Forums >Off the Beaten Path>Cross country certification
Village people
Hi all,
I am helping coach my HS’s cross country team next year. I have books suggested by the head coach and am reading a few on my own but he didn’t think I needed any certification from USATF. I am thinking about doing it for my confidence. I no longer have a kid on the team but I still know many of them so I also kind of feel I might be taken a bit more seriously. Any thoughts? Suggestions which course I should do? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
Are we there, yet?
I would think the place to start would be here
https://www.usatf.org/programs/coaches/coaching-education
with level 1 and the cross country special program.
It's been years since I coached HS so I have no idea what a school district may require now. Back then the main requirement was being a school district employee and willingness to do the job, at least for cross country and track. I squeaked in as an unpaid volunteer and relied on my personal experience and what I had learned, both good and bad, from the coaches I had trained under. I felt one of the strongest points in being successful was running the workouts with the team, that I wasn't asking anything from them that I wasn't willing to do myself.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
Thank you! That was the course I was looking at online. I’ll also take a CPR course. I spent the track season timing workouts and asking questions. It is a small school but we have had some success. I figure the more I know the more I can help him out.
I have done volunteer coaching over my entire running career. So I guess the question I would ask is whether you would like to coach in a volunteer capacity or in a paid capacity. If you are looking at volunteer coaching, most cross country and track coaches are looking for assistance with logistics - taking splits, serving as a sweeper on runs, putting a small group through a workout, etc. Since you are following the coaches’ directions all you need to have completed is a police background check (necessary in most states), first aid/CPR classes, and have a basic knowledge of the sport. If you are looking at getting paid for coaching and setting workouts then you would likely need to add coaching certification classes.
That pretty much sums up what I will be doing. Thank you. I’m not really looking to get paid but I have really enjoyed helping.