Volunteering plays a vital role in the success of any youth sports program. We highly encourage family involvement, as it enhances the experience for both players and adults alike. Each year, we need volunteers for positions such as coach, team parent, concessions, sideline chains, game clock operator, announcers at home games, and parking enforcement. These roles are essential for the smooth operation of game days and practices. Our organization relies on your support to run efficiently—your help truly makes a difference!

Coaches Code of Conduct

To ensure the safety of all participants in our program, background checks are required for all adults who volunteer with SVFCA. These checks help us verify that no volunteer has been convicted of serious felonies, sex-related offenses, or been identified as a perpetrator in a confirmed child abuse case. Per 23 Pa.C.S. § 6344(c)(3), anyone with a drug-related conviction within the last five years is also ineligible to work with children.

All volunteers must have the following four documents on file with SVFCA:

1) Report of criminal history from the Pennsylvania Access To Criminal History (PATCH)

• Apply online at: Pennsylvania Access To Criminal History - Home (pa.gov)

2) Child Abuse History Clearance from the Department of Human Services

• Apply online at: https://www.compass.state.pa.us/cwis/public/home

3) The third document required depends on how long you've lived in the state of Pennsylvania

• For those who have continuously lived in the state for 10 years (or longer): A signed "Volunteer Disclosure Statement" for residents of PA for the past 10 continuous years is available here. It must be signed and submitted to SVFCA to be kept on file.

• For those who have NOT been residents in the state of PA for longer than 10 years: A DHS fingerprint-based Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) criminal history background check is required. More information can be found here: https://uenroll.identogo.com/. The service code is 1KG6ZJ.

4) Mandated Reporter Acknowledgement

• Sign and submit the Mandated Reporter Acknowledgement after reviewing the Mandated Reporter Information.

Clearances must be renewed every 60 months (5 years). If renewing all at once, use the oldest clearance date as your renewal timeline.

If you already have current clearances from another organization (like a school or different sports league), you may submit copies to SVFCA—no need to duplicate the process.

Until all documents are submitted and on file, volunteers are not permitted to interact directly with players or cheerleaders. This is a legal requirement, and violations may result in a third-degree misdemeanor. Even if you've applied for clearances, we must wait until they're received.

For Football Coaches: USA Football Certification

To be eligible to coach, all football coaches must complete the USA Football Certification.
Follow these steps:

• Step 1: Log in or create your account at account.usafootball.com

• Step 2: Purchase the Youth Coach Certification

• Step 3: Complete the certification to unlock your coaching resources

Important Notes:

• If you completed the certification previously, you may be eligible for Level Two Certification.
      • Use the same email address from your prior registration to access Level Two
      • If you need to update your email, contact USA Football’s Consulting Team

• After completing the one-time assessment, recertification courses will be available at no additional cost

For Cheer Coaches: USA Cheer Certification

All cheer coaches must complete the USA Cheer Certification by following these steps:

• Step 1: Visit usacheer.org/safety

• Step 2: Under the safety and education section, complete the Youth Safety Risk Management Course:
      usacheer.org/safety/usa-cheer-youth-safety-risk-management
      • Print or save your certificate upon completion

• Step 3: Complete the Concussion Education module
      • Print or save your certificate upon completion