What is ACE Certification?

The ACE (Aspire, Challenge, Encourage) Coach Education Program is a coaching program, developed and designed to provide softball coaches of all levels – from beginning coaches to experienced veterans – an opportunity to be educated as a coach with a national softball organization.

As the National Governing Body of Softball, it is the USA Softball’s responsibility to ensure that our coaches achieve a certain level of understanding of what their duties are as coach of a youth softball team. The ACE Education videos are a practical guide to the everyday situations you will encounter as a youth softball coach. After obtaining your ACE education, you will be well prepared to coach a youth softball team.

Benefits of ACE membership:

Here is a quick run through of the ACE Coaching Education program and how one would become certified and achieve the highest level of ACE Education.

The first step to complete for any coach who is attempting to become certified using the ACE online system is a profile lookup. If you are an existing coach who is coming to the site to complete another level of certification your profile should be located, and you should be able to continue from the position that you left off. For example, if John Doe has completed ACE Levels 1 and 2 in an ACE Clinic through its local association, when he looks up his profile the system will recognize this and make ACE Level 3 available for purchase and completion.

For the system to properly find your coaches profile, you must enter your information (i.e. first name, last name, email address, zip code) exactly how you did when you registered. If you have moved since you last registered, enter the previous zip code under which you registered and then edit your information in the ACE Online System. If you are a previously registered coach and the system does not find your profile properly, DO NOT create a new profile, which you will do in Step 2 on the ACE Online Program. Instead, contact the ACE Administrator at the USA Softball national office. The administrator's contact information can be located on the ACE Website under the Contact Us tab.

If you are a first time ACE Coach or you have not certified through a local association in the last year, you will have to create a new profile and begin ACE Online Education at Level 1.

The guiding principles behind the ACE Coaching Education Program are:

  • A-spire: to achieve a comprehensive level of knowledge for the game.
  • C-hallenge: your understanding and knowledge through continued education and growth.
  • E-ncourage: yourself and others to be prepared and knowledgeable as a coach in order to provide your athletes an environment in which they can achieve success.

As the National Governing Body of Softball, it is USA Softball’s responsibility to ensure that coaches achieve a certain level of understanding of their duties as a coach of a youth softball team. The ACE Coach Education Program videos are practical guides to the everyday situations encountered as a youth softball coach.

USA Softball Procedural Code Article 301.03.a requires that any Junior Olympic (JO) team personnel participating in Championship Play must have at least one current ACE Coach on the field/dugout during Championship Play.

 

 

ACE Certification Links

ACE Certification Information

Frequently Asked Questions (Download PDF)