Coach Onboarding Roadmap
The complete path from new coach to independent coaching at GJJ.
This page is the map. It tells you what to read, what to do, and in what order. Each link takes you to the full document for that step. If you're ever unsure where you are in the process or what comes next, come back here.
Before You Start
Read these three documents in order before your first shadow session:
- Coach Code of Conduct: Professional expectations. Read this first so you know the boundaries from day one.
- GJJ Pedagogy: How and why we teach the way we do. This is the foundation for everything else.
- Coaches Guide: The main coaching reference. Listen to all assigned podcasts and complete the quiz/reflection sections for each module.
These three documents contain the core philosophy, methodology, and expectations for coaching at GJJ. Everything in the training tracks builds on them. Don't skim them.
Choose Your Training Track
There are two training tracks: fundamentals (adult classes) and kids (Little Lions and Golden Tigers). You can start with either one.
The core coaching methodology (CLA, game design, feedback principles, coaching language, room reading) comes from the Pedagogy and Coaches Guide reading you do before your first shadow. Both tracks are where you practice those skills with a real population. Which track you start with depends on which population you want to coach first and where you are as a practitioner.
Fundamentals requires higher technical jiu jitsu proficiency. You need to read positions at depth, layer cues for a mixed-experience room, and calibrate FYJJ across different skill levels. If you're a newer practitioner, this will be harder to do well. Coaching fundamentals is the hardest program to coach at GJJ.
Kids requires less technical proficiency but more behavioral management skill. The emphasis is on engagement, boundaries, developmental awareness, and parent communication. If you're earlier in your jiu jitsu journey but great with kids, this is a strong place to start.
A note on both tracks: coaching will make your jiu jitsu better. Having to distill complex information into core concepts, track what's working and what's not in a room full of people, and design games that create specific learning environments will sharpen your understanding of grappling in ways that just training can't. This is true whether you're coaching kids or adults.
Cross-credit: If you've completed one track and want to add the other, you don't start from zero. The core coaching skills transfer in both directions. You do a shortened version: 2 shadow, 4 assist, 4 co-lead, 2 solo (12 sessions instead of 20). The population-specific skills are what you're building in the second track.
Training credit: For what you earn while you train and how enrollment works, see How Coach Training Works.
Fundamentals Track (20 Sessions)
Before shadowing
Read these program-specific documents:
- Fundamentals Coaching Guide: What's different about coaching fundamentals
- Fundamentals Class Structure: The four-segment, 60-minute class format
- Fundamentals Warmup Guide: The warmup protocol
- New Student Protocol: What to do when someone new walks in
- Incident & Safety Protocol: What to do when something goes wrong
The training phases
| Phase | Sessions | Document |
|---|---|---|
| Shadow | 4 | Shadow Protocol (Fundamentals) |
| Assist | 6 | Assist Protocol (Fundamentals) |
| Co-lead | 6 | Co-Lead Protocol (Fundamentals) |
| Solo with supervision | 4 | Solo with Supervision (Fundamentals) |
Each phase has per-session observation guides, lead coach debrief prompts, and quiz/reflection sections. The solo phase includes a comprehensive final assessment.
Total: 20 sessions. At two sessions per week, roughly 10 weeks. At three per week, roughly seven weeks. Any phase can be extended if you or the lead coach don't feel ready to move on. The minimums are firm.
Kids Track (20 Sessions)
Before shadowing
Read these program-specific documents:
- Kids Coaching Guide: Everything about coaching kids, including class structures for both programs, behavioral management, partner selection, feedback with kids, and building culture. Listen to both assigned podcasts (Ep. 375: Andrew Green, Ep. 43: Rory Singer).
- Incident & Safety Protocol: Includes kids-specific incident handling and parent communication
The training phases
| Phase | Sessions | Document |
|---|---|---|
| Shadow | 4 (2 LL + 2 GT) | Shadow Protocol (Kids) |
| Assist | 6 (3 LL + 3 GT) | Assist Protocol (Kids) |
| Co-lead | 6 (3 LL + 3 GT) | Co-Lead Protocol (Kids) |
| Solo with supervision | 4 (2 LL + 2 GT) | Solo with Supervision (Kids) |
Each phase requires sessions in both Little Lions and Golden Tigers. The solo phase includes a comprehensive final assessment.
Total: 20 sessions. Same timeline guidance as fundamentals.
After Clearance
Getting cleared to coach independently is the beginning, not the end. Here's what ongoing development looks like:
After every class:
- Quick self-reflection: What went well? What would I change? (Two minutes. Make it a habit.)
Monthly:
- Complete the Coach Self-Review. Rate yourself, identify one area to focus on, work on it for the next month.
- Sit in on another coach's class for peer observation. Watch with a specific focus. Debrief together after.
Twice a year:
- Head coach review. See Coach Feedback & Evaluation for how this works and what the evaluation criteria are.
Ongoing:
- Check the Coaching Focus Board each week for the current coaching focus questions.
- Read and re-read the Coaches Guide and GJJ Pedagogy periodically. You'll get more out of them each time because you have more coaching experience to connect the concepts to.
Adding Intermediate Coaching
There's no separate training track for coaching Intermediate. Fundamentals coaching clearance is a prerequisite. Once you're cleared for fundamentals, read the Coaching Intermediate guide and talk to the head coach about getting reps in the Intermediate room. The transition is less formal because the core coaching skills are the same; what changes is the depth, the multi-week block structure, and how you manage a room of more experienced students.
Adding Competition Coaching
For coaching at tournaments and running comp-specific sessions, see Comp Coaching and Comp Class. No separate training track. Talk to the head coach about getting involved.
The Full Reading List
Everything a coach at GJJ should read, in recommended order.
Required reading (before you start coaching)
- Coach Code of Conduct
- GJJ Pedagogy
- Coaches Guide (including all assigned podcasts)
- Program-specific docs for your track (listed above)
- Incident & Safety Protocol
Required reading (during or after training)
Recommended books
These are the books that inform our coaching methodology. We will buy you a copy of either Gray or Lemov if you want to read them.
- How We Learn to Move by Rob Gray: The foundational text on ecological dynamics and motor learning. Covers the constraints-led approach, perception-action coupling, and why variability matters.
- Learning to Be an Ecological Coach by Rob Gray: How to apply ecological dynamics as a coach. The most directly applicable of the three Gray books.
- The Coach's Guide to Teaching by Doug Lemov: Practice design, feedback principles, and the progression from skill-acquisition to game-based activities. The source for focused feedback, cognitive load management, and why "the game teaches the game" is insufficient.
- The Language of Coaching by Nick Winkelman: The science of coaching cues. External vs internal focus, the 3D cueing model, and analogies.
- The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle: How groups build trust and belonging. Relevant to building gym culture.