Youngsters aren't the only ones in youth football gaining knowledge about the game. USA Football's Certified Coaching Education Program (CCEP) is helping America's youth football coaches hit the virtual classroom.
USA Football's CCEP is a multi-level online coaching course accessible at usafootball.com, bolstered by computer animation and audio narration. It encompasses coaching philosophy, practice planning, communication with players and parents and methods of football fundamentals instruction, including proper blocking and tackling techniques.
Having just completed its first season, the CCEP drew coaches from 44 states and Washington, D.C. Youth league administrators from large, mid-sized and small leagues mandated the program for coaches in their organizations.
Dean Layman, a USA Football administrator member and second-year director of the Columbus (Ind.) Police Athletic Activities League, enrolled all 56 of the league's head coaches and assistant coaches in the CCEP He requires the coaches to finish the course's second level, which features 26 more quizzes than Level One (11 quizzes), employing greater sophistication and training.
"We strive to teach fundamentals of the game at this stage," said Layman, whose 10-year-old league serves more than 600 players and 40 teams. "All of our coaches and assistant coaches now have a foundation with which to work on."
This foundation is something David Baldwin, a board member of Chamberlain (S.D.) Youth Football League, wanted his coaches to have as well.
"The CCEP has allowed our coaches to gain the basic knowledge and understanding of the game," Baldwin said. "It gives our coaches a wealth of knowledge."
Baldwin's league includes eight head coaches, and he registered them all for the course's first level. According to Baldwin, the CCEP helped his program's coaches, who are the face and backbone of the organization.
Eloy Bonuz, president of the Calhoun County (Texas) Youth Football League, found it necessary to enroll all 18 of his league's head coaches and assistant coaches in the CCEP.
"Several coaches were teaching techniques they were taught as players years ago," Bonuz said. "The USA Football course is up-to-the-minute with proper technique and fundamentals."
"Youth league commissioners and coaches are the ones who make football America's favorite sport - they are remarkably dedicated volunteers who love this game and want kids to learn it and gain from its team-first values," said USA Football Executive Director Scott Hallenbeck. "We're proud to provide coaches a state-of-the-art training program. There are always more yards to go, but we're moving the chains."
