Coaching Resources

• Athlete Pre-Season Form – Use this form to get to know your athlete on a personal level prior to the season beginning. What are their interests and strengths, goals (on and off the court), and best strategies to teach and work with that athlete.
• Special Needs Form – Use this form to relay important information to event volunteers about how to best work with athletes with special needs (i.e. communication limitation, hearing or visual impairment, special equipment adaptations or behavioral needs).
• Sports Rule Change Proposal – The Special Olympics Wisconsin Rule Change Proposal Form is a rolling application. Rule Change Proposals must be submitted at least 6 months prior to the season’s medical deadline to be considered.
  
  Absent Advancement Request Form – If you have an athlete who is missing from Regional or Sectional competition, that wants to compete at the next level of Competition, fill out this form and send it to your Tournament Director by 11:59pm on the Monday of the tournament completion. Only certain situations outlined in the Team Advance Rule will be considered.
  
  Athlete Support Action Plan – A template for coaches to use when understanding the medical needs of their athletes.

• Session Plan Template – Download this blank session template for writing our your session plans.
• General Guide for Coaches – Use this handout to learn about the basics of coaching for SOWI.
• Athlete Behavior Characteristics Guide & Quick Reference Guide
• Training Site Safety Checklist – Use this general safety checklist at practices to promote a safe and injury-free environment.
• Concussion Card – View this informative flyer on concussion awareness including: signs and symptoms, return to play policy, and more.
• Uniform Requirements at a glance – For more detailed information on sport-specific uniform requirements, refer to each sport’s rules page.
  Coaches Code of Conduct – The full document outlining the Coaches Code of Conduct
  Coaching Standards & Expectations – A guide on the expectations for all SOWI coaches.
  Divisioning – A video explaining the divisioning process.
  Quota Explanation – A short document explaining the Quota process.
  Athlete Centered Coaching Guide – A document that outlines how to coach with an Athlete Centered approach.
  Team Advancement Rule – A short document explaining the team advancement rules that are used in competitions.
  Active Practice Overview – A short document outlining how to keep your practices active & engaging, and the benefits of doing so
  Fitness Evaluation Initiative – Resources for evaluating your athletes fitness levels

Fit5 Guide – Use this guide to achieve fitness and personal best with physical activity, nutrition, and hydration.

Fit5 Fitness Cards – Use these easy to follow fitness cards to teach your athletes about physical activity outside of practice.

Fitness through Sport Playbook – Please note the links do not work on the original document, but can be found here: Links

Strong Minds Tips for Stress – A sheet on some activities and advice to help athletes manage stress

For any additional questions or resource requests, please reach out to Jeston Glish (Health Program Manager) – [email protected]

Sport Science Guides

Sport Science Info Pack – A guide that encompasses all of the aspects of Sport Science for Athletes.

Injury Prevention – How to help prevent injuries in your athletes.

Nutrition – How to provide your athletes with a good nutritional plan.

Sport Psychology – The aspects of sports psychology in athletes.

If you are coaching Unified Sports, it is not required, but is highly recommended to take the NFHS “Coaching Unified Sports Course”
Although not required by SOWI, we highly recommend taking the ‘Coaching Special Olympics Athletes‘ course on the SONA Learning Portal

**All essential trainings for SOWI Coaches are on Voluntaro**
As of January 1st 2026, SOWI is delighted to announce it’s new Coaching Levels/Structure for the development of our coaches. There will now be three levels of coaching: Bronze, Silver & Gold.
Each level is designed to meet the needs of the individual coach, program and to the benefit of our athletes. New Sport Specific courses replace the General Coaches Certification (Now the Coaches Orientation), for Head Coaches to ensure they know the rules & basics of coaching the sport.
Please see the table below for an outline of what each level entails:

* Course is on SONA Learning Portal
**Ran by Red Cross

**Please be patient while the training team updates the levels for coaches. If you have any questions, please email [email protected]

Each of the sport specific courses are designed to be 30 minutes or less.
Every Coach who has an Active General Coaches Certification before 12/31/25, will automatically become a Silver Level Coach.
All trainings are on Voluntaro, unless marked otherwise in the table above

Renewing Certifications

Background check – Log in to Voluntaro. Press on ‘Home’ then ‘Click here to begin’ to initiate your background check. This is required every 3 years, and can ONLY be done on the day of or after expiration.
Protective Behaviors – Log in to Voluntaro. Press on the ‘Training’ section. Protective Behaviors course is listed here. This is required every 3 years.
Communicable Disease Waiver – Log in to Voluntaro. Press on the ‘Training’ section. Communicable Disease Waiver is listed here. This is a one time course. No recert required.
Concussion Course – Log in to Voluntaro. Press on the ‘Training’ section. Concussion course is listed here. This is required every 3 years.
Coaches Code of Conduct – Log in to Voluntaro. Press on the ‘Training’ section. Coaches code of Conduct is listed here. This is required every 3 years.
Coaching Orientation – Log in to Voluntaro. Press on the ‘Training’ section. Coaching Orientation is listed here. This is required every 3 years.

If you do not see; Concussion course, coaching orientation or coaches code of conduct listed, you do not have ‘Coach’ listed as a volunteer type. You can add this in the ‘Edit My Account’ section on the ‘Home’ tab. If you are having issues, please reach out to [email protected]

Here is a guide to renewing/taking/finding any of the courses above: Where to find courses
Please refer to the FAQ’s.
Please be patient while the training team updates the levels for coaches. If you have any questions, please email [email protected]

All Meetings start at 6pm unless otherwise Stated
*All recordings are now on YouTube. No Passcode is required*

Spring Sports Pre-Season Call (Basketball & Swimming) – Tuesday, January 13th – Recording – PDF Slides

Summer Sports Pre-Season Call (Cornhole, Powerlifting, Track, Soccer & Tennis) – Tuesday, April 7th – Recording – PDF Slides

Spring Games Coaches Call – Tuesday, April 14th – PDF Slides

Summer Games Coaches Call – Monday, June 1st – Recording Passcode: V6!=EWPE – PDF Slides

Fall Games Coaches Call – Tuesday, September 15th