Course Procedures
1. Course Instructors shall not be expected to finance any portion of a Coaching Certification Course. Coaching Certification Course Instructors should charge an administrative fee sufficient to reimburse all expense incurred in conducting a USJA Coaching Certification Course.
2. Only Certified Course Instructors may conduct USJA Coaching Certification Courses.
3. Certified Course Instructors may conduct only USJA Coaching Certification Courses for which they are certified to teach.
4. Coaching Certification Course Instructors shall not conduct Coaching Certification Courses without prior notification to the Coaching Certification Chairperson.
5. Prior to conducting A USJA Coaching Certification Course; Course Instructors shall
a. Ensure that the USJA Coaching Certification Course is sanctioned through the USJA Central Office.
b. Notify the Coaching Certification Program Chairperson of the;i. Course date
ii. Courses to be conducted
iii. Course venue
6. It is the responsibility of the Course Instructor to;
a. Procure necessary copies of the course manual from the USJA Central Office. (Course Instructors are responsible for the cost of the manuals.) Contact the Central Office, toll free at 1-877-411-3409.
b. Procure a copy of the course test and test key from the Coaching Certification Chairperson.
c. Conduct the Coaching Certification Course
d. Administer and grade the course test
e. Inform candidates of the requirement for a background screening
i. Explain that the Coaching Certification Certificate shall not be issued until the Central Office receives verification of a successful background screening.
ii. Offer a copy of the background screening form.
iii. It is the responsibility of the candidate to submit his/her background screening request in accordance with directions provide on the form. Do not, in any circumstances, accept a completed background screening form or monies for a background screening.
f. Collect all monies associated with the course i.e. manual fees or unused course manuals and Certification fees
g. Insure the completion of all Coaching Certification application forms
h. Not later than 10 business days after conducting the course;
i. submit all appropriate monies and completed forms to the USJA Central Office
ii. Submit an after actions report to the Coaching Certification Chairperson. After action reports shall include but not be limited to;1. photo copies of all completed applications
2. photocopies of all checks, money order and receipts
3. number of participants
4. test results
7. Any currently certified coach, whose certification is about to expire (at a higher level than we currently offer) can be recertified at their current level by attending the highest-level course available.
8. Refer any new candidates for Level III Coaching Certification to the Coaching Certification Chairperson. NOTE: Our courses may be taken by members of any of the three organizations (USJA, USJF, USJI) REGARDLESS of organizational affiliation, for the SAME FEE as a USJA member.
9. For any other issues arising not covered above please refer directly to the Coaching Certification Chairperson or you can send an email to George Weers, Vice Chairperson.
Overview
The United States Judo Association Coach Education Program exists to help you, the coach. The series of courses within the program will not teach you how to do a technique, so much as prepare you to impart your knowledge more effectively. Regardless of your coaching aim, your primary goal is to recruit and retain students. Our goal is to provide you with the tools necessary to help you build American Judo and to help you be a force for positive change in the lives of your students. As a coach, sensei, instructor, teacher or whatever you call yourself, you touch the lives of the students that come to you for training. We want to help you perform that task in the most positive, effective and efficient fashion possible. If you want to be a successful Judo coach you will need more than excellent technique and a desire to teach, although these are both indispensable. Being a successful Judo coach is as much about your personal desire for continuing your own education as it is about what you have to offer your students. Just because you have excellent technical skill or a room full of competition honors, does not necessarily mean that you can convey your knowledge to a willing student in an effective manner. Consequently, if you wish to become a truly successful Judo coach, it is important that you acquire the skills required of a successful teacher. This is where the USJA Coach Education Program can help you. We are here to help you in the process of becoming a better coach. It is your journey and your path, we are merely providing some tools to help you along the way.
From a pedagogic perspective, coaching Judo is no different to teaching any other curriculum. Learning Judo requires that every student acquires a set of skills for advancement to different levels and involves him or herself in a process of continual investigation, which leads to higher levels of mastery. Unlike other areas of teaching, which may be predominantly physical or entirely mental, the teacher of Judo has the potential to profoundly affect the student’s cognitive awareness, psychomotor abilities, emotional awareness and social skills.
