We are very excited to be back in San Antonio this year.  The City of San Antonio, Trinity University, St. Mary’s University and the Alamodome have embraced our convention and will be providing us with great venues for all the activities that will be taking place, July 29 through August 1.  This year will be the 80^th Annual Convention of the Texas High School Coaches Association as we celebrate the 82^nd anniversary of the Coaches Association.

We have a great line-up of lectures, meetings and special events for our 2012 convention.  To see a tentative convention schedule and list of speakers CLICK HERE! We would like to encourage you to make a special effort to attend all lectures, meeting, and functions that have been scheduled especially for you.  This is a great opportunity for professional growth and staff development.

The following is some general tips and information about this year’s convention that we would like to make you aware of:

PRE-REGISTRATION DEADLINE
Friday, July 13^th, will be the final day to Pre-Register for Coaching School in San Antonio. You may register online by logging into member services at www.thsca.com and clicking on the Order/Renew icon. Or you may submit your registration by fax or mail by sending your completed registration forms and payment to our THSCA Office. CLICK HERE to download a copy of the registration form if you need one. (All mailed forms must be post-marked no later than July 13^th). Registration fees at the door will be $45.00.

SUNDAY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP FREE TO ALL COACHES  
On Sunday, July 29^th, we will kick-off coaching school with a Professional Development Workshop.

The Texas High School Coaches Education Foundation will be hosting this 2-hour Professional Development Workshop, from 2:00-4:00 pm at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, attached to the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. The Concussion Symposium is part of our Professional Development Series, and as such is accredited by the TEA, and WILL meet the 2-hour Concussion Training requirement for all coaches in the state of Texas. (Required by September 1^st of this year.) This information is important for all coaches, and especially for those coaches that are not fortunate enough to have a trainer on campus at all times. We feel it is of the utmost importance for our association to make these skills and knowledge readily available to all of the coaches on your staff, so we are providing this workshop completely FREE of charge to all who attend, regardless of whether they are a member of our association or not. The information presented in this workshop is essential information for all coaches.

The Concussion Symposium will also be offered during Coaching School at the Convention Center on Monday, July 30^th from 1:00-3:00 pm and on Tuesday, July 31^st from 1:00-3:00 pm. However, Sunday’s symposium is the only one that is FREE of charge. If your coaches wish to attend the Monday or Tuesday session they will need to pay the tuition fee for the convention.

Immediately following the Concussion Symposium, there will also be a one hour lecture on Character Development by Jeff Duke, entitled 3-D Coaching, followed by a NCAA Division I Head Football Coaches Panel Discussion, hosted by Emcee Craig Way. These events will also be absolutely FREE of charge! This is a great opportunity, please do not miss out! 

The THSCA Professional Development Series is TEA Accredited for Inservice Training Hours. Attendance at the symposium and the character development lecture will earn you three credit hours. If you have pre-registered for Coaching School and wish to attend the symposium, the THSCA staff will pull your registration packet and bring it to the workshop for you. If you would like your registration packet to be pulled please email your name and member number to beckyadams@thsca.com and title your email PDC Workshop Attendance.

NCAA/NAIA ELIGIBILITY WEBINAR
The THSCA has partnered with www.freerecruitingwebinar.org to provide an online webinar for both coaches/administrators and parents of student-athletes. This webinar may now be accessed online from www.thsca.com. On Tuesday, July 31^st, from 9:00 – 10:00 am in room 202, THSCA will provide Professional Development Credit hours for a breakout session entitled, NCAA/NAIA Eligibility – Empowering the Parent to Take Control. This session will provide insight on how you as a coach can help alleviate the pressures that the recruiting process can create for today’s student-athletes.

PARKING AND SHUTTLE SERVICE
For those who are staying outside the downtown area, we have arranged for free shuttle services from Alamo Stadium to the Convention Center. There is also a downtown trolley service that is provided throughout the downtown area for $1.10 per ride. For more information on downtown parking and shuttle service CLICK HERE!

THSCA COACHES PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE FOR ELIGIBLE THSCA MEMBERS
Part of the THSCA Strategic Plan is to continue to expand the list of Member Services available to the THSCA members. For the past two years, the THSCA has offered liability insurance and legal assistance as an option, to its members, through the Association.  In the past, the THSCA always encouraged it’s members to join one of the professional educators’ associations where this type of coverage is included as a part of their membership dues. This THSCA Coaches Liability Insurance policy is competitive with those offered by such professional educators’ associations.

The THSCA will continue to make the Coaches Professional Liability Insurance option available to THSCA members who meet the eligibility requirements referenced in the link below. This policy will offer liability insurance and legal assistance to THSCA members with coverage beginning September 1, 2012. The THSCA has chosen the John A. Barclay Agency, Inc. to provide this policy as an option to our members. This agency currently assists many other state associations in providing this insurance coverage to their members.

Eligible members are able to purchase the Coaches Professional Liability Insurance by logging into the THSCA Member Services website and clicking on the Order/Renew Icon, or by selecting to purchase the policy on the THSCA membership application form CLICK HERE and submitting it by fax or mail to the THSCA office with the insurance payment.

For information on policy coverage & eligibility requirements... CLICK HERE!

THSCA PRESSBOX SERVICES
Since 2004, the Texas High School Coaches Association has promoted Pressbox Services to high school coaches and fans of Texas high school athletics. Pressbox Services is now available to the following sports: football, boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball, boys and girls soccer, volleyball and track. Our partner, Pointstreak has made real-time scoring available as well as post game stats programs that will help you and your fans keep up with the progress of your players. They have also worked to provide many tools to help our coaches establish team pages that will be informative and entertaining.

Usernames and Passwords for each school will be available for pick-up by the Athletic Director/Head Coach of each high school campus, from the Pressbox Services Exhibit Bay (#2908) at Coaching School. Stop by the booth to pick-up your school’s log-in information and find out how to get started!

Please take time to enroll and participate this year!

This site will draw fans from around the world that have a connection to Texas high school athletics. These fans are asked to subscribe (at no cost to the individual) to the site to gain access to complete information. THSCA uses this subscriber database as part of a grass-roots political lobbying effort to protect and defend the coaching profession and high school athletics in Texas.

THSCA has activated this system several times to collect virtual signatures on petitions opposing proposed legislation that would have significantly hurt or diminished Texas high school athletics. In EVERY case, the proposed legislation was killed. This lobbying effort through our Pressbox Services is a primary initiative of our association in our efforts to protect athletics and you, the coaches.

There are several companies that are now competing for the scores, statistics, schedules and rosters that are provided by our coaches. It is extremely important that our coaches understand that their support of our efforts with Pressbox Services help us in a powerful way to continue to fight to maintain the quality of athletics and the coaching profession in Texas.

Pressbox will be conducting in-booth training sessions throughout the Coaching School convention. For a more hands-on training experience, please attend one of these sessions or stop by their booth for individual training. TRAINING SESSION SCHEDULE Bring your laptop or scoring device* with you, and Pressbox staff will help you get setup on-the-spot. 

*iPad/iPod/iPhone may be used for baseball/softball only. All other sports require a laptop.