Rec League Coaching Commitments

Head and Co-coaches run a practice once a week (schedule and field of their choosing), coach a 1 hour long game on Saturdays with 20-3o min warmup beforehand, and communicate with the team's families and fans.

Assistant coaches tend to choose this role if they are new, have scheduling challenges, or just prefer to be in a supportive role for the team--whether that is helping manage the equipment, hand out uniforms, or tie a million cleats!

Never run a practice? Fear not! We provide resources for weekly practice plans and curriculum your players might want to focus on, as well as tons of drills and games to mix in as needed that will keep players engaged at all ages.

Life commitments, travel, and illness happen, so if all coaches cannot hold a practice or make it to a game they just need to reach out to me (Miasha) and I will coordinate a MUSC Staff Coach to fill it. The more notice the better. :)

Coaching Requirements (Recreation League)

Coaching Requirements (Recreation League)

REGISTRATION for Volunteer Coaches  (Pre-Compliance).

1. Log in or create an account on MontclairSoccer.com and register your kids to play.

2. In your dashboard, on the left side click “Volunteer” > “Find Volunteer Roles”.

3. On the following page scroll to the bottom and click “Show All Available Opportunities”.

4. On the following page (Programs) find FALL 2025 Recreation League and click “View Divisions” and select the division(s) that your player(s) are registered for.

5. Scroll to the bottom and click “View Selected Opportunities” > choose your coaching role(s) > you will be prompted to fill out your information and submit your registration.

6. On to compliance……. (See below)
   
   

COMPLIANCE for FALL 2025

Once registered as a volunteer you will have a certification checklist in your MontclairSoccer.com dashboard > Volunteer > you should see your name and a checklist of 4 items. The only two you need to do anything for are the Concussion Certificate and Safesport training.

Risk Status: This is the background check which will automatically be “Pending” or “Complete” so long as you fill out your coach registration with accurate information.

Concussion Certificate: Takes 30ish mins. 

1. Click the check box next to Concussion Certificate, then click the “Renew & Update” button below which will open a pop-up. 

2. Right above the Upload button is the “HERE” link to the CDC training course. You will have to create an account (or log in). 

3. Then, reload or hit the “HERE” link again to open the CDC course page from which you should be able to access and complete the course. 

4. Once complete, download the certificate and upload it. Should show as "Pending verification” when you refresh your volunteer dashboard.

SafeSport: Takes 90ish minutes and progress saves so you don’t have to finish it in one sitting. 

1. Click the check box next to Safe Sport, then click the “Renew & Update” button below which will open a pop-up. 

2. Find in pop-up “To begin your SafeSport training, click HERE” and follow the link.

3. Create an account or Sign in. 

4. An enrollment key should pop-up and click “Enroll” which will add the “SafeSport Trained - U.S. Soccer Federation’ course to your account, found in “My Courses”

5. Once complete, download the certificate and upload it. Should show as "Pending verification” when you refresh your volunteer dashboard.

Coaching License: You don’t need to worry about this

And that’s all for compliance! Reach out to Miasha if you run into any issues completing those tasks [email protected]

FAQs

“I would like to help buuuuuuuut…” 

You may be interested in volunteering but feel a bit apprehensive– you are not alone! Here are common hesitations and how we can support you to make it work…

… “I don’t know anything about soccer”
No problem! We can connect you with training like the Grassroots Soccer program that our referees take to learn the game and rules. We also have resources for practices that are basically lesson plans, great for teaching the players as well as learning strategies as a coach.
Not to mention, in the Recreation league there is almost 100% certainty each team will have at least a few players who have never played before! Learning the basics as a coach will definitely help you connect and support players who are learning the basics themselves.

… “I’ve never coached before”
If you love soccer and feel excited about games but less confident when it comes to coaching practices, know you will have access to a library of practice lesson plans, videos of  activity/game ideas that keep players engaged, and plenty of coaching resources to get you started without any prior experience.

… “I’m just nervous about the first week(s)”
We know it can be intimidating to hold the attention of a large group of small silly humans for the first time. If you are excited to coach but would also like a little coaching back-up getting started, we can send one of our Pro Coach Staff to help you run the first practice(s) or game(s) –like coaching training wheels! 
Staff Coaches can serve as assistant coaches and help you by setting up the field, keeping track of time, prompt introductions/name games, setting up activities/games/explaining the rules (while you get to do the coaching and directing during the activities), and help redirect wandering attention of players back to you. If you’d like a helper the first week(s) email Miasha [email protected]

… “I don’t want to coach on my own”
We will never leave a coach without support who wants support! Teams are made either with one Head Coach and an Assistant Coach or two, OR a team can have a pair or trio of Co-Coaches. New coaches are generally paired with volunteers who have coaching experience unless there are two or three new coaches who ***reciprocally*** request to coach together.

*** starting Fall 20204 we will only honor coaching requests once the coach has completed the compliance process– this includes requests to work with other coaches as a duo or trio. Both coaches (or all 3 coaches) must request to work together *reciprocally* and must all be in compliance before they will be placed on a team together. This means that your players may end up on different teams if coaching compliance is not completed by ALL COACHES before rosters go out. If you did not add your co-coaching request to your registration, email it to Miasha [email protected] and have your desired coaching partner(s) do the same.

… “I’d prefer to coach alone”
If you’d like to be a Head Coach and don’t particularly need Assistant Coaches that is totally fine, just make a note of that in your registration or email [email protected]

… “I have scheduling conflicts”
Whether you have a work schedule that makes holding a weekly practice a challenge or have extended travel plans, MUSC Pro Staff Coaches are available to fill in whenever needed. E-mail Miasha [email protected] to coordinate a Pro Coach fill-in, just like a substitute teacher.

…”I have a trip planned”... 
The more notice you can give for us to coordinate your fill-in coaches, especially during popular travel weeks/ends, the better! If you need a fill-in for a week or two, we will try to coordinate one coach to cover all the practices for consistency and to simplify communication.

Please note, coaches are never allowed to “cancel” a game because they will be away or a large part of their team will be away. Coaches must reach out to us and we will connect with the team you are scheduled to play. Even if only a few players will be available from each team we will figure out a way to hold a game, scrimmage, fun activities, or we can combine teams that weekend. We NEVER want you opposing team standing out at a field with nothing to do because no one reached out to us to coordinate a plan for them. 

… “I work week nights and can’t hold practices”...
If your team’s coaches can't  hold regular practices (or just need extra help), a designated MUSC Staff Coach can serve as an “Assistant” coach and run practices for the whole season or just as needed.

… “I work weekends and can’t coach games Saturdays”...
If your team’s coaches can’t coach games Saturdays, a designated MUSC Staff Coach can serve as an Assistant Coach and coach games Saturdays for the whole season or just as needed.

… “I will have lots of last minute schedule conflicts”
We know that when players are on travel teams they can get very limited notice when schedules change, and we also have a bunch of parent volunteers who might be doctors or have a profession with last minute schedule changes– these are totally fine! 
We will pair you with Co-Coaches or Assistant Coaches who understand and are comfortable running the show on when you aren’t around. We can also plan for Pro Staff Coaches to be available just in case. Make sure to email Miasha [email protected] if this applies to you.

… “I have players in two different age groups and I am concerned their schedules will over lap and I won’t be able to coach both teams on Saturdays”
If you are coaching in multiple divisions we will coordinate with you in the beginning of the season to work out your schedule so you can be at all games!