USA Hockey Coaching Requirements

STEPS TO BECOME A USA HOCKEY COACH

USA Hockey and the Coaching Education Program require both certification and registration to be eligible to coach. Registration is conducted online on an annual basis. All coaches and assistants must complete the following tasks to be added to the roster. We understand that this can be confusing, so please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions.  

Certification is also required. A few basic steps are as follows:

USA Hockey Requirements (Must be completed before participating in any team activities)

• Register as a member of USA Hockey. (Cost is $52).
• Complete the background screening. (Cost is $30)
• Complete the USA Hockey Safe Sport Training. (Required every year and cannot be added to a roster until completed.) 

1. Complete the Age Module. Cost is $20 for the 6u/8u module; all others are $25. If needed. You must have completed the age group module for the team(s) you are coaching (8U, 10U/12U, or 13U and above). These modules do not expire, so if you have already done the module in a previous season, you do not need to complete it again. Before completing modules, new coaches are required to complete the Foundations of Player Development Module.

• Must be completed before participating in any team activities and cannot be added to a roster until completed.

Coaching Education Program Certification Clinic Requirements (Must be completed before December 15 each season)

• The Cost is $65. You can only attend one clinic per season. All coaches must enter USA Hockey's Coaching Education Program at the 6U/8U clinic if they are coaching at the Learn To Play/Learn To Skate/6U/8U classification or Level 1 if they are coaching 10U classification and above. You can take clinics from July 15 to December 15 each season.

NEW STARTING with 2025/2026, ALL COACHES need to create a profile in the new platform, USHA Learning Center, where all of the above requirements can be completed from your Coaching Profile Page at the New USA Hockey Learning Center.

• You'll need a USA Hockey Single Sign-On ID (SSO), which will be provided after you submit your online membership application and payment. Please note that the user ID is specific and unique to the member it is assigned to; it is not the same as your USA Hockey confirmation number or member number.
• Log in to the USA Hockey Learning Center using your SSO.. 

(Required Coaching Education Program Levels for Ice Hockey-

(a) All coaches must enter USA Hockey's Coaching Education Program at the 6U/8U clinic if coaching Learn To Skate, Learn To Play, and/or 6U/8U classifications or a Level 1 clinic if they are coaching 10U classification and above. 

Coaches at the 6U/8U Level do not need to progress any further until one of the following occurs:

1. The coach moves up to another age classification above 8U, or
2. The coach returns to 6U/8U for the fifth consecutive season, and the level is now expired.

Coaches at the 6U/8U level must complete the 6U/8U refresher education every five years if they continue to coach at the 6U/8U classification or LTS/LTP.

**Coaches in 6U/8U should not take Level 1 until they begin coaching at the 10U classification and above.

As of the 2025-26 season, Level 1 coaches must continue their education with a coaching clinic each year until they are coaching an older age level of play or a non-disabled hockey team.

A coach may attend only one certification clinic per year. This does not include continuing education clinics or modules. The 6U/8U clinic can be taken by coaches who are Level 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 for continuing education credit.

*NEW* for 25-26, all clinics must be completed by December 15. Levels 1, 2, and 3 certifications expire on December 31 of each calendar year. Clinics for the 25-26 season will be posted at the end of July.

(b) In addition to the training in paragraph (a) above, coaches must also complete online age-specific training modules specific to the level of play they are coaching, if they have not already taken that module. This requirement applies to all coaches at all levels, 6U/8U through 5. Coaches may complete more than one age-specific module in any given season. As of the 2023-24 season, all coaches must complete the Foundations for Player Development and the age-specific modules before participating with a team.

(c) Effective in the 2022-23 season, Level 4 coaching certifications are valid for three (3) seasons, and Level 5 coaching certifications are valid for four (4) seasons, each as indicated by an expiration date.

(d) Grandfather Clause

For those coaches who received Level 4 or Level 5 certification before January 1, 2021, and who are coaching or begin to coach after this date, any Tier I or Tier II teams will be required to complete continuing education as specified in (c) above.

Coaches who received a Level 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 before January 1, 2025, and who are coaching after this date, may coach at the 6U/8U classification or LTS/LTP classification with their current level, even if expired.

If a 6U/8U coach pursues a higher level of education after January 1, 2025, they are no longer grandfathered at the 6U/8U level and must remain current in their education, regardless of the age classification they are coaching.

(e) Previous/Expired Certifications

Coaches with any expired certification will retain their previous certification levels, provided the certification can be verified and documented. Coaches may re-enter the certification system at that previous level and be subject to the certification guidelines in (a) through (c) above and/or (f) below.

Continuing Education (CE) Accumulation and Expiration

The USA Hockey clinic listings will indicate all continuing education offerings and their corresponding credit values. The Coaching Education Program retains the responsibility for defining continuing education credit values, including clinic or online coursework.

Coaches at Levels 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 may accumulate continuing education credits and will remain available for a maximum of 8 years since completion, subject to the expiration of credit hours for Levels 4 and 5.

Coaches at the 6U/8U Level will be able to take continuing education but will not be able to bank credit hours.

Once a Level 4 or 5 coach reaches their expiration date, all credits will be applied to their account. If they have fulfilled their 5 credits of continuing education, their certification will renew.

Any credits above the five needed to recertify their Level 4 or 5, the credits will be erased from their account.

Coaches who do not complete their required continuing education before the deadline will be listed as redlined on the roster and will be ineligible to coach until they have completed the required credits.

For an overview of available courses, including the number of credits each course offers, prices, policies, and other important details. https://www.usahockey.com/coaching-continuingeducation

Questions contact: Lorraine Winslow, Wizards CHC/Player Rep @ coachielorraine23@gmail.com 

CEP PROGRESSION GUIDELINES BELOW: