The National Coaching Report, the only comprehensive report addressing both youth and interscholastic sport coaching education requirements in the United States, was released Wednesday by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education in partnership with the National Federation of State High School Associations.

The purpose of the report is to educate the American public about the training and qualifications currently required to coach athletes whose quality sport experience is the top concern. More than 50 million children under the age of 18 participate in organized sport programs.

 “An optimal sport experience requires caring and professionally trained coaches,” said NASPE President Fran Cleland, professor of kinesiology West Chester University of Pennsylvania. “Parents across the country send their children to practices and events with the expectation that adult supervision will bring positive sport outcomes, maximal learning and skill development. Yet horror stories persist about dramatic increases in winning-obsessed parents, sport injuries, over-specialization of young athletes and children quitting sports because they simply aren’t fun anymore.”

        The National Coaching Report provides a baseline of what is being done to train coaches at the youth and interscholastic sport levels. Sport officials, state board/department of education administrators, legislators and parents now can view the requirements set forth by state legislation, mandates or sports organizations for coach preparation in each state and the District of Columbia.

        The NASPE is providing a full copy of the report online on its website at www.naspeinfo.org/coachingreport. Printed copies of the report may be obtained by calling 800/321-0789. The price for the 156-page publication is $24.

        Jody Brylinsky, a professor of sport studies at Western Michigan University and chair of the National Coaching Report Task Force, presented the results Wednesday at a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Coaching Education Requirements: 84 percent of all states have a coaching education requirement. In some states, the requirement applies only to positions such as head varsity coach (Idaho), head coach (Minnesota), paid coach (New Hampshire), first-time coach (Alabama and Texas), and non–faculty coach (Alabama and Texas).

• Of the states requiring coaching education, 15 states exempt individuals who have a teaching credential, regardless of the subject area in which they teach.

• 22 percent of all states recommend coaching education. New Hampshire recommends that all volunteer coaches complete training.

Governance: In most instances, the state board/department of education (25 percent), activities association (43 percent), other state association (for example, principals association) (8 percent) or local school district (2 percent), establish and oversee coaching-education requirements.

Content: The most commonly identified content areas for coaching education are: fundamentals of coaching course, first aid course, CPR training and sport rules training.