Coaches

Earn Your Coaching Credentials:

• • PA West Soccer Coaching Requirements: Click Here

  • Find your age group and make sure that you meet the minimum coaching requirement. The registration system will not allow us to activate teams whose coaches don't meet these requirements.

  • Email the certificate to SASC and we will forward them to the state office to be put in the Affinity system.

Obtain Your PA Required Clearances:

• • Child Abuse Certifications (PA Dept. of Human Services) is required of volunteer and paid coaches.

  • Criminal History Record Certification (Pennsylvania State Police Reports) is required of volunteer and paid coaches.

  • Federal Criminal History Certification (FBI Reports) is required of all paid coaches and volunteers who have not resided in PA for at least the previous 10 continuous years. This is also acceptable for volunteers who have lived in PA for at least the previous 10 continuous years.

  • Notarized Affidavit for Volunteer Exemption from FBI Certification is acceptable for volunteers who have lived in PA for at least the previous 10 continuous years.

SafeSport

• Safesport training is required for all coaches. Click here to access the site

• An annual refresher is required.

• Contact SASC to get an enrollment key for the Safesport website.

Uploading your clearances

• Directions for uploading your clearances to the PA West Risk Management System

• PA West Risk Management Portal

• If you're clearances expire during the current season, they must be updated prior to team declarations. Use the contact link (at the top of the page) and request to have your current clearances removed. The Affinity system will only allow uploading the updated clearances once the old clearances have been removed.

• To upload new clearances and apply for approval in the Affinity system:

• Go to this link: https://pa-bgc.sportsaffinity.com/reg/index.asp?sessionguid=

• Click on the blue “to begin REGISTRATION please click here” at the top of the page. DO NOT USE THE LOGIN BOX IN THE UPPER LEFT HAND CORNER.

• Once there, login. You will see all the family members

• You will have the option to add family members or to continue, you want to continue.

• The next screen will list all those eligible in the family to register for this, to the right of your name, you will see a ‘register as coach/admin’ button, please click that.

• It will then come up with what you asking you to select the play level and the only option is Background Check.

• Once you select that, your information will come up on the screen, in the middle of this screen, you will see ‘click here to show photo or certification upload’

• This is where you will see to upload the documents. Towards the bottom, you will see ‘club additional information’, please pick your club.

• At the bottom, you want to select the ‘save and next page’.

• Walk through the rest of the steps, agree to the ELA’s if there are any (they may not apply, but can’t go any further).

• The Payment page will come and should say no payment due.

• Keep on until you get to the end.

• This will create the application for approval. You will go ‘under Review’

Team Managers Handbook for Affinity - The handbook has directions for everything from uploading player pictures to printing Game Day Rosters.

Affinity Help Documents for Players, Coaches and Parents