Revising the National Standards for Sport Coaches Within the USA

Abstract

As the sport coaching profession continues to grow, there is a need to reflect upon and revise the knowledge and competencies coaches should possess to support quality sport experiences. The purpose of this paper is to document the revision process of the National Standards for Sport Coaches (NSSC) which were established to outline professional sport coaching standards in the United States of America (USA). The 3-year revision process involved two separate task forces organized by SHAPE America and several public reviews. The final revision aligns the NSSC with quality coaching frameworks and documents seven core responsibilities of sport coaches. Additionally, the NSSC includes standards meant to provide guidance on what a coach should know (e.g., professional knowledge, interpersonal knowledge, and intrapersonal knowledge), what a coach should be able to do (e.g., expectations of performance and developed competencies), and what common practices occur among coaches (e.g., shared values) to meet each core responsibility. It is hoped that the revised version of the NSSC continues to provide direction for all stakeholders to improve coaching practices within the USA.