Coach Certification Requirements
Coaches must have a Hockey Canada Registry 3.0 (HCR 3.0) Spordle account for access to their information in the Hockey Canada portal. You can also click the HCR 3.0 Login to also view your Coach Certifications that are current or expired.
Click here for more information on this and a quick and easy step by step guide to creating an HCR 3.0 account and linking self & family members.
Hockey Alberta is responsible for the training and development of coaches, including all NCCP levels, the Hockey Canada Safety Program and the Checking Skills Program. All coach clinics/qualifications (including Respect in Sport-Activity Leader and Police Information Check), as well as rostered team history, can be viewed on your Hockey Canada Registry 3.0 (Spordle) account.
For instructions on how to view your coaching qualifications/CRC on HCR 3.0 Spordle, please review this HCR3.0 Access Guide. If you coached with another association, or were a player yourself, and have an existing Hockey Canada Registry profile, please contact the Millwood's Hockey Registrar at seeraadmin@shaw.ca to provide your profile information.
Course Information:
- Hockey Alberta’s Coach Education Pathways - with new and/ or updated requirements and qualifications for the 2024-25 hockey season.
- Hockey Canada Coach Clinic ( hosted by Brightspace) - Online modules that need to be completed prior to attending the in class and on portion of Coach 1 or Coach 2 clinic.
- Hockey Alberta - Coach 1 - Intro to Hockey Clinic - This course is not only targeted to the inexperienced coach. This program shows coaches how to teach hockey's basic skills, while keeping the theme of their practices with an emphasis on fun and fundamentals. Coach 1 reviews the basic tools they will need in the areas of leadership, communication, teaching skills, and lesson planning. All this is taught with the special considerations of the youngest athletes in mind.
- Hockey Alberta - Coach 2 - Minor Leagues Clinic - Emphasizes basic skills and the importance of having players develop confidence, self-esteem and a love for the game.
- Hockey Alberta - Principles of Checking - Will cover the basic tools to teach Checking skill acquisition to players. This includes the four skills of checking (tactical skating, body positioning, angling and stick checks), contact confidence, checking safety, checking skills drills, plus roles and responsibilities of the coach and players. An emphasis is placed on the basic checking skills, and the importance of having players develop confidence, respect, and an awareness of the checking process
Coaches will be required to register and complete all Coaching Clinic through Hockey Alberta website.
- Coach 1 - Intro to Hockey Clinic - in-class and on-ice
- Coach 2 - Minor Leagues Clinic
- Principles of Checking
Note: When you register online please only complete the ONLINE Modules. There will be an in-person clinic/on ice session you will need to register to attend as well.
Manuals with progressive practice plans are provided at each in-person clinic, these help to eliminate much of the planning necessary to ensure a fun and effective practice and remove much of the demand from coaches who often find themselves with little time to plan their practices.
To register for a coaches clinic and/or get more information visit the Hockey Alberta Coach Clinic Information page.
Coaches are also required to complete the Respect in Sport Activity Leader course. Please see the RIS Activity Leader page for more information. The RIS-Activity Leader certification must be valid for all coaches before they are allowed on the ice with a team, as you will not be rostered without this qualification.
Police Information Check
As is standard for all minor sports, ALL coaches must complete a Vulnerable Sector Police Information Check (aka PIC) in order to coach minor hockey. Please see the Police Check page for more information.
Course Fees Reimbursement:
Fees for required Coaching clinics will be reimbursed by Millwoods Hockey for courses taken during the season by ROSTERED team officials only. To be reimbursed, please complete the Coach Reimbursement Form and forward, along with copies of applicable receipts to the Registrar for review and subsequent approval.
Note: Reimbursement requests will not be accepted after March 30 of the current season.
Please contact the Registrar for any questions.
Registrar: Kerri Bishop
Email: seeraadmin@shaw.ca
Age Category Requirements
- Certification due dates for Millwoods Hockey may be different than what is listed for Hockey Alberta or Hockey Edmonton. The Registrar will provide information to coaches regarding certification due dates once Head Coaches and teams have been finalized.
- Checking Skills Qualification requires both the HU-Online Checking Skills course and the in-person Instructional Stream Checking Clinic.
- U11 Head Coaches are not required to have the Checking Skills qualification but it is strongly recommended.
- At a minimum, there must be one registered team official certified in Safety by Oct 15th and present at ALL games and practices. It is recommend that the Head Coach and at least one other team official have the Safety certification. This will ensure there is always one person certified in Safety with the team the Head Coach has to miss an ice time due to work/illness/etc.
This list identifies the minimum requirements in regards to who is required to have the specified certifications. We do encourage assistant coaches to also pursue advancing their knowledge of the game and coaching through certifications.
Age Divison | Coach 1 - Intro to Hockey Clinic | Coach 2 - Minor League Clinic | Intro to Principles of Checking | Respect in Sport - Activity Leader (Coach) | Hockey Canada Safety Program - Level 1 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
U7 | One Coach Per 10 Players | All Team Officials | One Coach Per 10 Players | ||
U9 | One Coach Per 10 Players | Recommended | All Team Officials | One Coach Per 10 Players | |
U11 | Head Coach | Head Coach | All Team Officials | One Team Official | |
U13 | Head Coach | Head Coach | All Team Officials | One Team Official | |
U15 | Head Coach | Head Coach | All Team Officials | One Team Official | |
U18 | Head Coach | Head Coach | All Team Officials | One Team Official |