Montgomery County Public Schools

Athletics → Coaches/Athletic Directors

General Information for Coaches

Coaching Information Packet

Coaches are responsible for reviewing and being knowledgeable on the following items that are contained in the Athletics section of the MCPS website:

• General Information for Coaches 
• MCPS Coach Health and Safety Expectations - this memorandum describes the responsibilities of the coach in the areas of student and health safety. It is the responsibility of coaches to be familiar with the information on the Health and Safety page and instruct parents and students to be familiar with the information on that webpage as well.  Coaches are also responsible for being familiar with the Injury Procedures for Coaches and Athletic Trainers.
• Coaching Eligibility - from the High School Athletics Handbook
• Crowd Control Responsibilities and End-of-Game Procedures  
• Placing the Sports Folder on your Desktop
• Guidelines for Parent Meetings
• All-Star Game Guidelines
• Conditioning Programs Information: The Inter-Association Task Force for Preventing Sudden Death in Secondary School Athletics Programs: Best Practices Recommendations (see page 548)
•  Spring Preseason Plan - Updated plan will be released later in the school year based on field availability.
• Memorandum regarding Uniform Standards/Exceptions

Rules, Regulations, and Guidelines for Coaches

Middle and high school coaches are accountable for adhering to rules, regulations, and guidelines contained in the:

• MCPS High School Athletics Handbook or MCPS Middle School Athletics Handbook with special emphasis on the Coaching Information and Standards and Schedules sections.
• Applicable NFHS Rules Book
• Athletics section of the MCPS website

High school coaches are also accountable for adhering to rules, regulations, and guidelines contained in the:

• MPSSAA Handbook  
  • **New for 2020 - MPSSAA 80% Rule Clarification & FAQ Scenarios
• Appropriate MPSSAA Tournament Bulletin (Fall, Winter, or Spring)

Varsity coaches are responsible for the entire program and must communicate county wide expectations to all team personnel, including junior varsity and assistant coaches, volunteer coaches, and players.

MCPS Training Information for Non-Employee Coaches

Non-Employee Volunteer Coaches must complete the “Online Training for Volunteers/Contractors: Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect”. Once a coach has completed this training, they will receive a confirmation number, the date the training was completed and the confirmation number need to be reported to the Athletic Director to record in the Athletic Certification and Compliance (Coaches Database). More complete information about this training is available on the MCPS Child Abuse and Neglect webpage. Volunteer Coaches must complete this training annually! 

Non-Employee Stipend Coaches will complete the MCPS Compliance Training using the myMCPS Classroom system. Below are the directions and information for how these coaches can access the training. Supports have been put in place to assist coaches throughout the process including “Forget Password” links and access to the “Help Desk”. The compliance training contains the 11 MCPS Compliance Training standard modules, the required the required Diabetes Awareness Training for Coaches and Athletic Trainers PowerPoint, and the optional Level 2 Diabetes Training: How to Administer Glucagon course. A Non-Employee Stipend Coach meets compliance once they have completed the 12 required training modules. The process for Non-Employee Stipend Coaches is as follows: 

• ADs will provide a link to their non-employee coaches.
• Non-employee coaches will follow these directions or use this more comprehensive support guide to create their account and enroll in the course.
• The MCPS Athletics Unit will monitor progress of course and upon completion, updated the information within their database.  Coaches may also always take a screenshot or document the completion of their modules and training and provide that information to their Athletic Director who may choose to record the date of completion in the database.

Additional Information and Guidelines

Additional information for coaches including information about the different types of stipend coaches, certification requirements, selection priority, volunteer coaches, consultants, coaching restrictions and Supporting Services Personnel as coaches.

Forms and Additional Resources for Coaches

• Link to Google Sportsmanship Form
• MCPS Child Abuse and Neglect webpage
• ECA Handbook
• MCPS Extracurricular Stipend Form (for hiring coaches)
• Emergency Action Plan Template (MCPS)
• Coach Evaluation Form (MCPS Form 565-13)
• Additional forms that students and parents need in order to participate can be found under the forms link in the Student/Parent section.