Certification required for high school coaches

Dick Billingsley, Oak Park High School’s co-athletic director and head football coach, will attend a Coaching Education Program hosted by the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) to become a certified trainer. Billingsley said it’s likely he’ll attend the two-day conference in October.

After he completes the program and passes the certification test, Billingsley will then be qualified to teach an eighthour certification course to the other coaches working in Oak Park’s athletic department.

Recent CIF rules require all high school coaches to be certified by Dec. 31, 2008. The CIF is a statewide organization which oversees rules and regulations for high school sports.

“The purpose of the CIF Coaching Education Program is to enhance the experience of the student-athletes by assuring their coaches meet a minimum level of professional training,” CIF officials said. “The program provides strong, pragmatic and comprehensive instruction for coaches. . .”

Because so many schools hire walk-on coaches to coach high school teams, they are sometimes unaware of specific policies regarding high school sports.

“Steroids, discipline, rules, regulations, how to work with other schools, legalities…they’re all discussed during this type of conference,” Billingsley said. “They cover anything and everything that has to do with schools.”

Billingsley said a majority of Oak Park’s teams are coached by walk-on coaches. He said the coaches are necessary, especially in smaller districts like Oak Park, because it’s often hard to find experienced coaches who are also certified teachers.

Although most walk-on coaches are experts in their specific sport, oftentimes they are not as familiar with high school rules as a coach who also teaches at the school.

Billingsley said it’s unlikely the high school will lose any walk-on coaches because of the required class time.

“It probably won’t be a great deal of coaches who opt not to coach,” Billingsley said. “When they understand the complexities of coaching and what can happen to them if they don’t do things correctly, then I’m pretty sure they would appreciate the fact they need to go through the training.”

Billingsley said he plans to include in his presentation lessons he has learned during 34 years of coaching.