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Minnesota/USA Wrestling

Coaches Corner

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MN/USA Wrestling Matside Coaches Requirements

REQUIREMENTS TO COACH AT MNUSAW STATE and USAW Regional National and National level competitions

Mat-side Coaches:

MNUSAW takes the responsibility of coaching young athletes very seriously. In order to sit in the coaches mat-side chair or to have any engagement with referees or table workers, SafeSport and USA Wrestling require all individuals to be properly certified. Coaches bands will be available at the Coaches Registration table for a $10 charge this includes your admission to the tournament for the weekend. You must meet the following criteria to get a coaches pass. 

1.  A Current USA Wrestling Leader card, that includes a background check (5-6 days) and completion of SafeSport curriculum (2-4 hours) depending on if it's the first SS certification or a renewal refresher course.

LINK TO: USAW MEMBERSHIP FAQs

2.  NCEP Copper Certification Certification or higher.  Note: at Regional Nationals (ex. Northern Plains) and other National Level competitions a Copper certification is only good for 14U and younger.  You will need to acquire a Bronze Certification to coach 16U and older athletes.
 

3.  Evidence of completion of concussion training (*note this concussion training is not part of Copper or Bronze certification and requires a separate training. (1 hour)

***To complete the certification and concussion  training go to the USA Wrestling membership site (https://www.usawmembership.com) and log-in using your leadership information, from the drop down menu titled “Manage” you will see a link titled “Heads Up Concussion” and ” Coach Certifications”.

Please note that these need to be done before the tournament as the Copper certification course takes approximately 4 hours to complete.

If you did your concussion training through an organization outside of the USA Wrestling site or if proof of completion is not identified on your USA Wrestling Leadership card, then you will need to bring proof with you of your completion of concussion training in order to obtain a coach’s band. This training is only good for 2 years from completion date. If you have complete concussion training in the USA Wrestling membership system along with your "Wrestling Leader" membership it will show up as the letters CT on your printed  membership card.  This is something that is mandatory for coaching youth sports in Minnesota and several other states.

 Any parent without a coach’s band will NOT be allowed  on the Wrestling floor and are NOT allowed to interact with the table or referees in any manner. Parents will need to coordinate with coaches to determine who will be accompanying the child and coaching the child mat-side.  SafeSport requirement MNUSAW to operate within these guidelines.  There will be no exceptions to this policy.

We will not be holding matches waiting for coaches at State as we are on a time limit for each session.

Please reach out to Ryan Fischer, MN/USA Membership Director rfischer@mnusawrestling.org with any questions. 

**Club leaders: Ryan can also help verify coach’s requirements have been met by your club coaches. Just email him your list of coaches and he can let you know if there is anything they still need to complete.

 
The NFHS (National Federation of High School) rulebook which governs Folkstyle competitions with the modifications listed in the above link. If you are looking for that rulebook it may be purchased on the NFHS website. USAW has no jurisdiction in that organization. 

USAW Dual Meet Competition Rules

This is the most up-to-date GR-FR rules document on the planet.  We recommend you put a link to it on your electronic device for quick and up-to-date information.  This rule book can be printed for easy reference, however, there are hyperlinks within the electronic version of the rulebook that reference online videos to assist in the understanding of the rules and rule changes.