Please remember this: The USJA Coach Education Program is your program. We solicit your input and your feedback. We value your opinion. Because you are the coaches on the front line building American Judo we want to know how we can help you do the job. Our success will be measured by the growth of American Judo.
Thank you for choosing the United States Judo Association Coach Education Program. This is a team effort. We are not here to tell you how to do Seoi Nage, or even give you drills to teach. We are here to provide information about how to teach and how to create a learning environment that keeps your students coming back for more. You have already invested a good deal of time in acquiring the skills of a quality Judoka. You have earned the respect of your peers and now you find yourself in the position of an instructor. For some of you, instruction may be a new experience. Some of you may have been coaching Judo for decades. To all of you we say this: The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement and that applies to all of us. The Coach Education Committee applauds your decision to take this course and if we can help you in any way, please feel free to contact us through the contact list in the appendices or through the USJA Web Site. Whether you are a novice coach or a veteran campaigner, we hope that this course contains something new for you. Even if “you’ve heard it all before”, maybe there is a new slant for you or a new way of looking at things that can spur you onward to higher levels of performance.
In 1974, Ben Campbell published a little book called Championship Judo Drill Training. On page 14 of this book we find a call to action:
“It is about time, however, that American Judoists put some common sense and realism into their training methods. I say it is about time because our relative standing in world Judo is very low and falling lower (about 20th in 1971, 1972, and 1973 – Editor)”
It would be wonderful to report that since Ben wrote his book, things have changed, but this is not the case, especially in light of the fact that U.S. Judo finished 41st at the 2001 World Games in Munich. Furthermore, in a very revealing of the history of Black Belt magazine, Graden and Callos (2001), drew attention to three facts concerning Judo, namely: i) that volume 1, number 1 of Black Belt magazine, in 1961 featured a cover story on the AAU National Judo Championships, ii) that by the end of 1966 a survey showed that “karate players” had surpassed “judo players” by a figure of 113,000 to 75,000, and lastly iii) that in the eighties, judo which had been a mainstay of the magazine since its inception was almost phased out. The call to action therefore still stands, and this is all the rationale we need for the development of a coach education program.
More than ever, the need exists to evaluate what we are doing as Judo coaches and how we are doing it, because clearly, we are not recruiting large numbers of the population to Judo, nor are we retaining those we recruit and neither are we producing large numbers of world champions. There is a maxim in business, which says if you like the results you are getting continue doing what you are doing.
If we look at the membership statistics, according to the three main Judo organizations in the United States, namely the United States Judo Association, United States Judo Incorporated (National Governing Body) and the United States Judo Federation, there are less than 30,000 people currently training in Judo. The fact that 30,000 people “do” Judo in a country with a population of more than 270,000,000 is a sad testament to our ability to recruit and retain students. According to industry statistics, only about 1% of the American population studies a martial art of any kind. If thirty thousand people study Judo then that represents about 0.0012% of the American population.
What is truly sad about this statistic is that many countries can boast half a million or more Judoka despite having much smaller populations from which to draw.
Each of us who has put twenty or thirty years or more into Judo knows that it has changed our lives for the better. Yet despite the many benefits that we see in our own lives in terms of mental and physical fitness, Judo as a sport or a martial art does not seem to be retaining those it recruits. The responsibility for this situation must fall squarely on the shoulders of all of us who teach and coach. It does not matter whether we are teaching for recreation or tournament, sport or art. If we are not keeping the students we recruit, then there must be room for improvement in what we do and how we do it.
