AYSO is pleased to announce that the long-anticipated AYSO Online
Training & Certification Courses will be available for your use starting on
Monday, July 10. Months of brainstorming, planning and discussion with
volunteers, commissioners, staff and the National Board of Directors
(NBOD) has brought us to the point where we can offer specific courses in
a way that all AYSO volunteers can take advantage of education and
certification opportunities. Online education will offer convenience, cost
savings and the opportunity for volunteers to learn at their own pace.
The AYSO Online Training & Certification Courses are part of the
overall education and training model. These opportunities are not intended to
replace any other method of training, but will act as a valuable
supplement to the training opportunities already available. As a reminder, we
have five ways to receive AYSO training and certification: Through
local training and certification, Super Camps, Instructor Super Camps, the
Section Conferences, and now online training and certification. Online
training enhances what is already the best volunteer training and
certification program of any youth sports organization in the country. All
five training opportunities follow identical curriculum established and
approved by AYSO commissions and the NBOD.
Online education is a viable alternative for many of our AYSO
volunteers. While many of our volunteers live in highly-populated areas where
local instructors are abundant, many others live in far-reaching rural
areas that have difficulty securing local instructors. In these areas,
online education saves vast amounts of time and money, while providing
instruction to volunteers who have difficulty accessing training and
certification through other means.
Recently, the NBOD unanimously approved the first three online training
courses. They are Safe Haven Certification for Referees, Safe Haven
Certification for Coaches and BASIC (Board And Staff Introductory
Certification). Starting Monday, July 10th, these courses will be available online for
volunteer use.
To take any of these online courses, volunteers should go to
www.aysotraining.org. To access the online courses and receive certification or
credit, you must be a registered AYSO volunteer with an AYSO ID number,
and have access to a computer with Internet and Flash Player 8. If you
do not have an AYSO ID number, the system will direct you on how
receive one. (Remember, there will be a delay in receiving your ID number,
the system will take time to process your request.) When you first access
one of the online courses, the system will recognize if your computer
has Flash Player 8 capabilities or not. If not, a "Free Download" icon
will appear. Follow the download instructions.
Upon completion (and, in some cases, passing a test), you will be able
to print a certificate of successful completion, and your volunteer
record will be updated in eAYSO. (eAYSO updates occur weekly.)
More good news: Pending approval by the National Board of Directors, we
will add the Treasurer I course July 24, the U-8 Coach course August 1,
and both the Basic Referee and U-10 Coach courses August 14. These are
target dates, and we'll do everything we possibly can to meet those
dates. At the same time, we want to ensure that all the courses are
thoroughly reviewed and approved by the AYSO commissions and NBOD before
being added to the online course list.
Also in the planning and development stages for implementation later in
the year are Safety Director, Registrar, Regional Commissioner
Orientation, Intermediate Referee, U-6 Coach, Tournament Director and Parent
Orientation. Other courses will be added over a period of time, until all
of our courses (approximately 100) will be available, in whole or in
part, online. Watch for more announcements as the online program grows.
Be advised that, while some of our online courses are conducted
entirely on the Internet, others will be taught partially online and partially
in person. For example, some referee training, as well as some coaching
courses, will require invaluable on-field coursework to supplement the
online education now available.
This is an exciting enhancement to our educational delivery methods.
Although several educational institutions have been using online
education for many years, AYSO will be taking a big step into this current,
accepted form of delivery. Thanks to the volunteers who were instrumental
in this process of moving AYSO forward. We are all very excited about
this new training and certification tool!!
You now have the opportunity to take full advantage of this training
initiative, while using the other methods of training currently
available. As with any startup program, we're anxious to hear your thoughts and
suggestions, and we look forward to sharing your feedback with the
NBOD.
Send responses to this course to rickdavis@ayso.org.
