Coaching

Thank you for volunteering your time to serve as a coach with the Somerset West Soccer Club (SWSC). Whether you are a new coach or a returning coach, the club, neighboring clubs, and the state association offer many training opportunities for you to increase your knowledge of the game and your ability to teach it effectively. What follows are coach requirements, a list of the club’s coaching clinics, and a summary of the state and national certification and licensing courses offered in the Portland metropolitan area.

Page Contents

Fall 2024 Season – registration to coach will open on May 1

If you are planning to coach/assistant coach in the fall, registration will open on May 1.  Please plan to register with our state organization as soon as possible after May 1 so we can get you approved and rostered.  Go to Stack Sports – Sign in.  

Please use the same email address you have previously used to log in. Account creation instructions can be found HERE.

You can complete coaching registrations at the same time as, or independent from, player registrations.

Note that most coaches will need to redo the concussion and SafeSport training unless you completed the trainings after February 1, 2024.  You can ignore the instructions below if this is the case.

IMPORTANT:  It will really help is you complete the required online Mandatory Reporting and Concussion training programs as soon as it is convenient for you.  Full instructions for completing both courses are posted below.  Once you have completed the courses, please download and send your completion certificates to our registrar (registrar@somersetwestsoccer.org).

If you have any questions, please let us know.  Here are some emails to use:

Concussion Awareness training

Oregon state law requires that all coaches and assistants complete an online Concussion Awareness course each year. Until you have done this and let us know, you will not be placed as a coach on a team. To complete the online training, please go to http://www.nfhslearn.com/electiveDetail.aspx?courseID=38000, register/create an account (or sign into your existing account), and then complete the “Concussion in Sports” course. When you have successfully completed the course, please download and send the completion certificate to registrar@somersetwestsoccer.org.

SafeSport Mandatory Reporting training

This training is required of any head coach, assistant coach, team manager or board member to complete on a yearly basis. The first time that the course is taken is the full training that requires at least 90 minutes of your time. Each time thereafter is the refresher course which requires about 20-30 minutes of your time.

Your First Name, Last Name and Email MUST match exactly what is in U.S. Soccer Connect (Affinity) for your training certificate to load into the system. If your coaching/board/parent information in Affinity says William, then that is what you want SafeSport to have as well – not Bill. If you are unsure how your information is entered into U.S. Soccer Connect, please reach out to your club registrar to assist you. If all 3 pieces of information are exactly the same, then SafeSport will load your updated certificate directly into U.S. Soccer Connect. As a back up, please download your completed certificate and have on hand just in case.

THE ONLY COURSES THAT ARE ACCEPTED BY THE STATE ARE THE BELOW. DO NOT TAKE ANY OTHER COURSES. 

SafeSport Trained
Refresher 1
Refresher 2
Refresher 3

Note:  New coaches are required to complete the full SafeSport Trained (90-minutes) course.

NEW REGISTRATIONS 

https://safesporttrained.org?KeyName=JJFAQsQPWNRj01edWcPr 

Please do not post this link on any public platform. The link is for U.S. Soccer  affiliated participants only. 

  1. Use the above link to login. 
  2. Complete the information on “Sign Up” page. 
  3. If prompted, log in to the account you just created. 
  4. Click on “Menu” and select “Catalog”. 
  5. Click the Start button for “SafeSport Trained – U.S. Soccer Federation” to  complete the course. 
  6. Download your completed certificate of completion and email it to the SWSC registrar (see next section)

Instructions for downloading a certificate of completion are as follows:

  1. Select the “Menu” icon at the top right of your page. 
  2. Select “Transcript”. 
  3. Once the transcript page displays, locate the most current completion for  the course under the “Certificates” section. 
  4. Download the certificate by selecting the Download” button at the right of  the completed course. 
  5. Email the certificate to registrar@somersetwestsoccer.org.  (It should upload automatically to your coach registration but if it does not, we will upload it for you.)

RETURNING REGISTRATIONS 

https://safesporttrained.org?KeyName=JJFAQsQPWNRj01edWcPr .  