The USJA Coach Education Committee recognizes that part of the challenge is that while students are learning Judo, they are not learning how to pass on what they learn. Consequently, when many students assume the mantle of leadership in the form of a coaching responsibility for the first time, they often find themselves woefully unprepared. As a natural solution for the problem, we fall back on the tried and true…it worked for me; it’ll work for you. Unfortunately that is rarely true and frequently causes us to lose many of the students we would love to keep. The rationale for developing the USJA Coach Education Program was to deliberately seek mechanisms through which coaches could gain access to information that would better prepare them for passing on the knowledge that they had acquired. The program has existed since the late 1970’s. Its early pioneers were Eli Morrell and Wally Marr. From 1986 until 2001, the last chairman, George Weers, worked tirelessly to provide manuals that explained the conditions necessary to create a functional and positive learning environment as well as expose the principles that govern the sport of Judo as well as providing a framework for the long-term development of players.
As we move forward, this program will endeavor to provide you with relevant coaching information regardless of whether you are coaching children or adults, men or women, competitors or recreational players. There is a place in Judo for all of us, and there are ways in which we can make that place home and derive a lifetime’s benefit from being in Judo.
The USJA coach is a person who has decided to work on the front lines in developing Judo in America. Each level of coach should network with other coaches and seek a mentor from amongst the higher-level coaches. Mentoring ensures that all coaches receive guidance that will aid in the process of moving through the coaching program levels. It will be the responsibility of certified coaching program instructors, however, to administer the actual course delivery process.
Level I
The Level I coach would generally be considered an assistant instructor within a club. As such the Level I coach should be concerned with how the process of learning occurs and how the nature of the learning environment aids the process of learning. As an assistant, the Level I coach should have a mentor, who would normally be the main club coach or head instructor. The candidate for Level I certification must hold a minimum rank of SANKYU. The Level I course content includes:
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The Level II coach should be capable of performing the functions of a club coach. The Level II coach needs to understand issues related to curriculum development, lesson planning and syllabus building as well as how to improve the fitness levels of his or her students. The Level II coach would need to increase his or her understanding of communication skills, be able to act as a mentor for Level I coaches and hold a minimum rank of SHODAN. The level II course contains the following elements:
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The Level III coach is a highly experienced club coach, the chief instructor of a club or a regionally recognized coach who is successful at long-term development of his or her players. As such, the Level III coach will need to understand all issues of long term retention including aspects of nutrition and fitness, training cycles, ancillary training and injury management. The Level III coach would act as a mentor for Level II coaches and be able to give positive advice that would help to improve the student retention levels of a Level II coach. Although harder than the previous levels of the program, most coaches should be able to earn a Level III certificate if they are willing to create long-range training plans for their players and themselves. Candidates for Level III must hold a minimum rank of SHODAN. The course content for a Level III candidate will include the following topics.
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The Level IV is a nationally recognized coach who may also be a specialist in his or her area of expertise. The Level IV coach would be the person to whom other coaches would turn when they want to develop programs for specific populations within the Judo community. As such the Level IV coach is a resource for the development of lower level coaches. Only coaches, who hold a minimum rank of NIDAN and who have achieved pre-eminence in their field, should earn this level of certificate. A certified Level IV Course Instructor who has been successful in the arena in which the candidate seeks certification must mentor all candidates for this level of certification.
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The early level courses are designed to be completed in less than eight hours, although the tests or assignments may take longer. Many of you who take a lower-level course at a USJA clinic or camp will probably complete the course in less than five hours. Obviously, there is a lot more information in these manuals than you can assimilate in such a short period of time. In the words of Douglas Adams “Don’t Panic.” The manuals are designed as a resource to which you can and should return after the course is finished. The higher-level courses will take longer, and require more detailed assignments.
We recognize that for many of you taking the Level I course, this is the first exposure that you have had to learning how to teach. That’s fine. What we want you to come away with is an idea of the various aspects of coaching. As you move up through the courses the material will get more in depth, but remember that these manuals are designed to be a resource for your continued development.
It is for this reason that the test at the end of each course is designed as an open book examination. We want you to pass.
How Do I Pass A Coaching Course?
In order to become certified as a USJA coach, you must either
· Attend a coaching clinic and pass the associated exam at the clinic site with the appropriate score for course.
· Or, attend a coaching clinic and pass the associated exam with a higher score at your own convenience after the conclusion of the clinic.
