Hockey Training - All ABYH coaches must complete Hockey Training. Note: A coach is defined as any person on the ice for practice or bench for games. Hockey Training consists of two components: online age-specific modules and hockey clinics. What you need to do each year in order to meet the Hockey Training requirement will depend year to year.
What level of team(s) (i.e., U10, U12, etc) you are coaching will dictate what age-specific modules you’ll need to complete. For more information and to access the training, click on this link:
https://www.usahockey.com/agespecificmodules
Helpful tip – Age-specifc modules will help you coach hockey but they do take time so be sure to take a look now at what your age-specific modules consist of as completion typically cannot be accomplished in one sitting.
All coaches begin by attending an in-person level 1 clinic and then progress through the levels year by year (except coaches remaining at Mites/U8 do not need to take a level 2 clinic until moving out of Mites/U8). After completion of the in-person level 3 clinic (i.e., prior to your 3rd year of coaching), an in-person clinic will not be required for up to 5 subsequent seasons if you satisfy online refresher clinic requirements.
Level 1 through 4 IN-PERSON CLINICS must be completed by December 31st of the year in which the hockey season starts. Level 3 ONLINE REFRESHER CLINICS must be completed prior to the start of the season.
For more information and to register for a clinic, click on this link:
https://www.usahockey.com/coachingclinics
Helpful tip - Your in-person level 3 clinic is good for two seasons. After two seasons, take an online refresher clinic to meet your hockey clinic requirement. This is referred to as an online Track 1 cert and is good for two seasons. After those two seasons, take another online refresher clinic known as Track 2, which is also good for two seasons. After those two seasons (i.e., after 6 seasons at Level 3), or if you don’t take an applicable online refresher clinic, an in-person level 4 clinic will be required. Whether you need to take a level 4 clinic can be determined via the Coach/Clinic account discussed above in the Register with USA Hockey section.
Helpful tip - Dates for level 4 clinics can be extremely limited so if you want or need to take a level 4 in-person clinic, you may want to start looking for one at the beginning of the calendar year during which the applicable hockey season starts for a clinic (yes, 8-9 months in advance of the season).