  1. Click on the login button at the top right of your screen. 
  2. Enter your username and password.
  3. A screen with the Enrollment Key (JJFAQsQPWNRj01edWcPr) already filled in will be displayed.  Click on Enroll
  4. Click on My Courses.
  5. Click on Re-enroll for any courses that are available.  Note that if you have already completed all the 4 available courses (original plus 3 refreshers), it may require you to complete the original 90-minute course again.  Suggestion:  select Refresher 3 and hopefully it will allow you to directly complete this shorter refresher without requiring you to repeat the full 90-minute course.

When finished with your course, the system will allow you to print and save a certificate (see below). Please do this so that you retain a copy if for some reason the API does  not work.   

To download your certificate after completing the course, please follow these steps.  It appears the system does not give you the option on the final screen now.

  1. Select the Menu Icon (3 bars) at the top right of your SafeSport screen.
  2. Select “Transcript”
  3. Once the transcript page displays, locate the most current completion for  the course under the “Certificates” section. 
  4. Download the certificate by selecting the Download” button at the right of  the completed course.  Save it on your system.
  5. Email the certificate to registrar@somersetwestsoccer.org.  (It should upload automatically to your coach registration but if it does not, we will upload it for you.)

For any questions regarding your SafeSport account, please click here for the  most common questions and answers.  

https://safesport.org/help/index/category/technical 

Note: View the How to Report Abuse or Neglect page for phone numbers for making a report.

Coaching Curriculum from Oregon and US Youth Soccer .

Here is the list of training opportunities we have planned for Spring, 2024: TBD

These links will help you pull together practice plans and drills that are appropriate for the age of your team.

For more information

A more detailed description of the state and national courses and a schedule of all coaching clinics/courses in the state can be found on the Oregon Youth Soccer Association (OYSA) Web site at www.oregonyouthsoccer.org. Please note that it is the policy of the SWSC to reimburse its active coaches for the registration cost incurred to attend the National Youth License Module and state and national Grassroots and D-Level license courses. To obtain reimbursement for the registration fee, simply provide a copy of the course completion certificate or license along with evidence of the fee paid to the club’s Head Coach. If you have questions or comments about SWSC coaching training please contact the SWSC Head Coach.

Referee Feedback

Referees are an important part of soccer and a key part of attracting and retaining good referees is giving feedback, both positive and negative.  Provide feedback to the league referee coordinator:  http://evaluation.compumetics.com/THJSLRefereeEvaluation.html

Your child’s team may need a Coach

Potential Parent Coaches

  1. I don’t know anything about soccer:
    • Resources – The coaching resources above provide training details for warm-up drills, practice drills and small sided games.
    • Mentoring – There are two different opportunities for this. First we can pair you up with an experienced coach who can help you get organized and answer any questions. You will also have the opportunity in late August and early September to do a training session with a coach (from UK International Soccer) and your team. They can help with practice drills, small sided games and general practice formats.
  2. Before the fall season starts, there will be coach meetings where we will handout equipment, discuss the fall season and talk with some of the SWSC board members. See the Club Calendar for dates, times and location for the coach meetings.
  3. If you have time constraints we can work with you to accommodate practice times and locations. Most teams will have an assistant coach who can share the load.
  4. There will be multiple opportunities for training:  FallCoachTraining
    • The first week of August during our club’s soccer camp we will have age-specific sessions in the evening for coaches training with UK International Soccer coaches.
    • In late-August, we hold a training session for Micro coaches.
    • There is an early August coach training session from the Portland Timbers.
    • The last 2 weeks of August and early September we will have UK International Soccer coaches available to work with you and your team during your practice session.
    • We hold special Striker & Goalie training with UK International coaches once the season starts.
  5. To register as a coach go to this location and complete online registration. If you have any registration questions you can contact our registrar at registrar@somersetwestsoccer.org.

Thanks for your time and support of soccer with SWSC.coach@somersetwestsoccer.org