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Coaches

USA Hockey Coaches Code of Conduct

          • Winning is a consideration, but not the only one, nor the most important one. Care more about the child than winning the game. Remember, players are involved in hockey for fun and enjoyment.
          • Be a positive role model to your players. Display emotional maturity and be alert to the physical safety of players.
          • Be generous with your praise when it is deserved; be consistent and honest; be fair and just; do not criticize players publicly; learn to be a more effective communicator and coach; don’t yell at players.
​​​​​​​          • Adjust to personal needs and problems of players; be a good listener; never verbally or physically abuse a player or official; give all players the opportunity to improve their skills, gain confidence and develop self-esteem; teach players the basics.
​​​​​​​          • Organize practices that are fun and challenging for your players. Familiarize yourself with the rules, techniques and strategies of hockey; encourage all your players to be team players.
​​​​​​​          • Maintain an open line of communication with your players’ parents. Explain the goals and objectives of your association.
​​​​​​​          • Be concerned with the overall development of your players. Stress good health habits and clean living.
          • To play the game is great, to love the game is greater.


Required Steps to become a Coach

These are the steps to become an on-ice coach for NMAHA as required by USA Hockey and our parent affiliate, the Land of Enchantment Amateur Hockey Association (LOEAHA).

Steps 1 through 4 MUST be completed before you can go on the ice and receive your coaching discount for your player's registration (as applicable: 1xHead Coach; 2xAss't Coaches per level). 

All links will open in a new tab, so you can return to this list.  Links referenced here are also at the bottom of this page.

1. Register online with USA Hockey (USAH) as a Player/Coach (CLICK HERE) - this cost can be reimbursed by NMAHA on request.  Should be $56 total ($46 to USA Hockey, $10 to LOEAHA).

2. When you register with USA Hockey you will receive a confirmation email and there will be a link for the Background Screening (can click this one too).  You will need your USA Hockey Confirmation Number in the process. Look for the red bar noting "    CLICK HERE TO BEGIN A NEW BACKGROUND SCREEN     ".
Before requesting a screening (unless you are new to hockey), please check the LOEAHA “Good to Go” list to confirm that you already have a valid screening or if you need a new screening - remember, it shows the season when the NEW screening will be necessary & NOT the season it is good through!
The NCSI site should pre-populate the Self Registration ID Number (35615801) for USA Hockey as the requestor & this is different than your USAH Number needed later in the process.
After the questions page, choose the top method to search for your information (last name, SSN, DOB) - no one knows where to find the Applicant ID for the bottom method (unless you saved it from the last page of a previous screen request).
Ensure you have a picture (via your phone or a scan) of the front of your Driver's license ready to upload.

At least for this 2023-24 Season there should NOT be any cost for the background screen.
It is likely that starting in the 2024-25 season there will be an individual cost for this screening going forward.  What that exact cost will be is still TBD...

3. Complete the SafeSport Training (required every year).  There isn't a certificate to save any longer.  This training resets every September - so it is recommended to knock this out in mid-to-late September before the season starts the first week of October.  There's still no cost on this training. (CLICK HERE - Create an account if necessary)

Once into the USA Hockey Courses site, click on the "My Profile" tab at the top & choose "Coaching Information" in the gray box. this will show your CEP #, Certification Level (& when it expires), all age modules completed (see below) and there's a gray box under SafeSport for training/renewals - that's the link you want to click to complete this training.

4. Complete Age-Appropriate Training via USA Hockey's Coaching Education Program (CEP). The level(s) you will be coaching MUST be completed before you can go on the ice once the season starts.
          - This is where it can get a bit confusing as there are a lot of old and/or separate links under USAH.  Create an account or log in at courses.usahockey.com - this mainly for the annual Coaching Clinics covered in #5 below.
          - Once logged in there on the Home page (might need to click "Home" along the top), down under Coaching (below Officiating...) there is a gray box noting "Coaching E-Learning : click here" - click that link. This will take you to the learning.usahockey.com page (may require another account creation or login).  Once into this page, in the "My Courses" section, the "Available Courses" tab should be selected and a section called "Coaching Courses" has a Click Here link - this finally goes to the Age-Appropriate Modules!
          - You must take the "Foundations of Player Development" as a pre-requisite for any of the other modules.
          - Age-Appropriate Modules are $10 each, but you can request to get reimbursed by NMAHA for these (click here for the form).

5. Once confirmed as either a Coach or Manager, click the following link to complete the Coach registration with NMAHA (to be rostered to your team, communications, etc.)

LINK to 2023-24 NMAHA Coach/Manager Registration

6. Complete your Coaching Clinic via the courses.usahockey.com in #4 above either online or in-person before December 31st - or you cannot get on the ice starting January 1st until it is completed.
The Coaching Clinic is NOT required to be on the ice for the first half of the season, but it is highly recommended to knock it out as soon as you can before the end of the calendar year as noted above. In checking for this season, the virtual Clinics are ~$60 to attend.

7. Review the USA Hockey Concussion Information. There's no longer a training requirement for concussions. Go to the site (CLICK HERE) and review the documentation, the "Signs Observed by Coaching Staff" section, and watch the USAH "Heads Up" YouTube video (HERE)


Attention Team Coaches

You will be assigned permissions for your Team's official page.  Here you can submit "Team Specific News".  How "up-to-date" your Team information is will be up to the Head Coach, Assistant coach(es), and Team Manager of that team.

General TEAM-level communication during the season is best done via the SportsEngine App's Chat feature overall.


Coaching Forms

Coaches, 

Under the Coaching documents section (CLICK HERE) you can find:

  • Coach Reimbursement Form (for USA Hockey registration, courses, and clinics)
  • Time Sheet/Policy if you do not have a player registered with NMAHA
  • Student Coach Form for players that want to help coach
  • Play-up applications (6U-10U, 12U) if a parent requests that their player would like to play up a level during the season