Coach Certification

Hockey Nova Scotia endorses the notion that every child who plays the sport of hockey should have qualified and trained volunteers acting in the important roles of coach, instructor and trainer. 

The following mandatory certification requirements are in force in Nova Scotia

All Coaches- including assistants -at the:

Atom ‘AAA’, ‘AA’, ‘A’ and ‘B’,
Peewee ‘AAA’, ‘AA’, ‘A’ and ‘B’,
Bantam ‘AAA’, ‘AA’, ‘A’ and ‘B’,
Midget ‘AAA’ Major, ‘AAA’ Minor, ‘AA’, ‘A’ and ‘B’, and
Junior ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’

Divisions within HNS must be certified at the N.C.C.P. Development Level I Level Clinic.

All instructors at Initiation division (players aged 5 & 6) are to be certified in the Initiation Program.

All coaches at the Novice division (players aged 7 & 8) are to be certified in the Initiation Program.

It is recommended that coaches at the House/Recreational level from Atom and up, be certified N.C.C.P. Development I  level Clinic. 


NOTE: Coaches at the IP and Novice levels must register for the IP Clinic and will not be permitted to register for NCCP clinics. Coaches at Atom level and Up Coaches must register in the NCCP clinic and will not be permitted to register for the IP Clinic. Coaches and instructors must register in the clinic established as appropriate to the age grouping of the players they are coaching/instructing.


All bench officials/coaches, including assistants and trainers at the “AAA”, “AA”, and “A” divisions at all levels must be certified in the Hockey Canada Safety Program. This certification must be renewed every three years and coaches are responsible to verify their currency annually. Coaches/Instructors who are required to requalify may do so by registering for any scheduled Hockey Canada Safety Program clinic and attending the afternoon session only. Individuals who attend the afternoon sessions for the purposes of requalification must identify such at registration.

All teams at the “B” and Recreational divisions must have at least one member of the bench staff certified in the Hockey Canada Safety Program. Bench staff includes Head Coach, Assistant Coaches and Trainer. (Note: Recreational divisions include the Initiation Program and Novice division). 

It is recommended that all teams at the “AAA”, “AA”, and “A” levels have at least one member of the bench staff certified at the HCSP Level II. HCSP Level II is available to individuals who hold a valid First Aid certificate and CPR Level “C” from a recognized agency. HCSP Level II is provided once an individual provides proof of certification. There is no clinic training required for this certification. With this certification individuals are only required to refresh every five (5) years intstead of every three (3) years. Individuals interested in obtaining this certification may do so by providing proof of the required qualifications to Hockey Nova Scotia. Contact Hockey Nova Scotia at (902) 454-9400 for more information.

A coach will only be required to attend a maximum of one (1) certification clinic in any one (1) season. An example of this would be if a coach is new and requires both the NCCP and the HSP, they would take the NCCP Development Level I or Initiation Program clinic as applicable in year one and the Hockey Safety Program Clinic in their second season. This would allow the coach to be eligible for both seasons.

Coaches who only attend the maximum of one (1) certification clinic in any one (1) season must attend the NCCP clinic first. Coaches would then take the Hockey Safety clinic in year two.

NOTE: For the NCCP, coaches who have previously certified in either the NCCP Coach or NCCP Intermediate levels are not required to take the new NCCP Development I Level Clinic as their previous certification will make them eligible to coach at any level and any position.