Information for Coaches
South Region Stars Coaches adhere to the philosophies of The Coach Certification Program of Special Olympics of Minnesota.
SOMN believes the Coach Certification Program is significant to the goal of maintaining quality training and competition opportunities for athletes.
SOMN believes the Coach Certification Program is critical to educating coaches regarding SOMN’s risk insurance coverage and maximizing the safety of athletes and minimizing risk and liability to the SOMN organization and its volunteers.
SOMN believes the Coach Certification Program will benefit new and experienced coaches through review of sport rules and introduction of new coaching skills and techniques.
SOMN believes the Coach Certification Program will better recognize the commitment and efforts of coaches statewide.
SOMN believes the Coach Certification Program is significant to the goal of maintaining quality training and competition opportunities for athletes.
SOMN believes the Coach Certification Program is critical to educating coaches regarding SOMN’s risk insurance coverage and maximizing the safety of athletes and minimizing risk and liability to the SOMN organization and its volunteers.
SOMN believes the Coach Certification Program will benefit new and experienced coaches through review of sport rules and introduction of new coaching skills and techniques.
SOMN believes the Coach Certification Program will better recognize the commitment and efforts of coaches statewide.
TRAINING
In its continuing efforts to deliver quality training in the most effective manner possible, Special Olympics of Minnesota has developed online training resources for completion of the General Orientation and Protective Behaviors or Level I training, Recertification Tests for maintenance of Level II certifications and American Sports Education Program courses in basketball, volleyball and softball to fulfill the continuing education component of Level II recertification.
General Orientation
| Complete a Volunteer Application |
| Review the General Orientation Packet. [ PDF Version | MS Word Version ] |
| Review the General Orientation PowerPoint presentation. [ MS PowerPoint Version ] |
| Complete and submit the General Orientation quiz. [ PDF Version | MS Word Version ] |
| Complete the Protective Behaviors quiz here. |
| Results of your Protective Behaviors quiz and proof of completion will be sent to Special Olympics Minnesota by Special Olympics Incorporated. |
| The volunteer application and General Orientation quiz may be submitted via fax to: 612-333-8782, by mail to Special Olympics Minnesota, 100 Washington Avenue South, Suite 550, Minneapolis, MN 55401 or by e-mail to Mark Anderson. |
Recertification Tests (back to top)
| The continuing education or recertification component of the Special Olympics Minnesota Coach Education Program contains two requirements. The first is that a coach must complete some form of continuing education every four years in order to maintain their Level II sports certifications. |
| The second requirement is completion of a 10 question take-home test in sports in which the coach currently needs recertification. Individual Level II sports certifications are good for four years, after which time a coach must take the 10 question test in order to maintain their Level II certification in that sport. |
| Coaches who are certified in multiple sports can take all of their recertification tests at one time instead of over a period of months or years. Coaches who complete multiple tests at one time will not have to take any of them again for another four years. |
| The four-year certification period for a sport begins from the date that your Level II certification application for that sport is processed. Heads of Delegation and coaches will receive updates from the Volunteer Manager, Coaches and Competitions and their Sports Program Managers throughout the year on the status of Level II certifications. These reports will help to identify those coaches who need to complete the continuing education requirement and/or those coaches who simply need to complete the test for a specific sport. |
| The tests can be downloaded from Special Olympics of Minnesota (Forms Central) or click here to the link: PDF Versions or MS Word Versions. |
| To complete the test, simply download it to your computer, save it, complete it in Microsoft Word format and e-mail it to Mark Anderson, the Volunteer Manager, Coaches and Competitions. You may also download the test in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format, print it, complete it and mail it to Dave Martin at Special Olympics Minnesota, 100 Washington Avenue South, Suite 550, Minneapolis, MN 55401. If you have any questions about the test, the requirements for recertification or are having trouble accessing a test, please contact Dave Martin at 612-604-1266 (toll-free at 800-783-7732, ext. 252). |
(back to top)