A ruling by the New York State Board of Regents requires that all public school coaches must be certified by an approved program of certification or be a certified teacher of physical education. Marist has been approved as a certifying institution and provides the courses leading to coaching certification in New York State.

The course areas offered are mandated by the state and fall into three basic areas:

• Philosophy, Principles, and Organizations of Athletics in Education: 

1. Students must take PHED 410 (Principles and Problems of Coaching)

• Health Sciences Applied to Coaching:

1. Students must take either PHED 401 (Movement in Sports) or HLTH 300 (Kinesiology)
2. Students must take HLTH 202 (First Aid/CPR)

• Theory and Techniques of Coaching:

1. Students must take one 2-credit course chosen from the following, not all of which are offered every year:

• PHED 310: Soccer Coaching
• PHED 311: Basketball Coaching
• PHED 313: Baseball Coaching
• PHED 314: Football Coaching

Child Abuse and Violence Abuse Workshops

In accordance with Section 801.4, completion of a study in child abuse identification and reporting, and school violence prevention and intervention is required. All candidates shall have completed at least two clock hours of coursework or training regarding the identification and reporting of suspected child abuse or maltreatment in accordance with the requirements of sections 3003(4) and 3004 of the Education Law, and completed at least two clock hours of coursework or training in school violence prevention and intervention, as required by section 3004 of the Education Law. An additional workshop includes: Training in Harassment, Bullying, Cyberbullying and Discrimination in Schools: Prevention and Intervention (DASA Training).

Check with the local BOCES for course offerings, or go to the following links to find an online class:

http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/certificate/ca.html (Child Abuse Identification)
http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/certificate/save.html (SAVE)
http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/certificate/dasa.html (DASA Training)

To gain a temporary coaching license, the applicant must submit evidence of completion of an acceptable first aid and CPR course (see above), and a concussion training course (every two years). Completion of the training at either of the following links satisfy the concussion training requirement:

https://www.cdc.gov/headsup/youthsports/training/index.html
https://nfhslearn.com/courses/concussion-in-sports-2

Upon completion of all of these courses, it is the student's responsibility to contact the New York State Education Department to apply for a certificate, which is not issued by Marist College. It is also the student's responsibility to take appropriate steps to renew the temporary license annually for the first three years. After the third year the student can then apply for a professional coaching license, which is valid for three years.