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 is providing 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:

1. Philosophy, principles, and organizations; students must take PHED 410, Principles and Problems of Coaching.
2. Health Sciences applied to coaching:
   1. Students must take either PHED 401 (Movement in Sports) or HLTH 300 (Kinesiology)
   2. Students must take either PHED 305 (First Aid & Care of Injuries) or HLTH 202 (First Aid/CPR)
3. Theory and techniques courses in coaching: students must take one 2-credit course chosen from the following, not all of which are offered every year:

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 certificate every three years.