This package includes the following:

• Online reading assignments and activities
• Online Coaching Aids documents
• Online Coaching Essentials certification test
• Online IESA certification test

Learn fundamental concepts, and come away with the most important points for coaching the skills and tactics of youth sports.

In IESA Coaching Essentials Online Course, you’ll learn to prepare for your season and provide the best possible experience for your athletes. The course is supplemented by excerpts taken from various Coaching Youth Sport books (written by Human Kinetics Coach Education), which are provided as PDFs within the online course. As you progress through the course, you’ll be prompted to read excerpts to complete course activities.

The course includes many interactive exercises that apply the concepts from the book excerpts. It also includes a handy Coaches’ Clipboard utility with forms, documents, and detailed plans for successful practice sessions and game-day coaching.

After completing the course units, you’ll take the 30-question Coaching Essentials test online, as well as a test covering IESA-specific policies and points of emphasis. Upon successfully passing the tests, you will be entered in the National Coaches Registry, an online listing of coaches who've completed Human Kinetics Coach Education courses. Sport administrators have access to the registry, allowing them to track coaches' course completion.

Learning Objectives
In this course, you’ll learn how to

• focus on middle school interscholastic coaching;
• meet your coaching responsibilities, including examining your priorities as a coach;
• communicate effectively with athletes, parents, and officials;
• provide for safety and respond to injuries;
• develop a training program for athletes to promote lifelong fitness;
• prepare for, and coach on, competition day;
• create plans for your season and individual practices; and
• understand the bylaws of the Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA).

Estimated time to complete the Coaching Essentials Online Course and online exam is 2 hours. Estimated time to complete the IESA bylaws online exam is 1 hour. The time required to complete the courses and exams will vary based on the individual coach’s reading speed and study habits.

Audience

Sport coaches of athletes ages 6 to 13 participating in a recreational, noncompetitive setting.

Your Responsibilities as Coach
Communication
Safety and Fitness
Teaching and Shaping Skills
Coaching on Competition Day
Season and Practice Plans
IESA Bylaws

The Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) provides the leadership and framework to ensure safe, equitable opportunities for students who are enriched through participation in education-based interscholastic activities.

Established in 1981 and rooted in an athlete-centered philosophy that places the developmental needs of athletes ahead of winning at all costs, Human Kinetics Coach Education courses and resources are customized and widely used by youth sport organizations, state high school associations, school districts, state departments of education, colleges and universities, and national governing bodies of Olympic sports to teach, train, and certify coaches.