Information about the L100 Curriculum

The coach curriculum has been developed by coaches for coaches to help advance knowledge, skills and abilities to assist the coach and athlete development process. The Level 100 program is designed for the entry level coach who is employed as a coach part or full time by a US Ski & Snowboarding club, program, or a USASA member affiliate.

All coaches working toward Level 100 must be currently working as an active coach within a US Ski & Snowboard club or with an insured and licensed independent coaching program. In addition, coaches are required to show proof they will be working over 60 hours per season as a coach for the program. This prerequisite will be verified at your assessment. If you cannot provide proof of employment you will not be able to participate in the on snow assessment and no refunds will be given.

The L100 coaches program provides improvements to the foundation skills of coaching and the foundation skills of teaching snowboarding and freeskiing.

The key driving factors of the program are:
Relevance- The Education programs address the specific roles and tasks that occur in the daily practice of the coach.

Accessibility- The new program is easily accessed via an online platform called Moodle and addresses the best practices of professional development and adult learning. We recognize that not all coaches are full time or have any desire to make coaching a career. These coaches are arguably the most important coaches in our system. By moving many of these topics to an online format, we can provide meaningful education to all coaches regardless of their career intentions. We also now provide a professional development track to coaches looking for a career at the same time that we provide great resources to those coaches who do it part time simply because they love it.

Engaging- Resources and content are interesting and thought provoking. Coach certification programs shouldn’t be just a “hoop” to jump through, they should attract and engage their audience with dynamic content and interactive learning.
Impactful- Most importantly, education and learning should change behavior. By designing and building a comprehensive coach education program, the end result should be an improvement in how the coach works with their athletes in all aspects of the job.

The L100 program consists of 4 parts:
Part 1: 6 Online Modules covering Core Coaching Competencies

1. Coach Roles and Responsibilities
2. Coach Ethics and Philosophy
3. Coach Pedagogy (teaching and learning with a specific influence on children specific topics)
4. Athlete Development
5. Physical Fitness
6. Mental Skill Development

Part 2: 4 Online Modules for Sport Competencies

1. Equipment Considerations
2. Technical Skills (Stance, balance, alignment, movement and board performance)
3. Tactical Applications of Skills (Intro to HP, SS, Alpine and SBX)
4. Competition Pathways, Rules and Regulations

Part 3: In person, On snow assessment

1. Application and Demonstration of Tech/Tactical Skills
2. Athlete Assessment and Analysis
3. Performance Enhancement

Part 4: Final Exam- Once completed with a passing score, the coach will attain their L100 certification 

Coaches must be current and active to attend a USASA event in season. Coaches who are in attendance at a USASA or US Ski& Snowboard event who are not active will be subject to the suspension of their membership.