Schools began adopting training rules when they started looking for coaches outside the teaching staff, says Roch King, who coordinates the graduate coaching program at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.

“In the past, all coaches used to be physical education teachers,” King said. “As the number of teams grew and the physical education faculty diminished, other teachers stepped in.”

Now, King says, most scholastic coaches are hired with no formal teaching education or experience.

“It has become an apprenticeship model,” he said, “where coaches have played or worked for other coaches.”

Litigation and the threat of it have expanded coach education everywhere, said Gregg Heinzmann, director of the Youth Sports Research Council at Rutgers University. More than 20 years ago New Jersey adopted the country’s first law giving coaches limited immunity from civil lawsuits filed by parents.

The law was passed in the wake of a lawsuit filed by parents of Joey Fort, a Little League player struck in the face by a baseball during warm-ups before an all-star game.

The boy’s parents claimed his four coaches were negligent in moving the 10-year-old from second base to the outfield without teaching him to shield his eyes from the sun to catch fly balls. The case was settled, and terms were not made public.

But, said Heinzmann, it chilled interest in coaching.

“When the news hit, people started saying, ‘I’m not going to risk my livelihood to go out there and coach,’” he said.

Three other states – Louisiana, New Hampshire and North Dakota – have since enacted similar laws.

An array of standards

In states that do not encourage or require training, athletic association officials are quick to note that local schools or districts can set their own requirements.

But Jeff Dietze, who runs a training program for the Virginia High School League, which has no specific requirement for coaches, admits few local districts take that step.

“We are getting more, although it’s really slow,” he said.

At the other end of the spectrum are New York, Connecticut, Iowa and Montana – states where coaches must complete hours of training for certification.