Frequently Asked Questions

A USMCA Certified Coach is a motorcycle coach that parents and riders can be assured has agreed to uphold the USMCA values and Code of Conduct, passed a national-level background check, are knowledgeable in basic AHA or Red Cross First Aid and CPR, have become compliant with the SafeSport Act of 2017 with abuse prevention training, and have taken a step toward the management of concussions and how to detect signs for heat illness and cardiac arrest. A USMCA Level 100 Coach has achieved certification of the USMCA Certified Coach Program, which includes training modules: Coaching Foundations, Rider Preparation, Coaching The Riding Basics and Introduction To The Track.

The USMCA is the first organization to create a set of standards for motorcycle coaches that can be implemented nationwide. By certifying coaches after they have passed a background check and abuse prevention training, become educated in CPR, Concussion, Cardiac and HeatWise training, parents and riders can have the confidence their coach is qualified to help them in a worst-case scenario. The USMCA Certification Portal will enable you to access and complete your USMCA Certification in one place while you obtain all of the necessary and required prerequisites.

Networking www.MotorcycleCoaching.org.  This year, USMCA will begin a large marketing push with the help of our industry partners to draw attention to our consumer-facing website www.MotorcycleCoaching.org 

The new website will host our growing network of coaches and make the path easy for new or returning riders to the sport to connect with a local USMCA certified coach.

USMCA Raises the Bar by Creating Standards. The USMCA is the first organization to create a set of standards for motorcycle coaches that can be implemented nationwide. By certifying coaches after they have passed a background check and abuse prevention training, become educated in CPR, Concussion, Cardiac and HeatWise training parents and riders can have the confidence their coach is qualified to help them in a worst-case scenario. 

USMCA Lowers the Barriers to Entry of our Sport. When asked what factors are most important in choosing whether or not to ride a motorcycle the top two barriers to entry are cost and safety. When asked if there was a clear path to find coaching would the safety barrier be reduced, over 80% of the respondents replied that it would. By helping riders connect with qualified coaches the USMCA is successfully helping to knock down one of the top two barriers to our sport. 

Coaches Insurance. While gathering feedback from our coaches in 2017 about what benefit met the most to them, insurance quickly rose to number one. Only about 10% of coaches at each workshop even had liability insurance putting themselves and their business at risk. USMCA is proud to announce they have partnered together with K&K Insurance to provide a low-cost solution to this problem. Now $1,000,000 liability insurance is easily accessible and affordable to USMCA certified coaches.  

Elevated Status with peers, promoters and the motorcycling industry. The USMCA has received approval from every major motorcycle OEM as well as the top aftermarket suppliers as they all believe that coaching can help improve the health of our sport. Most have also agreed to offer discounts and special privileges to coaches and new riders moving forward. USMCA coaches indeed have an elevated status in their eyes!

• Must be 18 years of age.
• US (or Canadian) resident.
• You are currently coaching Dirt Bike and/or Sport Bike riders in the US.
  • We can recommend programs for new coaches. Email us at info@usmca.org to inquire.

• The ability to complete the online course, provide coaching experience, and submit the requested reference materials.

No, the USMCA Certification is not intended to be an employment application and does not employ USMCA Certified Coaches. It is solely a Coaching Certification for existing motorcycle coaches. Currently, we do not offer any services that will exchange money between a Certified Coach and their client(s), therefore no funds will be exchanged between USMCA and a Certified Coach’s rider client. The USMCA Certification grants the motorcycle coach access to the Coaching Association and its tools including the USMCA’s new network, MotorcycleCoaching.org, which connects riders with a local USMCA Certified Coach.

• Improve ease of use and accessibility: intuitive browsing and course registration.
• Increase visibility to user’s progress and performance within the Certification process.
• Additional communication tools allowing users to stay updated with the latest news from and correspond with USMCA staff.
• Administration of digital Diploma and ability to share Certification on LinkedIn.
• Streamline the prerequisite process by consolidating several training systems into one LMS system.

Any motorcycle coach seeking to become USMCA Certified. See requirements question above.

