Background Check

All SoCal staff, core race staff, coaches, and other SoCal League community members with either management positions OR direct interaction with youth must consent to, and complete, an annual criminal background check.

Your annual background check is initiated within the CCN registration platform and must be done at least 28 days prior to your anticipated first SoCal League activity as a coach or other volunteer. Many county courts and state justice departments have significant delays impacting background check turn-around times. While 94% of background checks have a 3-day turn-around, the remaining 6% can take 1 – 6 months depending on the counties and/or states where an applicant has lived. If you are still waiting for a background check after 28 days please contact coachlicensing@socalyouthcycling.org.

Abuse and Awareness Training

Your training as a SoCal League coach centers around providing a safe experience for your student-athletes. A core component of that equation is knowing how to identify and react to abusive behaviors and misconduct. To assist in creating an enjoyable and safe environment for students, the U.S. Center for SafeSport, in collaboration with the NFHS, has developed “Protecting Students from Abuse.” The course presents definitions of several types of abusive behaviors and misconduct, the signs and symptoms of abuse, and the ways in which someone can report these behaviors. The course also includes some DOs and DON’Ts for making a report. Protecting Students from Abuse is required annually for all coaches and is available free of charge on the NFHS Website.

Core Coach Curriculum (CCC)

The Core Coach Curriculum is accessible via Canvas LMS on the CCN registration platform. The CCC is an entirely online, seminar-based, course that covers a variety of topics such as starting and managing a team, building team culture, and the rulebook. The curriculum provides essential information and is derived from the knowledge and experiences of coaches, parents, volunteers, and industry professionals across many years of the SoCal League. The CCC must be completed, in its entirety, once by Coaches. The course is broken into multiple, individual, one-hour lecture segments followed by a test. After obtaining a Coach license, CCC lecture segments can be repeated for CEUs on a 1:1 basis.

Continuing Education Units (CEUs)

A Coach must complete Continuing Education Units every 3 seasons to maintain their license. Generally, one hour of coursework equals one CEU.

There are a variety of ways to complete the CEUs. An easy way to complete CEUs is to take any Teaching Bike Skills Course or to revisit segments of the CCC. There are also additional 1 CEU courses on a variety of topics available to all coaches via the Canvas LMS in the CCN registration platform.

CEUs may also be obtained outside of the SoCal League. To receive credit for outside courses coaches must present (upload to the CCN registration system) an official certificate of completion to be granted CEU credit from any outside organization. The certificate must include the number of course hours, a signature/official approval from the organization or instructor, and the date of completion.

Coaches may submit courses from other organizations for consideration for CEUs. Coaches may also submit to create courses to be directly integrated into our Canvas LMS. Please note that in order to be considered for adoption outside courses must be specific and relevant to coaching adolescents and/or teaching mountain biking and cycling skills. CEUs are valid for three years from the time of completion, not submission.

Basic First Aid and CPR

Mountain biking, like any other activity, has inherent risks. One of these is that injuries can happen away from immediate medical services. Proper training empowers coaches to respond appropriately in challenging situations so that they can quickly and calmly administer aid to their level of training and assess if emergency personnel should be alerted.

All Coaches are required to be certified in first aid (AHA Basic First Aid or equivalent) and CPR. First aid certifications typically last 2 years. CPR is often included with first aid training but should have its own certification card. CPR certifications typically last 2 years and courses are widely available.

All first aid and CPR classes must have an in-person component. Fully online classes are not accepted. Hybrid online/in-person classes are accepted.

Many occupations require advanced first aid training to maintain their professional license and/or as a condition of employment. If your level of certification already exceeds basic first aid and cpr, upload your certification directly to your coach profile within the CCN registration platform in place of the first aid requirement. If we have follow up questions we will reach out to you.

The SoCal League is not scheduling First Aid classes as currently, the First Aid requirement is any First Aid and CPR class that has an in-person component (a fully in-person class qualifies and a blended class where some instruction is online and some is in-person qualifies). There are however many options available via a simple search online. Additionally, the league has two preferred trainers that may be booked directly. Their contact information is provided below.

Teaching Bike Skills (TBS)

Doing is one thing. Teaching is another. Many coaches are already skilled riders. As a mountain bike coach, you need the ability to guide student-athletes through the process of learning to better control their bikes.

TBS is about providing you with the progressive steps needed to teach basic, intermediate, and more advanced mountain biking skills. Courses are offered at the Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced level. Teaching Basic Bike Skills is required for all persons at the Coach level of licensure. Teaching Intermediate Bike Skills and Teaching Advanced Bike Skills are offered as additional learning and may be used to fulfill 3CEUs per course.

All Teaching Bike Skills courses are offered by reservation, meaning you can request to have a trainer come to teach you and your fellow coaches at a location of your choosing. TBS courses may be scheduled in the Training Schedule section of this page.