Mapping School-Based Coach Education Requirements in the United States

in International Sport Coaching Journal

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Obidiah Atkinson Department of Human Sciences, College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

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https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1923-8476 *
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Samantha Bates College of Social Work, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0915-5709
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Dawn Anderson-Butcher College of Social Work, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

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https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7231-8323
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Sydney Mack College of Social Work, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

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https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4681-0378
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Jacqueline Goodway Department of Human Sciences, College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2199-2577
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/iscj.2022-0032
Keywords:
school-based coaches; coach education; national policy; cost analysis
First Published Online:
21 Dec 2022
In Print:
Volume 10: Issue 2
Page Range:
276–288
Restricted access

To date, there is a critical gap in our understanding of coach licensure and training requirements for school-based coaches across the United States. The current study categorizes the policy landscape for school-based coaches by examining public documents that outline state-specific (N = 51) coach training requirements. In addition, authors engaged in an in-depth curriculum and cost analysis of required coach trainings in the state of Ohio to better understand training topics, costs, time commitments, and state-specific compliance criteria guiding coach education. Findings indicated most states (n = 49, 96%) require training for coaches; however, governing bodies, training topics, and coach-specific training (i.e., assistant, volunteer, and middle school) varied significantly by state. Moreover, our curriculum and cost analysis revealed that licensure processes are costly and time-intensive, and training content predominantly focused on physical health and safety with less emphasis on social–emotional health and youth development. Findings have important education, practice, and policy implications for informing a national coach training agenda.

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