In 2019, the new USMCA Certification portal will launch with 3 Certification courses including:

• 1. USMCA Certification for Dirt Bike Level 100 ($199.00/yr)
  2. USMCA Certification for Sport Bike Level 100 ($199.00/yr)
  3. Dual USMCA Certification for Level 100 Dirt Bike & Sport Bike Coaches. ($299.00/yr)

A single-discipline Certification costs $199.00 total for a 2-year USMCA Certification for Level 100 Dirt Bike OR Sport Bike. For dual-discipline Certification, it is $299.00 for a 2-year USMCA Certification for Level 100 Dirt Bike AND Sport Bike.

The renewal fee (at a 2-year term) is $149 for single-discipline Certification and $249 for dual-discipline Certification. 

The fee includes: Background Screening, Abuse Prevention Training, NationalCPRFoundation.com First Aid/CPR Certification (AHA guidelines), Sport Safety International’s ConcussionWise, HeatWise & CardiacWise, Level 100 Certification course, USMCA Certification digital diploma, access & membership to MotorcycleCoaching.org, and a 2-year USMCA Certification.

To create an infrastructure of certified motorcycle coaches nation-wide that will provide quality coaching for on & off-road motorcyclists from the beginner level up through advanced levels of riding and competition.

After years of robust growth, the motorcycle market in the US slowed beginning in 2007 and then declined sharply during the Global Financial Crisis. New unit sales of motorcycles became less than half the level they were before the decline, and economic experts began predicting a further decline of 15 – 20%. That remained true until the pandemic began in early 2020. Today, the motorcycle industry is seeing an influx of new and returning riders that it has not seen since before the GFC. With an abundance of new participants to our sport, there has never been a better time to provide coaching and ensure that new and returning riders who just moved into our sport have a great first experience and remain lifetime riders.

The leadership of the USMCA feels that we need to lower the barriers of entry into the sport of motorcycling. We believe coaching can help make new riders feel more welcome into our sport and provide a safe and predictable pathway to enjoy the sport as their riding progresses.

We looked at several other sports that face the same demographic & economic challenges that our sport faces, that are experiencing growth and appear better positioned to attract new riders, particularly the millennial and centennial generation of consumers. Those sports include skiing & snowboarding, and cycling (bicycles). When we approached the leaders of those sports, we learned that they believed their robust coaching infrastructures were paramount to their success. We decided to use those sports and their associations, USSA & USA Cycling, as best-practice models to learn from.

No, but we believe a robust coaching infrastructure can provide a foundation for renewed industry growth. Once the USMCA coaching infrastructure is in place, we believe that energy and investment can be channeled toward marketing & promotion to bring more new riders into the sport and hopefully, keep them in the sport for many years as their riding & enjoyment of the sport progress.

The specific bios of the individuals can be seen on the USMCA website. The founders are several individuals who have enjoyed life-long careers in the sport and industry and want to give back to the sport. Their main motivation is to see more people enter and enjoy the sport of motorcycling and to see the industry achieve renewed growth. The USMCA is a not-for-profit association and the founders work is being provided on a volunteer basis.

To date, there is an eight-person Board of Directors including the three founding members, three coaching representatives and two additional industry representatives (these bios are also on the USMCA website). In addition, most of the major motorcycle manufacturers from the US, Japan and Europe have offered their encouragement & support for the USMCA. Wells Fargo Commercial Distribution Finance has offered initial funding to launch the USMCA, hold the Inaugural Summit and the SIX regional workshops in order to gain input directly from coaches on the initial standards and training content which will be used to certify USMCA coaches.

All USMCA certified coaches must have a national-level background screening completed by NCSI (allow 3-5 business days for processing of domestic screenings and 2-4 weeks for international screenings). NCSI is the National Center for Safety Initiatives. Background screening are used to ensure that our coaches abide by our standards and that a rider/racer or a parent of a rider/racer can trust USMCA ambassadors. “Protecting the welfare of children is a top priority for all youth sports leagues. At NCSI, we believe that keeping children safe on the field begins with a thorough, due diligence background screening of all coaches and volunteers,” NCSI states on their website. The USMCA follows the same beliefs. All of the USMCA board and staff members must also go through the background screening process. NCSI supports SAFESPORT Standards and serves over 20 National Governing Bodies including USA Boxing, USA Water Ski, USA Volleyball, USA Field Hockey, USA Archery, USA Judo, USA Rugby, USA BMX, BMX Canada, and USA Soccer Foundation. USMCA has now added the Abuse Prevention Training to become compliant with the SafeSport Act of 2017. 

