skills.
• Describe how to build team chemistry and manage your athletes’ behavior using positive discipline and team rules.
• Recognize how to work effectively with administrators, officials, parents, and the media.
• Recognize what motivates high school athletes and explain how to integrate this knowledge with innovative approaches to learning in order to be an effective teacher.
• Create plans for teaching technical and tactical skills and describe how to effectively teach and practice these skills.
• Identify educational resources for learning about and keeping abreast of sport-specific skills and the latest technological advances in a sport.
• Recognize your legal responsibilities related to managing risk.
• Explain your responsibilities for ensuring the safety of your athletes, including the following: working with other members of the athletic health care team; handling medical and weather emergencies; providing safe athletic facilities and equipment; and coordinating physical exams and medical records.
• Recognize your role in promoting physical fitness with your athletes.
• Develop instructional plans for the season and for individual practices.

Audience

Geared toward Virginia high school coaches, serious club coaches, college and university undergraduate students, and advanced coaches at the youth level (those who coach athletes ages 14 and older), the Basic VHSL course covers the fundamentals of being a successful coach—on and off the field.

All content for this course is delivered online; no print materials will be sent to you.