NFCA Coaches College

[TNSoftballMom]

I stumbled across the National Fastpitch Coaches Association website earlier this year and noticed they have a collection of courses called the Coaches College. I am considering attending one of the courses but am worried it might be too advanced. One of my reasons for thinking that is I looked at their master coach list, which I presume is a list of the folks who have taken the various courses, and a large majority seem to be college coaches. If any of you out there have taken some of these courses, some feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[mtnbama]

Great program -- I've taken three classes and taking another one next week. A lot of college coaches, but I don't think of the classes as being too advanced. There's always a mix of travel, college and high school coaches taking the classes.

 

[Ken Krause]

I am leaving Sunday for the dynamic team practices course; if I pass the test (which I presume I will) I will be a Three Star Master Coach in the program.

The courses are definitely in-depth on a particular topic, but they draw a wide range of coaches -- college, high school, travel, rec league. They break everything down to a pretty simple level (without all the technical mumbo-jumbo) and really make an effort to make it collaborative.

One of the interesting things is that the instructors are genuinely interested in helping their students learn, and learning from their students. Unlike many who feel like they have to be the smartest person in the room (or on the Internet), they admit they don't know it all and are interested in hearing what's worked for other coaches. It is an amazing atmosphere, and you will absolutely walk out a better coach and very inspired.

If you can swing it, definitely give it a try. And you'll walk out of there with a giant binder full of information you can go back and reference again and again.

 

[AtlantaHitDoc]

I second everything Ken has said about these wonderful courses. Coaches at EVERY level can derive benefit from these courses.
I've taken six of them and will take my seventh in Orlando in two weeks. What you will find after taking them is that you see the game differently. You notice things you never noticed before.

I was taking one of the courses in OKC several years ago where you basically watch the games with a college coach and see the games through their eyes. Between the games, the WCWS coaches come and talk to you and you can ask them anything. I remember Bill Edwards (Hofstra) talking to several of us for an extra 30 minutes while we literally picked his brain for information. When he had to leave, we thanked him profusely for taking the extra time to answer any questions we might have. His response was: "Don't thank me. Pass it on." I have found that has been the attitude of every coach/instructor I have encountered through the NFCA courses. They are extremely open with information and they hold nothing back. I've been invited to attend practices by many of these coaches and have taken some up on it so I know it's not just for show. You can't help but be a better coach after attending one of these courses, whether you coach rec, school, travel, or college softball.

BTW, Ken, let me be the first to congratulate you on becoming a three star Master Coach. They did away with the testing last year so now all you have to do is attend!