CLICK HERE TO LEARN ABOUT BACKGROUND CHECK LAWS AND INFORMATION FOR YOUR STATE

View the USMCA’s background screening search criteria: https://usmca.org/background-screening-guidelines/

For NCSI’s Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) regarding the Background Screening, visit https://usmca.org/usmca-background-screening-frequently-asked-questions/.

We use Sport Safety International for ConcussionWise, HeatWise & CardiacWise Protocol. Sport Safety International promotes safe participation in sport and physical activity through education. Each course within the bundle will help a coach be cognizant of situations and how to handle a concussion, heat illness and cardiac arrest or help detect signs of these illnesses. ConcussionWise, HeatWise & CardiacWise certifications need to be valid and renewed every year.

The Level 100 USMCA Coach course contains content intended for those coaching beginning riders. You will learn the basic foundations of quality coaching while also gaining the knowledge necessary for future courses. It is necessary to obtain future courses (advanced certifications).

The objective of the course is for you to gain valuable safety skills to use both on and off the track as well as insight into the standards and ethics of quality coaching while obtaining tools to grow your own coaching career. Research has proven that access to great coaches is the single most valuable component to producing a growing group of participants in any sport.

The readings, activities, and quizzes in this course were crafted in close collaboration with some of the best riding coaches in the world, from the amateur level to the professional ranks. What you learn here can immediately be applied to your coaching program and riding sessions. The beliefs and philosophies of the USMCA are also embedded and present in every lesson and activity.

This course includes the following four lessons:

• Coaching Foundations
• Rider Preparation
• Coaching the Riding Basics
• Introduction to the Track

For United States Motorcycle Coaching Association (USMCA) Coaches, the association is a community that will build upon strength in numbers and will allow coaches to have a sounding board that will listen to their opinions, issues and matters regarding motorcycle coaching and the hurdles we need to cross to grow the sport of motorcycling. The USMCA will provide coaching materials, guidance and be a platform to help coaches grow and protect their business and clients. We strive to raise the standards of motorcycle coaching in order to help protect pronounced motorcycle coaches within the industry. We want to create a network of working professionals who are motorcycle coaches. The founders of the USMCA are well-recognized individuals who have independent voices within the industry but all agree that USMCA Coaches are the way to grow the sport of motorcycles through every vertical of the motorcycle industry. Our vision is a thriving motorcycle industry, where all stakeholders realize the benefits of a resurgence in participation from new and returning riders.  

Further, the USMCA is an organization recognizing independent coaches who are mentors to riders who want to learn to ride and/or improve their abilities on a motorcycle. We are continuing rider education (sometimes after MSF safety course or general rider education class/demonstration) to provide a mentor to those riders who would like to learn one-on-one or in a group and create a relationship with a motorcycle coach who can help them achieve new goals in a safe environment. We have worked with the best industry organizations and leading Coach/Instructors to develop some of our coursework. We focus on growing a coaches insights and capabilities as well as highlighting the basics that will keep a rider safer on their pathway to success while also guiding a coach to build a successful motorcycle business. It is not our goal to educate coaches on what they will coach.

A USMCA Certified Coach is a motorcycle coach that parents and riders can be assured has agreed to uphold the USMCA values and Code of Conduct, passed a national-level background check, completed abuse prevention training, are knowledgeable in basic AHA or Red Cross First Aid and CPR, and have taken a step toward the management of concussions and how to detect signs for heat illness and cardiac arrest. A USMCA Level 100 Coach has achieved certification of the USMCA Certified Coach Program, which includes training modules: Coaching Foundations, Rider Preparation, Coaching The Riding Basics and Introduction To The Track.

The USMCA has two main goals to fulfill our mission to grow the sport of motorcycling:

1. To bring 250,000 new and returning riders into our sport by 2025.  
2. Have 250 coaches certified by the end of Year 3.

The leadership of the USMCA feels that we need to lower the barriers of entry into the sport of motorcycling. We believe coaching can help make new riders feel more welcome into our sport and provide a safe and predictable pathway to enjoy the sport as their riding progresses.