ASA ACE Certification

[Canocorn]

FYI..
Make sure your coaches know that they have to ACE certified to coach in championship play starting in 2009.

http://indianaasajo.com/

Just thought I would pass it along.

[ballguy]

Just wondering what this certification does for potential coaches? From what little I have read it looks like a way for ASA to raise more funds. They want coaches to purchase a video then take a test. They mention level 1, 2, 3 and so on. For each level purchase a new video and take another test. Just what does this do for the coaches. I can understand a back ground check. I know Little League Baseball started requiring back ground checks on anyone involved in their local leagues and around here our local police department does this free of charge. (last I knew they did) So it looks like another way to take your money.

[NumeroUno]

There are 4 parts to the test and they are $20 to $25 per test. You don't have to buy anything you do them right on line and yes the only reason to do these tests are for ASA to make some cash. It is the giving season

[thedoanezone]

Do you need to get "re-certified" each year?

[Canocorn]

As mandated by the ASA National Board of Directors, each 2009 Junior Olympic Championship Play team (includes all qualifiers and state tournaments) must have at least one coach within the field of play/dugout ACE Certified in order to participate in Championship Play. The ACE Cerficiation includes a background check. It is highly recommended that all coaches associated with JO Teams complete the ACE Certification program in 2009.

Click here to start the ACE Certification process.

If you are already ACE Certified and only need background checked, complete and return the ASA Release Form along with $5 per background check. This form and fee can be mailed to Cindy Inman, 10856 E Gibbs Ave, Rosedale, IN 47874

[DrHeat]

I doubt that the ASA makes any money off of this certification process. It is a CYA program that they are implementing. Our local youth league has had a simiar program in place for about nine years now. Here is how it works and why it's being mandated by ASA. Let's say that during an ASA sanctioned event like a State tournament, that two coaches get so upset that yelling and screaming at each other or umpires or players or parents or anybody gets so far out of hand that punches are actually thrown by some of the parties mentioned above. Maybe even police are called. Maybe someone gets hurt. Maybe someone goes to jail. Now these people have been embarrassed in front of their team and peers and decide, I'm not gonna let them get away with that! Next thing you know, a lawyer gets involved, and names EVERBODY INVOLVED in a lawsuit, including ASA (it was their sanctioned event, remember). Some judge sits up on their bench and decides that someone is at fault to a certain degree, and someone else is at fault to a different degree, and then asks the ASA, did you do anything to educate your sanctioned members that this type of behavior is wrong and not tolerated? Of course the ASA would say, no your honor, we just thought everyone already knows that you can't behave like this. Well, because ASA NEVER made people aware that this type of action is wrong, the judge says, okay, I find ASA to be partially responsible as well.

Now the ASA says, okay, we will mandate a program just for this. We will make them sit through a video, and then test them on the video, and we will make them pay for it themselves.
Then when the judge asks the question, the ASA can say, "Your Honor, we have a program in place that we mandate our coaches to complete in order for them to coach. We have done all we could to see that this type of incident doesn't happen. IT IS NOT OUR FAULT! WE TOLD THEM!

I have sat through a video from a similar sanctioning group that the Indianapolis Parks Department uses, and it is a joke. I would not want my kids coached by anyone who could not pass the test without even looking at the video. Even the Parks department employee who "taught" the class and was going to certify all of us thought it was a joke, so much as to play the video at fast forward speed while making the statement, "they said I had to show this video, but didn't say at what speed I had to show it. All coaches passed 100%.

I do agree with the background check, but it can work in a negative way as well. What is the criteria for not allowing a coach to coach? Who decides what the criteria is going to be? Is it anyone ever convicted of a felony? What about misdemeanors? Is there a 10 year or 20 year time period that has to expire for a person to be elegible? I don't know?

First of all I would agree with:

anyone convicted of sex crimes: banned for life!
anyone convicted of crimes against children: banned for life
but there are many other crimes that I would put an expiration on and allow a person to coach.

I remeber, we had a 45 year old minister who wanted to coach his grandaughter in T-ball, but the Parks Department said no, because he was caught with a couple of bags of pot when he was 18 years old and was convicted of felony possesion. Tweny six years later with absolutely no other arrests, he was denied the chance to coach his grandaughter. There needs to be some leeway for some crimes.

[Ace]

I doubt that the ASA makes any money off of this certification process. It is a CYA program that they are implementing. Our local youth league has had a simiar program in place for about nine years now. Here is how it works and why it's being mandated by ASA. Let's say that during an ASA sanctioned event like a State tournament, that two coaches get so upset that yelling and screaming at each other or umpires or players or parents or anybody gets so far out of hand that punches are actually thrown by some of the parties mentioned above. Maybe even police are called. Maybe someone gets hurt. Maybe someone goes to jail. Now these people have been embarrassed in front of their team and peers and decide, I'm not gonna let them get away with that! Next thing you know, a lawyer gets involved, and names EVERBODY INVOLVED in a lawsuit, including ASA (it was their sanctioned event, remember). Some judge sits up on their bench and decides that someone is at fault to a certain degree, and someone else is at fault to a different degree, and then asks the ASA, did you do anything to educate your sanctioned members that this type of behavior is wrong and not tolerated? Of course the ASA would say, no your honor, we just thought everyone already knows that you can't behave like this. Well, because ASA NEVER made people aware that this type of action is wrong, the judge says, okay, I find ASA to be partially responsible as well.

First of all I would agree with:

anyone convicted of sex crimes: banned for life!
anyone convicted of crimes against children: banned for life
but there are many other crimes that I would put an expiration on and allow a person to coach.

I remeber, we had a 45 year old minister who wanted to coach his grandaughter in T-ball, but the Parks Department said no, because he was caught with a couple of bags of pot when he was 18 years old and was convicted of felony possesion. Tweny six years later with absolutely no other arrests, he was denied the chance to coach his grandaughter. There needs to be some leeway for some crimes.

I agree, pot smoking ministers are cooool!!

[da60]

Tried to get on the ACE coaches certification website to take the test and found it down. Anyone else have this same problem? If so, any idea when it will be up and running? Thanks.

[da60]

Thanks for the info Spazsdad. Guess I will just wait to take it at a later date.

[coolstuff]

These kind of "mandatory" programs don't have to be a joke, they can be helpful if they are done right. The problems start when the program is designed so it's so easy that anyone can "pass" the test. The test is designed only to make sure you actually watched the video or attended the seminar, but the answers are so common-sense, anyone could figure it out on their own. I haven't even seen these videos but I bet I'm close. The right way to do this is to make the videos available to watch, but not make them mandatory, and ask every ASA coach to sign off on a code of conduct.