Coaching

Welcome to Cowlitz Youth Soccer!

Thank you for Volunteering. We value your commitment to coach our community's children. Encourage - Educate - Have Fun.


Castle Rock/Toutle Lake Kalama Kelso Longview Rainier/Clatskanie Timber Barons

Rules

Documents

Note to Coaches

  • Prior to your game, please make sure to reline your field of play. If you are playing on a full-size field please place the corner flags prior to the game, and replace them if you are the last game on that field.

  • Coaches are responsible for printing Medical Waivers and keep with you during all practices and games.

  • Player Cards are no longer required.

  • Birth Certificates need to be uploaded to Affinity in order to play in Vancouver (SWYSA Rules and Regulations).

  • Coaches Liaison Committee Meeting are held every third Monday of the month.

Registration Steps

RETURNING Coaches

  1. Register for your preferred position on Stack Sports
    Castle Rock/Toutle Lake Kalama Kelso Longview Rainier/Clatskanie Timber Barons
  2. Renew your SafeSport and Intro to Safety Certifications in Stack Sports
  3. Log into U.S. Soccer Connect (Affinity) and complete a new background check

NEW Coaches

STEP 1

Create an account on Stack Sports, by selecting a club from the dropdown below. Once logged into Stack Sports, register as a volunteer for your preferred position.

Castle Rock/Toutle Lake Kalama Kelso Longview Rainier/Clatskanie Timber Barons

STEP 2

Create an account with U.S. Soccer Learning Center.

  1. Access the website here: https://learning.ussoccer.com/
  2. Click the Red "Sign Up" link in the upper right-hand corner and follow prompts to enter your information and create your account. Take note that the following fields are used to link your accounts and must match exactly to your account set up in U.S. Soccer Connect (Affinity) in Step 1.
    • LEGAL First Name
    • LEGAL Last Name
    • Date of Birth
    • Email Address

STEP 3

Once logged in to the Learning Center:

  1. Scroll down a bit to the Red "Coaching Education" button and click on it.
  2. Scroll down again and click on the Red "Register for a Course" button.
  3. At the top left of the page, choose the "Supplemental Courses" tab
  4. You will be doing the top 2 courses. "Safesport" and "Intro to Safety"
  5. Choose one and click the "Start _____ Course" button to begin.
  6. Choose the second course and complete it.

Note: In the first year, the SafeSport course is about 2.5 hours long. However, in future years, only a "refresher course" is needed; that's only about 25 minutes. The class does save your progress and can be done over several sessions.

The Intro to Safety course takes about 30 minutes annually.

Your certifications will automatically sync with your U.S. Soccer Connect (Affinity) account. This can take up to 24 hours to process. If you log in to apply for your RMA after that timeframe and your certifications are not showing, please contact your registrar to manually push the link between the two systems.

STEP 4

Create an account with U.S. Soccer Connect (Affinity).

  1. Access the website here: https://wys-bgc.affinitysoccer.com/
  2. Select the season for which you are going to coach, a Username and Password, and click the "Create New Account" button.
  3. Follow prompts to enter your information and create your account. Take note that the following fields are used to link your accounts and must match exactly to your account set up in U.S. Soccer Learning Center in Step 2.
    • LEGAL First Name
    • LEGAL Last Name
    • Date of Birth
    • Email Address

STEP 5

Apply for your background check (RMA) in U.S. Soccer Connect (Affinity).

  1. Log back into U.S. Soccer Connect (Affinity): https://wys-bgc.affinitysoccer.com/
  2. Click the green "Continue" button.
  3. Click the green "Register as Coach/Admin", this will open up a pop-up window.
  4. Select Play Level "Background Check".
  5. Enter requested information or double-check the pre-filled information. (You can check for your linked certifications by clicking on the camera icon if they are not yet linked. The system won't let you finish applying until they have..email me and I can "push" the sync). When all information looks correct, choose the green "Save & Next Page" button at the bottom.
  6. Read and agree to all Electronic Legal Agreements (waivers) and click the green "Agree & Continue" button at the bottom.
  7. Click the green "Continue to Background Check" button.
  8. Enter your Social Security Number in the pop-up. (Note: This is for the background check company only, does not get saved in U.S. Soccer Connect (Affinity), and is not visible to any soccer volunteer).
  9. And then the green "Submit BGC" button.
  10. Double-check SSN was entered correctly and click the blue "Okay" button.

Please send your club registrar a quick email to let us know you have completed these steps so we can verify you are cleared to coach.

That's it! Thank you again for volunteering to coach with us! If you have any questions along the way or any problems, please don't hesitate to contact your club registrar for assistance.

Our goal is to keep kids safe. The task is never done. Stay diligent and many thanks!