This course prepares you to effectively develop Phases 5 and 6 athletes in your program while reinforcing your ability to develop Phases 1 through 4 athletes: a responsibility that U.S. Ski & Snowboard takes very seriously. Please keep in mind that this course requires a significant investment of your time and effort. As with any major certification, this course will not be completed in a weekend or even a week, but we hope you are excited by the opportunity to amplify your coaching experience with dynamic ideas and tips, as sourced from experts in the field of alpine training and competition. This is a dynamic course with several types of learning opportunities including remote group conferencing (webinars), online modules, and an in-person coaching assessment. 

Topics, Key Concepts, Coaching Competencies & Learning Outcomes

Click on THIS LINK to review the topics, key concepts, coaching competencies, and learning outcomes.

• Pre-Meeting Webinar

  1. Conduct introductions, welcome, and overview
  2. Explain expectations, grading rubrics, and criteria for candidate evaluations
  3. Introduce content in the upcoming eLearning modules (both L300 Coaching Strategies and Level 300 and Sport-Specific Content)
  4. Review the itinerary for the On-Snow Coaching Assessment
  5. Provide the on-snow packing list for this course experience 

• Coach developers will contact you and schedule a virtual meeting time to:

• The Coaching Portfolio

• The educational philosophy of the US Ski & Snowboard Sport Education Department is to develop knowledge, build skills, and create positive organizational behaviors. The coaching portfolio is a tool that we utilize to build skills and serves as an application to the information that we present within our courses. It provides coaches with an opportunity to digest and internalize the content that they review and to put it into the context of their roles and responsibilities as a coach.

  As you work your way through the course, you will see portfolio activities sprinkled throughout each section. The completion of these activities is a requirement of the course and coach developers will be reviewing your posts and providing a grade for them. The grading scale is 1 - 5 and candidates must receive a 3 - 5 to obtain a passing grade. 

• Online Modules

  • Getting Started: Upload your First Aid/CPR and Heads Up Concussion training certificates if you haven't done so already, then select the location for your On-Snow Coaching Assessment and purchase the required resources for this course.

  • REQUIRED READING: Two required resources accompany this course

    1. "The Alpine Skiing Guide to Ski Fundamentals" is a requirement for this course since much of the material comes from this resource. Purchase the flipbook for $19.99 at the  U.S. Ski & Snowboard Shop.

    2. "Coaching Better Every Season" by Wade Gilbert, in either the paperback or eBook version, for $26.95

  • Coaching Better Every Season: This section of the course will introduce you to several coaching strategies that high-level coaches should find useful. These include the following:
    • The last two sections of Dr. Wade Gilbert's book, Coaching Better Every Season. Part III focuses on the roles and responsibilities of a coach during your End Of Season requirements. Part IV focuses on the roles and responsibilities of a coach during the Off Season part of the year.
    • The Coaches Code - A collaborative document created by our six elite team coaches with the intended outcome of defining "How We Roll".
  • High-Performance Coaching
  • • The delivery of the SkillsQuest-Fitness Assessment and USTART Physical Competency Assessment on a club level.
    • A review of the VAMS Assessment (Values, Acceptance, and Mindfulness).
    • A review of the Return to Performance process for injured athletes.
    • A review of the Injury Risk Reduction Approach
    • A review of the 2022 Self-Assessment High-Performance Standards
  • Developing the Annual Coaching Plan
  • • A deep dive into Long-Term Athlete Development and the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Alpine Training System.
    • A review of the Athlete Profile
    • A review of the Alpine Fundamentals Guide
    • A review of SkillsQuest
    • An introduction to the Athlete Assessment
    • An introduction of the Annual Coaching Plan
    • A review of the steps for leading a training plan
  • Training & Competition
  • • A review of setting up a training environment
    • A review of venue safety and an introduction of the homologation report
    • A review of movement analysis
    • A review of Technical and Tactical Key Concepts of Slalom 
    • A review of Technical and Tactical Key Concepts of GS 
    • A review of Technical and Tactical Key Concepts of Downhill 
    • A review of Technical and Tactical Key Concepts of Super G 
    • A review of the Competition Pipeline
  • eLearning Content Assessment: The eLearning Content Assessment is an evaluation of the candidates understanding of the information presented within the course. This assessment will utilize multiple choice, true/false, and matching questions to evaluate the proficiency of knowledge development.
  • Course Survey/Course Certificate: Once all course requirements are achieved, the course certificate becomes available and the candidate receives their Alpine Level 300 certification.
  • On-Snow Coaching Assessment: The on-snow coaching assessment measures the course candidates ability to coach, integrate new knowledge, collaborate, and demonstrate skiing skills. The on-snow coaching assessment is comprised of four parts: coaching ability, technical/tactical knowledge, skill demonstration, and movement analysis. This is a seven-day event with mornings focused on engaging candidates in the technical/tactical knowledge, skill demonstration, and movement analysis evaluation of free skiing and slalom, gs, and speed course setting skills and modifications. The afternoon will provide certification candidates with in-classroom activities and guest speakers.