Guide, Inspire, Grow

By sharing your knowledge and experience and guiding a coach-in-training, you are an integral part of the CITs learning process and the growth of future coaches in our cheer community. 

 

Help guide and inspire our future leaders!

The ACA encourages all experienced cheer coaches to contribute to our sport by mentoring our future coaches through the ACA's Coach-in-Training (CIT) Program.

To fulfill the role of a Mentor Coach, you must:

  • Be at least 21 years of age.

  • Have 3+ years of coaching experience as an ACA Certified Coach.

  • Have a current and approved coach membership with the ACA.

  • Coach with an ACA member school or club in good standing.

Please review our CIT Program information for more details on the role of the Mentor Coach.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How many CITs can a coach mentor at the same time?

Coaches can mentor more than one CIT, but ideally no more than two CITs.

What age group or level can a CIT work with?

It is recommended that CITs do not work with a team of the same age group or level as the CIT. This would mean they would CIT with a lower-level team of athletes younger than they are.

Does a coach need approval from their school or club before being a mentor?

Yes. It is up to the coach to get the required permission from their scholastic program director or club owner/manager and follow the requirements of the school or club. The mentor coach would be responsible for keeping in touch with their scholastic program director or club owner/manager regarding how the CIT is doing (to include whatever the requirements of the respective programs are).

How and when is the ACA involved throughout the CIT program?

The ACA:

  • Provides the CIT with a CIT workbook

  • Facilitates an online CIT Training Session

  • Confirms the CIT’s mentor is an ACA-certified coach and meets program requirements.

  • Checks in with the mentor coaches throughout the season and answers any questions that may arise.

  • Collects the mentor’s evaluation of the CIT upon program completion.

  • Collects the CIT’s feedback form upon program completion.

  • Issues a Certificate of Completion to the CIT upon program completion.

  • Confirms the CIT has a monetary credit to go towards ACA Cheer Coach Certification upon program completion.

What is the mentor’s role after the program ends?

The ACA recommends that at the end of the season, the Mentor Coach provides final feedback to the CIT and lets them know of the next steps within their program. e.g., how to apply to coach at the school or club.