Coaching Requirements
All coaches must complete the required USA Hockey and Minnesota Hockey certifications before they can take the ice or enter locker rooms with their teams. Please read the information below carefully and follow each step exactly as outlined.
These requirements are mandatory; there are no shortcuts or “almost done” allowances when it comes to athlete safety and compliance.
Your background screening, age-specific module, and SafeSport training must be completed before you can be added to a roster.
Any CEP training required for the current season must be completed by the USA Hockey deadline (December 31st). Coaches who have not met all requirements by that deadline will be removed from their roster per USA Hockey and Minnesota Hockey regulations.
Coaching registration fees will be reimbursed by IGHHA (or by Eagan Hockey for coaches participating in the Eagan/IGH co‑op). Please submit all receipts, along with your team name and mailing address, to the IGHHA Director of Finance at finance@ighhockey.org.
Coaching Requirements & Season Compliance
To coach with IGHHA, all volunteers must complete a set of required certifications each season. The steps below outline everything you need before you can be rostered and take the ice with your team.
Please review them carefully and complete each item in full.
Coaches should keep receipts for any USA Hockey registration, CEP clinics, and age‑specific modules. These expenses are reimbursed after the start of the new calendar year, once coaching commitments for the season have been met. (CEP clinics are not required for Mini Mite coaches.)
Rostered coaches also receive credit toward IGHHA volunteer requirements.
1. REGISTER WITH USA HOCKEY
This yearly registration is the first small step toward being able to coach in the United States. It provides catastrophic insurance coverage and will provide you with the registration number that will be used to roster you to a team the same way it does with your children.
Access USA Hockey registration here.
2. IGHHA ONLINE COACHING APPLICATION
3. MN HOCKEY BACKGROUND SCREENING
This needs to be completed each season. Follow the directions above to see if you are current or to submit this. You are not considered clear until you get an email response with a bold, all-caps "CLEAR".
Access the background screening application here.
4. USA HOCKEY SAFE SPORT TRAINING
This online certification course also needs to be completed each season. After you've completed this once, there is a shorter refresher.
Access Safe Sport training here.
5. USA HOCKEY AGE-SPECIFIC MODULE
Coaches will need to complete these online modules for each level at which they are coaching. They do not currently expire.
Additional information about age-specific modules can be found here.
6. USA HOCKEY COACHING EDUCATION PROGRAM (CEP) CERTIFICATION
All coaches must have a CEP Certification. At the Mite and Mite Prep levels, all coaches must have completed at least one CEP coaching clinic (but it does not need to be current). All other levels must stay on the certification course that requires advancement every other season. If you haven't passed a CEP coaching clinic yet, please check this link to find one before the end of the year. You'll be looking for a Level 1 clinic that is either for all levels or for Mite coaches.