Photo by USA Judo
By Ernest Pund, USA Judo Communications
Your calling is to be a judo coach. But maybe you live in a remote farming town of North Dakota and it is so cold outside that your car won’t start. Or maybe you’re just crazy busy at work. Traveling to a certification clinic is costly.
The solution is coming soon. USA Judo is producing an online coaching course that you will take at your convenience. This online course will provide a would-be sensei with the essential knowledge and training to be certified by USA Judo for the most basic level of coaching, said Pat Burris, two-time Olympian, head of USA Stars Sports Training Centers in Oklahoma and chair of USA Judo’s Coaches Education Committee.
Among the topics covered will be:
- Legal and liability issues of running a club
- Competition rules and organization
- Strength and conditioning exercises
- The history of judo
- Injuries and basic first aid
- Teaching the basic techniques
Plans for the course include a final exam, Burris said. USA Judo understands that it can be difficult to reach one of the live clinics offered by USA Judo for certification, he said. “And we know there are judoka out there who would make great coaches but can’t get to the clinics.”
In addition to offering the online course, Burris said, USA Judo wants to assemble a bank of resource material for coaches, including videos and articles on a variety of topics.
Stay tuned for more information soon.
By Ernest Pund, USA Judo Communications
Konan Judo 
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