Coaches that are not licensed to teach are required to take a coaching course as well as a sports first aid course before they may coach their second year at a WIAA member senior high school.
These two courses can be taken either through the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) www.nfhslearn.com or the American Sports Education Program (ASEP) www.asep.com/asep_content/org/WIAAWI.cfm. NFHS and ASEP course are very similar in content. Note: The coaching course through ASEP is called Coaching Techniques.
Cost for courses through NFHS: $30 for Fundamentals of Coaching $35 for First Aid for Coach.
Cost for courses through ASEP: $65 for each course.
The NFHS Fundamentals of Coaching consists of five units, will take approximately 4-6 hours to complete: Unit 1 –Educational Athletics and the Role of the Coach Unit 2 –The Coach as Manager Unit 3 – The Coach and Interpersonal Skills Unit 4 – The Coach and Physical Conditioning Unit 5 – The Coach as Teacher
The NFHS First Aid for Coaches course consists of six units, will take approximately 4 hours to complete: Unit 1 – Coaching Responsibilities and Injury Prevention Unit 2 – Preventing Disease Transmission Unit 3 – First Aid Unit 4 – Breathing Emergencies Unit 5 – Prevention and Care for Specific Injuries Unit 6 – Sudden Illness
The following individuals do not have to take an approved course:
The following individuals must take an approved course before they can coach a second year:
The following conditions do not exempt a person from the requirement:
Course requirements may be waived if individual shows documentation of study in Sports Psychology, Injury Prevention and Treatment (Sports Medicine), Teaching Techniques (Pedagogy) and Litigation/Liability (Risk Management).
Communication within an athletic department is an integral part to the overall success of the athletic program. Athletic directors need to be in contact with coaches, coaches with their players and parents and vice versa. A ladder of responsibility approach can be very effective in making sure all parties involved in a given issue are communicating effectively. The WIAA was established to serve its member schools. In order to serve the members effectively, inquires should come directly from individuals of a member school and not from parents. Here is a suggested way for dealing with questions:
Example: Player or his/her parent has a question about a WIAA eligibility rule. Player/parent should contact the individual in their district responsible for athletic eligibility. Step 1 – Player/parent should ask his/her athletic director for an answer to his/her question. Step 2 – Athletic director should provide response if he/she knows the correct answer. If athletic director is not knowledgeable, consult WIAA materials for a possible answer or contact the WIAA for assistance. Step 3 – Once an answer is obtained, the response should be communicated with the coach, athlete, and parent either verbally or in a written format.
Keys to the success of this approach: 1. Player/parent need to understand that questions need to be asked at the local level first and that he/she should not contact the WIAA for a response prior to seeking an answer locally. 2. Coaches should not be contacting the WIAA directly without first involving the school's athletic director. 3. If the athletic director is unable to find the answer in WIAA supplied materials, he/she needs to contact the appropriate WIAA staff member and get an answer to the question. 4. The athletic director needs to communicate the answer to the question to all involved parties in a timely manner. 5. An Athletic Director should not tell a parent to call the WIAA directly to obtain an answer to his/her question. If the athletic director does not know the answer to the specific question, the athletic director should call the WIAA for assistance.
Coaching Fundamentals Course
First Aid Course
Concussion Course - Free
Sportsmanship Course - Free
The Role of Parent in Sports- Free
NFHS Complete Course Listing
NFHS Coaching Today Magazine
Baseball Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association
Basketball Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association
Cross Country Wisconsin Cross Country Coaches Association
Football Wisconsin Football Coaches Association
Golf Golf Coaches Association of Wisconsin
Gymnastics Wisconsin High School Gymnastics Association
Hockey Wisconsin Hockey Coaches Association
Soccer Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association Wisconsin Youth Soccer Association Madison Soccer Central
Softball Wisconsin Fastpitch Coaches Association Amateur Softball Association
Swimming & Diving Wisconsin Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association
Tennis Wisconsin High School Tennis Coaches Association
Track & Field Wisconsin Track Coaches Association Wisconsin Pole Vault Coaches Association
Volleyball Wisconsin Volleyball Coaches Association
Wrestling Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Association Wisconsin Amateur Wrestling
Coaches are required to watch the rules video and write the exam each season in the sport they coach.
Spring Sport Exams are now available. Click on the SCHOOLS tab on the main page --- choose RULES MEETINGS & EXAMS (or simply click link below) -- please read the instructions provided prior to starting the exam.
Rules Meetings & Exams