TFA: About the Academy

The Track and Field Academy

The USTFCCCA Track & Field Academy is a program designed to offer track & field and cross country coaches opportunities to develop their knowledge base and coaching skills.  The program is open to both members and non-members of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Association.  Participants are offered multiple options to choose from within the program and courses range from the broadly based to the highly specialized.

Another function of the USTFCCCA’s Track & Field Academy is to offer coaches an opportunity to earn professional certification in a number of different disciplines within the sports of track & field and cross country. The certification track is an option for coaches who choose to complete a specified program of instruction. Because the TFA offers genuine certifications (as opposed to simply a certificate of completion), credit for courses taken outside of the TFA is not offered in lieu of completion of the specified prerequisite courses for any particular program.

The courses in the Track & Field Academy are not only open to coaches who seek to earn a specific certification, but also to those who simply seek to take advantage of the professional development opportunities offered by its courses. It is not a requirement of the TFA that coaches follow a path to certification.

Why the USTFCCCA Track and Field Academy?

• The Track & Field Academy is the only program operated by a track & field and cross country coaching organization. The USTFCCCA has a unique understanding of the problems and issues that coaches deal within their daily institutional setting and the curriculum of this program demonstrates that understanding.

• The Track and Field Academy is the only program available today that presents a sequential, organized program of instruction that addresses every aspect of coaching track and field and cross country.  While some other programs cover the technical aspects of coaching, the Track and Field Academy provides opportunities for professional improvement in other areas, including academic monitoring, roster management, budgeting, purchasing, equipment, recruiting, meet management, and many more.

• The Track and Field Academy is the only program that provides true multi-level certification in coaching track & field and cross country. The Track and Field Academy does not grant certificates of completion, but true certification of your coaching abilities at various levels and in various competencies. This is an invaluable aid in a coach’s professional development and career advancement and serves as evidence to hiring agents of your professional improvement efforts.

• The Track and Field Academy is a broadly based program, addressing needs in multiple areas and at many levels. The Academy offers multiple opportunities for ongoing continuing education, without the need to exit the program once certifications are achieved.  The Academy offers everything from complete certification programs to brief seminars dealing with a myriad of issues in coaching.

• The Track and Field Academy utilizes up to date curriculum designed by and continually updated by highly successful coaches. The curriculum is well organized, logically sequenced, and uses the most up to date graphics and visual aids to assist the learner.

• The Track and Field Academy is designed and taught by coaches with extraordinary records of on the track success, as well as high levels of experience and success in coaching education programs and the classroom setting.

• The Track and Field Academy is the only program of its kind to offer a variety of delivery options, from face to face learning with top flight instructors to convenient online educational opportunities with user friendly curricula.

• The Track and Field Academy uses electronic delivery of course materials, enabling students to take home video clips, graphics, and text.

List of currently held certifications

Click here for a searchable list of coaches who currently hold certifications form the Track and Field Academy:  Currently Held Certifications

Academy Policies

For detailed information regarding the Track and Field Academy’s policies regarding, age, testing and examination deadlines, refunds, certification maintenance, and diversity, Click Here