In addition to being certified as having fulfilled the requirements of the Archdiocese of Washington's (ADW) Child Protection Program (Virtus),  as described below the ADW CYO has established training requirements for all St. Jane CYO team head coaches and assistant coaches (i.e., anyone who works with or instructs athletes on a CYO team for one or more hours a week) involved with an ADW CYO team

Accordingly, for any coach acting as a head coach for any sport, the coach must complete the on-line "Play Like A Champion Today - Coaching as Youth Ministry" (PLACT) clinic.  Further, for any coach acting as a head coach or assistant coach for any sport, the coach must complete the on-line course offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on concussion prevention and treatment for youth sports.  Additionally, for any coach acting as a head coach or assistant coach for any outdoor sport (e.g., soccer, cross-country, track, baseball/softball), the coach must complete the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) on heat illness prevention. 

All three courses are free.  The online PLACT clinic is about 2.5 hours long, while the CDC and NFHS  online courses each take approximately thirty minutes to complete.
  
The ADW CYO and the St. Jane CYO will be monitoring clinic/course completion certification and, per the instructions below, each coach MUST provide the appropriate certifications indicating he/she has completed the PLACT clinic and the two injury prevention and treatment courses to be eligible to coach a CYO team.  Please review the instructions below carefully to ensure that you have access to, and are properly credited as having completed, this mandatory training.  

1.  Attending Play Like A Champion Today - Coaching as Youth Ministry Clinic  

This free, 2.5 hour live online clinic, which is required for all team head coaches, is designed to provide enhanced skills in team building and youth ministry. 

To register for an upcoming session, access the ADW CYO website here:  https://adwyouth.org/plact-clinics.  Online clinics have a maximum limit of 75 participants and require a minimum of 10 participants and registration for each clinic session ends at 5:00 p.m. the day before the clinic session is scheduled to begin. 

Please note also that no one will be admitted to the PLACT clinic more than 10 minutes late, since the material builds on information presented at the beginning.  Also, please plan on entering the clinic through your computer (rather than mobile phone) as it includes polls, breakout discussion groups, and the use of the chat function frequently during the session.  Additionally, because attendees will be asked to participate during the clinic's unified and breakout sessions, you should be prepared to turn your camera on (and keep it on for the entire clinic) and be ready to contribute. 

To ensure you receive credit for this session, please e-mail a copy of the the completion certificate provided by the ADW CYO to the St. Jane CYO at mrflynn@gmail.com.

To register for an upcoming session, access the ADW CYO website here:  https://adwyouth.org/plact-clinics.  

2.  Taking CDC On-Line Concussion Training and Obtaining Completion Certificate

All team head coaches and assistant coaches should go https://www.cdc.gov/heads-up/training/youth-sports.html to access this free, half-hour online CDC concussion training course. 

To complete and receive credit for taking the on-line course, a coach will need to (1) provide his/her name when beginning the course; (2) download the .PDF completion certificate after finishing the course; and (3) e-mail a copy of the the certificate to both the ADW CYO at cyorequests@adw.org AND to the St. Jane CYO at mrflynn@gmail.com.

PLEASE NOTE:  It is important to download the CDC concussion training certificate at the time you take the training.  Because the CDC website does not collect any personal information or track or record any individual’s use of this training, if you don’t retain a copy of the certificate to demonstrate completion, you will have to take the course again to obtain a completion certificate.

Additionally, available for coaches, parents, and athletes on the CDC website at https://www.cdc.gov/heads-up/training/youth-sports.html is complete information, including fact sheets and checklists, regarding preventing, recognizing, and responding to a concussion in youth sports.  

3.  Taking NFHS On-Line Heat Illness Prevention Course and Obtaining Completion Certificate

​All team head coaches and assistant coaches involved in an outdoor sport (e.g., soccer, cross-country, track, baseball/softball) should go to https://nfhslearn.com/courses/heat-illness-prevention-2 to access this free, half-hour NFHS online heat illness prevention course.  If you don’t already have one, you will need to set up a NFHS account (with a username and eight-character password) to get access to the course. 

To complete and receive credit for taking the on-line course, a coach will need to (1) provide his/her name when beginning the course; (2) download the .PDF completion certificate after completing the course; and (3) e-mail a copy of the certificate to both the ADW CYO at cyorequests@adw.org AND to the St. Jane CYO at mrflynn@gmail.com.

PLEASE NOTE:  Unlike the CDC website, the NHFS website requires that you create an account that you can later access if you need to retrieve the course completion certificate. 
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Last Updated: July 20, 2024