Because of the importance of keeping minor athletes safe, each coach will be required to undergo a background screening annually.  In addition, every coach will take a SafeSport refresher course annually before they are eligible to coach a practice, tryout or match.  It's a reasonable step to protect our athletes.

USA Volleyball Background screenings involve a manual search of all of the county courthouses an adult has lived for the past 10 years.  As a result, the typical turnaround time is about three weeks.  Please don't wait until a week before a tournament to get this process started.  (International screenings are required for anybody who has been out of the USA for at least six months--these cost about $150 and can take a couple of months, depending on the country.)  Some national organizations only require an internet database search--the intricacy of USA Volleyball's background screening in another indication of the importance of getting this right and protecting our athletes.

The CAP program has been discontinued and is being replaced by the USAV Coach Academy.  This practical knowledge coursework will be debuting in September and will allow coaches to earn coaching credits all from the comfort of their home computer. 

More to come on this as the Delta Region partners with USAV Coaching Education to provide this content to our coaches at limited to no cost.

There are plenty of reasons not to coach youth sports these days: crazy parents, long hours, and little to no pay, to name a few.

But there are also a lot of great incentives to being involved. Read the below article on the TOP TEN REASONS TO COACH YOUTH SPORTS. If any of these resonate with you, then you are in it for the right reason!

1. Coaches must be of high moral character, with knowledge of the sport, and with the ability to convey their knowledge to the athletes they train.

2. Coach must pass a background screening every two years in order to be members of the Delta Region of USA Volleyball.

3. All coaches must be current members of the Delta Region of USA Volleyball prior to the first practice. Coaches for Youth, Junior and Adult play, must be registered members of the region in which they live.

4. Coach must be at least 18 years of age. A junior under 18 years of age is allowed to act as a manager during the club season. At no time may an individual under 18 be allowed to be a head coach or assistant coach.

5. USA Volleyball and the Delta Region are committed to being leaders in providing a safe and fun environment for our youth. The safety of its participants on and off the court is of paramount importance to USA Volleyball and the Delta Region. Therefore, all coaches must complete the mandated SafeSport training prior to working a tryout, practice or event.

6. Delta Region coaches are responsible for the officiating requirements of their team and MUST remain court-side (or have another certified rostered adult team member) during their team’s officiating duties at tournaments. It is important for coaches to read the Junior Club Official’s Guidebook (under the Junior Official's tab) thoroughly to understand the steps to helping your team members become certified Delta Region officials.

7. With the high expectations for quality coaching, USA Volleyball has a minimum level coach education requirement in order for an individual to coach in a junior program. The coaching course is called IMPACT (Increased Mastery and Professional Application of Coaching Theory). It is a free online course for beginning coaches and those with little to no prior coaching education foundation course work.

>Coaches should carry the following forms with them to all events: 

1.) Copies of the team roster-Tournament Director and Officials may ask for these at events so make extra copies. Coaches can print the team roster by logging into their member account.

2.) 2020 Incident Report Form in case a player was to get hurt. These need to be filled out immediately and given to the Tournament Director or emailed to the region office. Please note: form needs to be legible and have witnesses to the injury. Copy of the form can be found below.

3.) Medical Release forms for all players on the team roster. Blanks can be found below.

>Junior teams must have a certified R1 ADULT on their team roster (might have to be you). The region has a discounted membership for parents of Junior players (Chaperone) which will allow them to be added to your team roster and to become certified to officiate your matches. Chaperones cannot sit on the team bench--but can be court-side to officiate during your team assignments or to shag balls during warm-up.

>An adult from the team roster must be present during the team’s officiating assignment. Ideally, it is best for the 'adult' to be actively involved in some sort of officiating--could be score flipper--so they can keep up with the game in case an error in officiating or scoring was to occur. It is really not a good look if the 'adult' is just sitting there reading the paper while their players are having to make important game decisions.

>A good coach improves the player’s game. A great coach improves their life! When you are in the coaching profession, one of the things you learn early on is not to take things too personally. Your biggest fans when you win may become your biggest critics when you lose. Your players may love you one moment, and grumble the next, and it is important to maintain perspective and see the big picture even when they cannot. If you are doing your job, your players and fans will not always appreciate the moment, but they will appreciate your great coaching years from now.

>All kids need is a little help, a little hope, and someone who believes in them. Coaches develop better people and better players. They measure success not in championships, but by the number of significant life events they are invited to by their players. When an athlete invites a coach to a wedding, or graduation, or other such event, the athlete is doing that not because he or she won some championship. They invite a coach who has profoundly changed them for the better as a person. And here is the secret sauce. These coaches of positive significance realize that when you invest in people off the court, success on the court usually follows.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 27, 2020) – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) is proud to announce the club awards for the 2020 season. The Club Awards program is in its fifth year and recognizes deserving coaches in the youth/club volleyball community.

The AVCA Club Awards Committee selected a Club Coach of the Year in each of the seven girls age divisions (12-18), a Beach Club Coach of the Year, a Boys Club Coach of the Year, and a Club Director of the Year. Selections were made by the AVCA Club Awards Committee: Chairperson Maggie Griffin (VCNebraska) and members Brennan Dean (WAVE), Stephen Boyle (Pumas), Reed Carlson (Club V), Emily Hawthorne (The Academy)*, Will Stein (Coastal Volleyball), and David Weitl (Washington Volleyball Academy). *As a nominee, Emily abstained from the Club Director of the Year selection process.

Club Coaches of the Year honorees will be recognized at the Jostens Coaches Honors event at the 2020 AVCA Convention in Omaha, NE (with many safety measures in place, the event will be held as planned December 16-19 pending any changes issued by the CDC or local officials).

16s Coach of the Year: Delta Region Coach Tanja Eckart (Elite Volleyball Academy)

Eckart always had a passion for the game of volleyball, but it was not until she started coaching that she realized just how big that passion was. Having coached for over 22 years, she has been instrumental in the growth of volleyball in the Florida and the Delta regions. Leading the EVA 16 National team this season, the squad finished 3rd at the Ozark Challenge, 3rd at the Memphis Challenge, and 1st at the 501 Invitational.

Eckart’s focus this year was to expose her team to faster and more physical volleyball by playing an age group up in most tournaments.

For a look at all of the AVCA Club Awards, click here.