Any student who has been a Jr. Leader for at least 160 hours of program and is entering 7th grade or higher may apply to be a Jr. Coach.

We also ask that Junior Coaches regularly play chess, whether it be playing regularly online on lichess.org, chess.com, or the Learners Online program; or playing in person at a club, Learners Chess tournaments, or USCF rated tournaments.

Learners Jr. Coaches take on even more responsibilities in their chess programs than Jr. Leaders

Jr Coaches will be expected to:

• Fulfill all the responsibilities expected of a Jr Leader
• Help test activities for students to earn points
• Help students solve puzzles
• Periodically prepare lessons or activities for students

Jr. Coaches get several benefits:

• Jr. Coaches take on more responsibility at Learners Chess programs and so they develop more leadership skills and experience.
• Jr. Coaches attend chess programs for free and receive free membership accounts for our online program.
• Jr. Coaches get to work on developing themselves to become paid coaches, volunteer head coaches, and/or volunteers in a Learners Without Borders trip.
• Leadership experience
• Experience you can put on a resume or college application

Aspiring Jr. Coaches should let their coaches know that they want to become Jr. Coaches. They will be selected based on their demonstrated success as a Jr. Leader.

On top of successful Jr. Leader skills, in order to become a Jr. Coach students have a longer application process. To apply, a student must:

• Develop a unique chess lecture of no more than 20 minutes to present to a panel of LCA coaches. The lecture should be engaging and educational and have an interactive activity for students to help enforce what is being taught in the lecture. This can be lecturing on a favorite GM game, personal game, opening, unique endgame technique, or an in depth exploration of a tactic. The lecture also must have an accompanying activity developed by the aspiring Jr. Coach such as a worksheet, puzzles during the lecture, or a playing activity to practice afterwards.
• Demonstrate continued improvement in their chess playing strength as measured by their rating on any chess website and/or in the Learners rating system and/or in USCF. 
• Express interest in eventually becoming a paid chess coach and be willing to work as a Jr. Coach for at least three weeks of summer camp for at least two years until they are ready to be a paid coach and/or a Learners Without Borders volunteer.

Jr. Leaders who are interested in becoming a Jr. Coach must either be invited to apply or talk to their Coach about the program.