The NFHS, along with partner organizations, have released a collection of new and revised online education courses that are now available through the NFHS Learning Center at www.NFHSlearn.com.

New course offerings in the NFHS Learning Center include “Coaching Field Hockey” (revised), “Coaching Field Hockey: Goalkeeping” (New), “Coaching Adapted Sports” (New) and “Understanding Copyright and Compliance” (New Tracks).

Created in association with USA Field Hockey, both “Coaching Field Hockey” and “Coaching Field Hockey: Goalkeeping” are designed to help coaches teach the individual and team skills of field hockey.

“We’re pleased to offer these courses for high school field hockey coaches,” said Dan Schuster, NFHS director of educational services. “These courses are full of skills videos to teach coaches how to properly demonstrate the skills of field hockey.”

“The two new online courses, Coaching Field Hockey and Coaching Field Hockey: Goalkeeping, were created to help high school coaches and their athletes and teams to succeed,” said Craig Parnham, USA Field Hockey director of coach education and learning. “Both courses are intended to support development of the technical and tactical aspects of the game. They are great refreshers for experienced coaches and provide basic information and resources for those who are new to the game.”

Units available within “Coaching Field Hockey” include “Grips, Ball Control and Elimination Skills,” “Passing and Receiving Skills,” “Scoring Techniques” and “Small Unit Play.” The course also discusses several situations that result in set plays: 25-yard free hit, penalty corners, penalty strokes and one-on-ones.

“Coaching Field Hockey: Goalkeeping” is a sport-specific course that demonstrates the skills, techniques and tactics of playing the goalkeeper position in field hockey. As the last line of defense, goalkeepers require unique and supportive teaching and training.

For the first time, individuals who coach students with physical disabilities have a new resource through “Coaching Adapted Sports.”

Created in association with the American Association of Adapted Sports Programs (AAASP), “Coaching Adapted Sports” is designed to help coaches learn more about enhancing the education experience for students in adapted sports.

Adapted sports is an inclusive education-based sports program, which unites students with a variety of physical disabilities onto teams and follows an interscholastic system of multiple sports seasons. Students participating in adapted sports programs experience positive educational benefits while often gaining improvements in achievement, academic performance, physical development and peer friendships.

“In previous years, we have offered coursework for individuals who work with those who are intellectually disabled,” Schuster said. “Now, this completes our offerings to include those who support students with physical disabilities.”

“The American Association of Adapted Sports Programs (AAASP) is proud to partner with the NFHS in creating a step-bystep course for coaches to successfully implement interscholastic adapted sports for students with physical disabilities,” said Bev Vaughn, AAASP executive director and co-founder. “This marks a significant and major milestone in this area of sport development and opens the door to many new and exciting opportunities for these deserving student-athletes to realize their full potential both on and off the court.”

“Coaching Adapted Sports” assists coaches in providing a positive experience for their students. Interscholastic students with physical disabilities have specific needs, which could prevent them from enjoying the positive experiences available to other students who participate in athletics and team sports.

“Coaching Field Hockey,” “Coaching Field Hockey: Goalkeeping” and “Coaching Adapted Sports” all fulfill the sport-specific course criteria for obtaining NFHS Learning Center certifications as Accredited Interscholastic Coach (AIC) and Certified Interscholastic Coach (CIC).

Theatre directors and speech and debate coaches can now take advantage of two new tracks in

“Understanding Copyright and Compliance.” “Understanding Copyright and Compliance” explains what copyright means and when there may be exceptions. The course discusses topics including fair use, when a piece of music might be in the public domain and copyright infringement penalties.

“Copyright is a critically important topic for state associations and schools,” Schuster said. “The legal implications involved can be very serious if there is a violation.”

“For decades, educators have made assumptions on what it means to be copyright complaint,” said Dr. James Weaver, NFHS director of performing arts and sports. “For the first time, they now have a tool that is easy to use and understand to assist them in being copyright compliant.

In additional to the new tracks for theatre directors and speech and debate coaches, the course, available free of charge, also includes tracks tailored to the specific needs of music teachers, spirit coaches and school administrators.

“We’ve had success with three tracks and felt the need to expand to other areas where copyright could be an issue,” Schuster said. “Similar to what we have done in our health and safety courses, we are always looking to enhance our educational opportunities wherever possible.”

After starting with two courses – Fundamentals of Coaching and First Aid for Coaches – in 2007 through the former NFHS Coach Education Program, the NFHS Learning Center now offers more than 70 online courses, including more than 30 that are free.

The NFHS Learning Center also offers more than 25 sport-specific courses. Courses are now available to students, coaches, parents, administrators, officials and performing arts/educators.

Since the launch of www.NFHSlearn.com in 2007, the NFHS has delivered more than 9 million courses.