Little League® Diamond Leader Training

Focused on ensuring children have a positive, well-rounded experience on and off the field, the Little League® Diamond Leader Training Program is a FREE educational resource that provides coaches with an understanding of the impact that mental, social, and emotional well-being has in youth sports through detailed information, interactive scenarios, and a variety of additional resources.

Through this course, which navigates Little League volunteers through real-life scenarios that are being faced in local leagues all around the world each year, coaches will have a better understanding of the impact they have on their players, both on and off the field.

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NOTE: While strongly encouraged to go back and review all the content and resources available within the Diamond Leader course, volunteers are only required to complete the program once and will only receive one certificate that will be valid for tournament coaching eligibility.

General

Little League® Diamond Leader Program Now Available for Coaches Everywhere

February 1, 2023

The Little League® Diamond Leader Program, a new initiative focused on educating volunteer coaches on their role supporting the social and emotional well-being of children, is now available for coaches everywhere to complete for the 2023 season and beyond. “The mental, social, and emotional well-being of children is paramount to all of us at Little […]

Frequently Asked Questions

Created as part of the Susan Crown Exchange’s Million Coaches Challenge and in coordination with the Aspen Institute’s Project Play, the Little League Diamond Leader Training Program is a FREE educational resource that provides coaches with an understanding of the impact that mental, social, and emotional well-being has in youth sports through detailed information, interactive scenarios, and a variety of additional resources. Beneficial for all Little League coaches and volunteers to participate in, completion of the program will be required for all tournament coaches beginning with the 2023 tournament season*. To learn more about the program, and to take part in the program today, please visit LittleLeague.org/DiamondLeader.

* Tournament completion requirement is only for United States coaches for the 2023 season.

Upon completion of the program, volunteers are strongly encouraged to share their completion certificate with their League President. It is the League President’s responsibility to ensure all tournament coaches have completed the program in order to confirm their eligibility for the tournament season. To support this, League Presidents will be able to track coaches from their league who completed the course via a report available in the Little League Data Center.

District officials are encouraged to work directly with their respective leagues and their Boards of Directors to understand the level of participation in the Diamond Leader Program throughout the regular season. A report will be available through the Little League Data Center that lists the number of coaches from each league in your district that have completed the training. As tournament season approaches, and as part of the normal tournament preparations, it is increasingly important that District staff work with their League Presidents to understand how many of their tournament coaches have not yet completed the program and support their League Presidents in ensuring completion prior to the start of the tournament season.

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About the Million Coaches Challenge

It’s time for big, bold action from across the youth sports sector. The first step: train one million coaches in youth development techniques by 2025 through the Million Coaches Challenge. With support from the Susan Crown Exchange, we can build a future where our kids know how to work together, celebrate success, manage failure, and are equipped with the skills they need to thrive. As part of the Million Coaches Challenge, the Susan Crown Exchange is funding a cohort of organizations to bring critical training to coaches across the country. Little League International is one of 11 participating members of the cohort, supporting the Million Coaches Challenge with the Little League Diamond Leader Program. Learn more at: https://www.millioncoaches.org

Million Coaches Challenge Belief Statement

“Coaches can make or break the sports experience for kids, but many feel unprepared to meet the diverse and emergent needs of the young people they coach. To create a positive environment that helps kids get the most out of sport, coaches must be trained in youth development.”

We are the organizations of the Million Coaches Challenge, committed to equipping a generation of coaches with the knowledge and tools to help young people thrive on and off the playing field. Here is what we know:

Coaches shape the youth sports experience.
38 million young people play sports. All of their coaches should be trained.
The vast majority of coaches are not trained in key practices to develop and support youth, such as motivation and relationship building.

Our first step: train one million coaches. Funded by the Susan Crown Exchange, the organizations of the Million Coaches Challenge are creating evidence-based training programs for coaches across the United States.

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