Coaches, please be aware of the following:
Background Checks
Background checks MUST be processed prior to participating in any team activities. This must be done for ALL personnel that are going to have direct contact with any of your team members. The background check is a quick and easy process, and is done on-line through MAHA's web site. Click here for a direct link to the page. Type in all the information requested, then submit. A confirmation will be e-mailed back to you. Bring a printed copy of the confirmation to the arena and turn it in to whoever is responsible for completing your team's roster, i.e. head coach, team manager, or hockey director.
New Process for Clinic Registrations
The USA Hockey Coaching Clinic registration process has changed somewhat. To register for any clinic, a user account must now be completed in order to sign up for a clinic.. It's a one-time process, and will make future clinic sign-ups quicker and easier. This is also being done as a way to deal with a number of coaches using different names (Dan, Daniel; Mike, Michael; Ken, Kenneth) when registering, thus causing confusion in the system on whether it's the same person... the name that was used for the first clinic ever taken is the only name the system recognizes. Click here and completely read the step-by-step process. Another direct link, "Coaching Clinics," is also provided at the top of this page (left hand links).
New rules regarding coaching clinics...
Coaches can now take all the coaching clinics needed to coach at the level they're currently coaching, in one season. If it means taking 3 clinics, then you'll be allowed to take 3 clinics. The clinics MUST be taken in order, as required by USA Hockey. I.E. Level 1, then Level 2, then Level 3, etc. Under the old rule, a new coach could only take a max of 2 clinics in one season, then apply for a waiver if more was needed. A stipulation of the new rule - coaches are only allowed to take the clinics needed for the level they're coaching. For more on this, click here and read the download from Jack Witt, Michigan's Coach-In-Chief. He explains the new rules concerning coaching education program (CEP) requirements. Included in the download is the CEP level requirement chart.
Renewing a Coaching (CEP) Card
Any existing coach, level 1 thru 3, with the newest clinic sticker (the last clinic taken) being the year 05-06 must take a clinic this year. A level 1 coach must take a level 2 clinic, a level 2 coach must take a level 3. A level 3 coach has several options which include the following... take another level 3 clinic, renew on-line thru USA Hockey, go to a workshop clinic, or take a level 4 clinic. With the cost and availability of level 4 clinics, unless it's something that's absolutely necessary for you to have or you want to go for the advance education, I'd opt for the other options. Level 4 and 5 coaches are good to go for life.
Waiver Information
Any coaches needing a waiver must apply for a temporary coaching card. Click here for the application for the temporary coaching card. It must be printed out and mailed to Jack Witt, Michigan's Coach-In-Chief, by Dec. 31st (postmark date). The address is on the application form. No waiver will be issued if postmarked after Dec. 31st, NO EXCEPTIONS. The waiver application must be mailed as no online waiver application process is available. As of Jan. 1st, you will not be allowed to coach until the temporary coaching card is in hand so apply in a timely manner. The waiver process takes time because after the application is mailed to Jack, it's sent on to USA Hockey's Coaching Department in Colorado, the issuer of the temporary card. The temporary coaching card is good for one season ONLY. You will incur a $50 fee for this one time temporary coaching card. You will only be allowed one temporary coaching card for the entire time you coach youth hockey so use this waiver wisely. And one final word on this - just because you apply for a temporary coaching card doesn't mean one will be automatically issued to you. Denials may happen, with no appeal process allowed. To avoid all of this - go to the required clinics.
Coaching Level Certification Chart
To find out Michigan Amateur Hockey Association's required coaching level certifications, click here. The chart is also listed on page 15 of MAHA's Annual Guide/Bylaws/Rules booklet. A copy is available in every association's office.
Important Update on the Use of On / Off Ice Instructors
At the ACE Director's meeting in Ann Arbor, it was stated that using instructors and other coaching specialists, paid versus non-paid, was allowed only after adhering to very strict rules. I contacted Grant Helms, MAHA's Risk and Liability specialist. He clarified the situation for me. First, using an instructor, such as a power skating instructor, is allowed on your team's ice as long as the instructor isn't doing it for profit, he/she isn't a regular person on your team's ice, and the coaches are present on the ice while he/she is instructing. In this case, he/she must also wear a helmet and it's strongly suggested that he/she show some proof of submitting to a background check. If the instructor is doing it for profit then he/she must buy the ice and provide insurance for the players, as USA Hockey will not accept liability. In this case, it's the instructor's ice so the liability is his/hers and if the instructor chooses not to wear a helmet while instructing on-ice, so be it. Unpaid instructors and other coaches, such as a Flint General's player or a coach that's instructing goaltenders or giving a checking clinic, etc., must submit to a background check and wear a helmet. As long as this person isn't a regular guest with your team, no other requirements are needed. If this person is a regular with your team then they would have to be rostered with your team, have a USA Hockey coaching card with the same level of certification that's required to be a coach with your team, and file all necessary paperwork. By no means does this open up using non-rostered and unregistered fathers/mothers/friends on a non-regular basis to help out during a practice. If this happens, the head coach will be held fully liable and could be removed from coaching. Using an off-ice instructor, such as a trainer, requires a background check.
Any questions regarding clinics, requirements, etc., please feel free to contact me at mickcam@aol.com.
Mick Carroll
GFHA's ACE Director 
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