COACHES

Softball Alberta requires that all affiliated MINOR softball coaches, assistant coaches and managers (U19 categories and lower) complete or have completed the online Respect in Sport (RiS) certification for “Activity Leaders”. Effective 2025: Softball Alberta will also accept the Safe Sport Training course in place of RiS.

Respect in Sport:

• Respect in Sport (RiS) certification for “Activity Leaders” can be found HERE
• Every minor coach entered in the RAMP registration platform must enter their certificate number into their RAMP profile.
• The certification will be valid for all sports – if a coach has taken RiS Activity Leader through another sport, it will be valid for softball. The certificate is valid for 5 years with Softball Alberta.

OR

Safe Sport Training:

• Safe Sport Training can be found here: The Locker
• Coaching Association of Canada’s Safe Sport Training is an accredited program of the Abuse Free Sport program and is aligned with the UCCMS.
• It is available for free through The Locker and upon completion, it will show on your NCCP transcript. There is no expiry of this course.
• This is a great option if your RiS is close to expiring and you don’t need to renew it for another sport.

Coaches who do not have a valid RiS certificate or Safe Sport Training on their NCCP transcript will have until JUNE 1^st to complete either one. Any coach who does not complete either by the JUNE 1^st deadline will be ineligible as a member of Softball Alberta and will be removed from the current season’s RAMP database until one of the courses is completed.

Provincial Championship Coaching Requirements

The “certified coach on record” for a team entering a Provincial Championship that does not lead to a Western or Canadian Championship are required to be at least Community Softball Trained. Trained status is achieved by completing the Foundations of Coaching Softball Part 1, the Community Softball clinic and the Make Ethical Decisions (MED) course. 

The “certified coach on record” for a team entering a Provincial Championship that leads to a Western or Canadian Championship (U13A,U15A, U17 A & AW, U19 A & B, Senior A) are required to be at least Competition Introduction Certified. Certified status is achieved by completing the Foundations of Coaching Softball Part 1 and 2, the Competition Introduction clinic, the Make Ethical Decisions (MED) course and an on-field practice evaluation.

For all Minor Teams: At least one coach must be of same gender as the team and must have completed Foundations of Coaching Softball Part 1 and the Make Ethical Decisions Online Evaluation.

If you are unsure of which level of training/certification you are required to have, use the Link Tools on Softball Canada’s website to help!

The Foundations of Coaching Softball courses can be found here. They are online courses that can be completed at your own pace.

The Make Ethical Decisions course can be found here. It is an online course that is completed in a virtual classroom setting at set dates and times.

For more information about each coaching pathway, including scheduled clinics, please see below:

NCCP Clinic Hosting Opportunity