Become a Coach

Written By Colleen Grimes

Interested in shaping the next generation of Lacrosse players? We welcome you to join our community of dedicated coaches. Here’s how you can start:

  1. Contact Your Local Association: Reach out to your local OLA club to express your interest in coaching. You will meet like-minded individuals and families and become part of an amazing lacrosse community. Visit our interactive map to find an OLA club near you.

  2. Complete NCCP Certification: To ensure the best experience for our players, we require all coaches to complete National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) training. Coaching clinics are posted annually on the Ontario Lacrosse Association (OLA) website.

STEP 1: Community Development

  1. Become trained at the Community Development Level by attending a discipline-specific (box, field, women’s field or a combined box+field) certification clinic.

  2. Complete the "Making Headway" Concussion Awareness online module.

  3. Complete the "Making Ethical Decisions" online module (recommended).

STEP 2: Competitive Introduction (Trained)

  1. Become trained at the Competitive Introduction Level by attending a discipline-specific (box, field, women’s field or a combined box+field) certification clinic

  2. Complete and submit the Coaching Portfolio package

Note: Successful completion of STEP 1: Community Development is a pre-requisite for attendance at a Competitive Introduction certification clinic.

STEP 3: Competitive Introduction (Certified)

  1. Receive a successful practice evaluation (in-person or submitted video) by a certified coaching supervisor through the Ontario Lacrosse Association.

  2. Complete the "Making Ethical Decisions" online module (required).

Note: Competitive Introduction Certified Coaches are required to accumulate 20 Coaching Professional Development Points in each 5 year cycle in order to maintain their Certified status.

 

FAQs

  • Community Development certified coaches may coach:

    Box Lacrosse

    Paperweight, U9, U11 and U13

    U15 and Above (If its your first year coaching)

    Men’s Field Lacrosse

    U9, U11 and U13 Coaches

    U15 and Above (If its your first year coaching)

    Women's Field Lacrosse

    U11 and U13 Coaches

    U15 and Above (If its your first year coaching)

  • Box Lacrosse

    U15 and Above (If its your second year coaching)

    Men’s Field Lacrosse

    U15 and Above (If its your second year coaching)

    Women's Field Lacrosse

    U15 and Above (If its your second year coaching)

  • When beginning coach certification, coaches create a profile on the Coaches Association of Canada (CAC) web page known as The Locker. This is your official coaching transcript for coach certification. The Locker tracks coaching clinics, coaching modules and Professional Development (PD) points.

    All Competition Introduction (Certified), and Competition Development (Certified) coaches must maintain their certification status. Coaches do not begin to amass Professional Development (PD) points before they are certified.

    Maintenance of certification, is essential to athlete performance and the integrity of the NCCP. Maintenance of certification keeps coaches current on new coaching theory and practices which enable the coach to sharpen and improve their skills.

  • 20 points in 5 years to maintain Competitive Introduction

    30 points in 5 years to maintain Competitive Development

  • There are many ways to accumulate points.

    Events that are organized for coaches by Lacrosse Canada or Ontario Lacrosse will advertise the number of PD points associated with the event. NCCP training or evaluation events are worth 5 points; Non-NCCP events are worth 1 point for each hour they last, up to a maximum of 3 points; “Active coaching” gives 1 point per year; Through “Self-directed learning” a maximum of 3 points per five-year PD cycle can be earned.

    NOTE: PD points do not carry forward into the next cycle

  • If you are certified in two sports, accumulated points will apply to both sports. The number of points required to maintain certification will be determined by whichever sport requires the highest number of PD points.

    If you are coaching, two teams in one season, for a single sport, the coach does not receive duplicate points for each team.

  • Questions regarding the OLA Coaching Pathway can be directed to vpcoaching@ontariolacrosse.com

Colleen Grimes

Next

Become an Official