High School Personal Development Credit

Coaching and officiating pathway

Turn your involvement in sport into a high school credit.

Nova Scotia students in Grades 10, 11 or 12 can earn a high school credit through coaching and/or officiating in community sport. The program helps students build leadership skills, gain practical experience and contribute to their sport community while working toward graduation.

Eligibility

You are eligible to apply if you:

  • are a Nova Scotia student in Grade 10, 11 or 12
  • currently coach and/or officiate, or are planning to coach and/or officiate, with a community sport club or recognized provincial sport organization
  • can complete the program requirements before graduating from Grade 12

Students can begin the program at any time during Grades 10, 11 or 12. You do not need to finish the credit in one school year. You can work on the program over multiple years if all requirements are completed before graduating.

Previous coaching and/or officiating hours prior to program enrollment

Grade 12 students will be able to receive credit for eligible coaching and officiating activities completed before enrolling in the program if the activities are recorded in their logbook.

Grade 10 and 11 students can count eligible activities completed after enrolling in the program.

Program benefits

By completing the program requirements, you can earn:

  • one full high school credit
  • coaching and officiating training and certifications
  • leadership and communication skills
  • volunteer or paid practical experience in community sport

Cost

There is no cost to apply for the high school personal development credit program. There is no cost to complete the main required courses in the program.

Some sport-specific coaching or officiating courses may have costs, depending on the sport and course provider. Students and parents should confirm any sport-specific costs with the provincial sport organization, community sport club or course provider before registering.

If you have questions about course access or possible sport-specific costs, contact program staff.

Program overview

Step 1: Apply

Complete the online application form. After your application is received and reviewed, a program officer will contact you with onboarding information and provide access to the tools and resources needed to complete the program.

This onboarding package will include:

  • information about program requirements
  • instructions for creating or accessing your NCCP Locker account (Coaching Association of Canada’s online system for coach training and certification records)
  • access to Sideline Learning (to view program requirements, access training modules, upload proof of course completion, submit program documentation and track progress)
  • your program logbook
  • guidance on completing courses, tracking hours and submitting documentation

Step 2: Complete your training

Students complete a combination of required training modules, sport-specific education and professional development. The required training and courses include:

  • sport specific coaching or officiating education: 8–24 hours (combination of e-learning and in-person training)
  • safe sport training: 2 hours (e-learning)
  • making ethical decisions: 3.5 hours (e-learning)
  • coaching athletes with a disability: 2 hours (e-learning)
  • anti-racism module: 2 hours (e-learning)
  • making head way in sport – concussion training: 2 hours (e-learning)
  • mental health in sport: 2 hours (e-learning)
  • understanding the rule of two: 1 hour (e-learning)
  • other coaching and officiating professional development: hours vary by course (combination of e-learning and in-person training)

The specific courses you complete may vary depending on your sport and coaching or officiating pathway.

NCCP coaching or officiating courses completed before enrollment will be eligible to count toward program requirements.

Step 3: Gain experience

Students must complete 50–85 hours of coaching and/or officiating experience through community sport participation.

Both volunteer and paid coaching or officiating activities can count toward the program requirements.

Step 4: Track your hours

Use your program logbook (PDF) to record:

  • coaching activities
  • officiating activities
  • completed courses and training modules

Your provincial sport organization or community sport club will validate your experience hours before final submission.

Step 5: Receive your credit

Once all requirements have been approved, you will receive a letter of completion.

Provide this letter to your school guidance counsellor to have your high school credit added to your transcript.

Program Documents

Related information

Contact

For questions about the program, application process, requirements, account access, training modules or program completion, contact schoolcredit@novascotia.ca.