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date certifications.
•  Turman said the Regents were concerned about fundamentals course. He said coaching fundamentals curriculum taught in college courses could be deemed unnecessary if students caught on to the fact that all they needed to have in order to be certified to coach was the $40 online course required by the SDHSAA.
•  If the SDHSAA course is the standard coaching requirement, Turman said, "then our coaching curriculum really is irrelevant."
•  Undercutting the Regents and the universities they oversee was not the intent of the regulation according to board chairman Darren Paulson of Rapid City.
•  "Our intention was just for seasoned coaches to get an update," Paulson said. "Our intention was to get our coaches refreshed."
•  Throughout the discussion it became apparent that there are two kinds of coaches in South Dakota high schools: those who earned there certification through the regental system and those who are "coaches off the street" or community volunteers.
•  Board member Todd Trask of said those volunteers are vital in small communities. He said the Wall School District has two varsity coaches who are volunteers.
•  Paulson said the same can be true in larger school districts.
•  "The reality of it is we're hiring coaches that don't have that background, have that degree," Paulson said.
•  Coaches off the street are necessary, but not the first choice for filling vacancies.
•  "I would rather have a coach that went through a course taught by a college coach," said board member Dan Whalen of Pierre. "That's something that I don't want to see go away."
•  SDHSAA Assistant Executive Director John Krogstrand suggested that perhaps the requirement for the coaching fundamentals course could be delayed. The example he gave was having college graduates who are certified to coach take the fundamentals course between their fifth and sixth year of coaching.
•  "A five year window would probably be very acceptable" to the Regents, Turman said.
•  Krogstrand was directed by the board to develop language for the proposal that would be ready for action at the next meeting on June 11 in Pierre.
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