Required Trainings

Coaching youth sports comes with great responsibility. It’s our duty to teach children the value of athletics. We must show them the value of positive attitudes, teamwork and being competitive, not just in sports but in life. The lessons we teach them today they will carry with them FOREVER!

All coaches will be required to complete and pass a background check, ACE and SafeSport certifications and concussion training. The links to complete these certifications will be listed on this page.

A background check is required for all coaches and must be completed prior to the first practice. Please complete your background check at: https://registerusasoftball.com

Submit your receipt to the STMA GFA Board for reimbursement once the background check has cleared.

ACE:

As the National Governing Body of Softball, it is USA Softball’s responsibility to ensure that coaches achieve a certain level of understanding of what their duties are as coach of a youth softball team.

The ACE (Aspire, Challenge, Encourage) Coaching Program is a coaching education program, developed and designed to provide softball coaches of all levels – from beginning coaches to experienced veterans – an opportunity to be educated as a coach with a national softball organization. 

https://mnsoftball.com/pages/cms/ace

SafeSport:

USA Softball, under USOPC Bylaw Section 8.7.1(c), is indeed under more stringent requirements from the USCSS in regard to implementing abuse prevention training and other measures to reduce one-on-one interaction between adults and minor athletes. However, this should be viewed in a positive light as we continue to set the standard for athlete safety and well-being.

We take protecting our members both on and off the field seriously and are dedicated to building and maintaining a supportive and nurturing environment in which our participants may flourish and grow. We are the leaders in the sport of softball and as such our commitment to athlete safety is unmatched.  Simply put – USA Softball will not tolerate ANY abuse whether it is emotional, physical, mental and sexual. 

You will be able to complete both certifications in the link provided below. When you finish the training, you will need to forward the Certificate of Completion to the Board member listed on the bottom of this page.

https://mnsoftball.com/pages/cms/safesport

Concussions in youth sports is a serious concern in today’s athletic environment. The State of Minnesota requires all coaches of youth sports teams complete concussion training prior to working with athletes. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has provided the required training program that coaches will need to complete for certification. When you finish the training, you will need to forward the Certificate of Completion to the Board member listed on the bottom of this page.

The training will take about 45 minutes to complete. There is a test at the end of the training you are required to take to complete the training. You will be presented with a certificate once finished. You can also go to the CDC for more information. Each coach is required to save a copy of their certificate and email it to a Board member using the email address at the bottom of this page. 

If you have already completed this for another sport, you should already have a certificate and can forward it to the Board.

Coaches will be given information packets when they get equipment bags and/or scorebooks that they are expected to keep with them at all softball related activities.

Concussion Course:

http://train.org/main/course/1089818/

CDC:

http://cdc.gov/headsup/youthsports/training/index.html