· Or, complete the course through distance learning by purchasing the workbook from the Dr. Chris Dewey or the USJA national office and passing the associated test.
Applications for course completion certificates must include:
· The candidate test
· The application form
· The testing and certificate fee
· Proof of current USJA/USJI/USJF membership
· A current resume of all Judo and other relevant activities
When Do I Need To Renew My Certificate?
Each course completion certificate is issued for a period of three years. At the end of that time you will be notified that your course completion certificate is about to expire. You may elect to either renew your current credential by attending a USJA sanctioned camp or symposium, a USJA coaching clinic or, if you meet the requirements, move up to the next level by passing the next highest course at a clinic or by home study. If you elect none of these options, your coaching credential will expire and your name will be removed for the coach list on the USJA website. We strongly urge you to maintain a current certificate of course completion, to protect you from issues of liability.
About the Course Instructor Levels Offered
The Course Instructors are those coaches who have met the requirements for the appropriate level and subsequently been approved by the Coaching Education Committee to teach the program courses. Course Instructors are capable of teaching the required course materials and signing off on course completion forms for coaching candidates. If you like, these are the “trainers of the trainers.” These are the only people who have the authority to offer program clinics and recommend that certificates of course completion be issued.
To become a Course Instructor, a candidate must be at least twenty-one years old. He or she must also be a current, active member of the USJA in good standing and have been actively teaching as the coach of a club for not less than five years. Proof of age, organizational affiliation and coaching activity will be required before certification will be issued. Course Instructor candidates must also meet the requirements outlined for each level or may petition for special consideration using one of the other options listed at the end of this section.
The certification of Course Instructors will be reviewed every three years with loss of certification if no activity shown in three-year period (to be read as having not certified any new coaches). Appeal subject to review by Coach Education Committee
| LEVEL I COURSE INSTRUCTOR | LEVEL II COURSE INSTRUCTOR | LEVEL III COURSE INSTRUCTOR | LEVEL IV COURSE INSTRUCTOR |
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Minimum rank Shodan · Must have successfully completed the Coach Level II course · Must also have passed Coach Level I exam at 85% · Must submit coaching/martial arts resume · Must have current First Aid/CPR course (will accept: ASEP, AHA, Red Cross, University course in general safety methods or similar with transcript and syllabus, other with proof of content).
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Minimum rank Nidan · Must have successfully completed the Coach Level III course · Must also have passed Coach Level II exam at 85% · Must submit coaching/martial arts resume · Must have current First Aid/CPR course (will accept: ASEP, AHA, Red Cross, University course in general safety methods or similar with transcript and syllabus, other with proof of content).
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Minimum rank Sandan · Must have successfully completed the Coach Level III course · Must have passed Coach Level III exam at 85% · Must submit coaching/martial arts resume · Must have current First Aid/CPR course (will accept: ASEP, AHA, Red Cross, University course in general safety methods or similar with transcript and syllabus, other with proof of content)
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Minimum rank Sandan · Must have successfully completed the Coach Level IV course · Must also have passed Coach Level III exam at 85% · Must submit coaching/martial arts resume · Must have current First Aid/CPR course (will accept: ASEP, AHA, Red Cross, University course in general safety methods or similar with transcript and syllabus, other with proof of content)
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People with appropriate credentials can petition to become a Course Instructor based upon a willingness to pass all written exams for the USJA courses that the candidate wishes to teach and submission of credentials to be reviewed by the Coach Education Committee. Therefore:
· Must be willing to pass all USJA coaching exams up to level being sought as instructor AND ALSO
· Petition Coach Education Committee with evidence of a baccalaureate degree or higher in Health, PE, or related field, must be willing to submit transcript of degree from an accredited institution of higher education. OR
· Petition Coach Education Committee with evidence of ACMA (American Council on Martial Arts) coach certification with submission of certificate OR
· Petition Coach Education Committee with evidence of ASEP (American Sports Education Program) Instructor courses (Both leader level courses or higher) with submission of certification OR