Baldwin Whitehall Soccer Association

The Basics

You are on this page....THANK YOU!

BWSA is an all volunteer organization. What that means is we rely on community members to volunteer to be coaches, board members, and to help out to make a season successful. We can not make this happen without you!!! Please review the information on this page to see what the basic requirements are to be a coach.

Generally you run one practice a week for recreational soccer and two practices a week for travel soccer. Recreational soccer games are on Saturday's and travel soccer games are on Sunday's. The spring season generally starts in March and runs through April and May (potentially into June). The fall season generally starts in August and runs through September and October. The futsal season is generally January through March. PA West dictates the start and there is always a little bit of difference every year due to when holidays fall.

Get Clearances

Pennsylvania LAW requires EVERY COACH to submit background clearance information in accordance with the PA Child Protective Services Law. All BWSA coaches must upload the required documents to the PA West Soccer Online Risk Management System BEFORE the season starts.

VOLUNTEER COACHES must provide:

State Police Criminal Record Check
PA Child Welfare Portal
If you were a PA resident for:
- at least the past 10 years, complete and submit a notarized Volunteer Qualification Affidavit (PDF)
- less than the past 10 years, complete the FBI Criminal Background Check*
The U.S. Soccer Federation also REQUIRES ALL adults who have regular contact with amateur athletes who are minors to complete FREE training from the U.S. Center for SafeSport. The "SafeSport Trained" course covers these topics in-depth:
- Mandatory Reporting
- Sexual Misconduct Awareness Education
- Emotional and Physical Misconduct
To complete the training:
1. Send an email to [email protected] to receive the instructions and access code.
2. After completing the course, download your certificate and submit it to your account on the PA West Risk Management website

Study the Rules

Review the materials under the Coaching Information section on the BWSA website. Also be familiar with our BWSA Rules & Responsibilities and our expectations for referees.

Obtain a Coaching License

BWSA requires all coaches to complete the Grass Roots license path defined by the U.S. Soccer Federation. Upon successful course completion, BWSA may reimburse you for the cost of the license course. Learn more about the Grass Roots license pathway here.

To see the list of available coaching license courses in our area, visit the PA West License page.

BWSA also works to hold its own in-house training throughout the year. The more that we can work together the better of a program we can run for the players.

Field Status

Open

Harrison Middle (03:27 PM | 01/14/24)