NCCP Updates

Update on NCCP Policy Development
– by Cyndie Flett

CAC has a number of policies related to the NCCP that are currently in different stages of development. The consultation/development process for each policy is different based on the complexity of the issues to be considered and the urgency for an approved policy.

Learning Facilitators and Evaluators
There has been extensive partner engagement in the development of this policy. Revisions are being made based on partner feedback and the results of a survey. The revised policy will be shared with partners and additional feedback will be sought in hopes of having final approval from the CAC board of directors before the end of 2008.

Professional Development
Extensive research has been conducted on a variety of professional development models currently implemented by various associations. A position paper outlining options has been drafted and will be presented to the NCCP Partners for review and input. Following this input an Advisory Group will be formed to draft minimum standards for what is required of coaches in terms of professional development in order to maintain their certification. This process will be ongoing throughout the fall of 2008.

Gradations
Once the partner engagement process for the professional development policy is complete, partners will be asked to provide feedback on the draft policy recommendations for Gradations various contexts.

NCCP Sponsorship
CAC is currently engaged in providing input into the development of the NCCP Sponsorship policy. Two provincial/territorial coaching delivery representatives have been identified for the Advisory Group for this policy. Additional members will be added this fall.

Updating the National Coaching Institute Diploma Program
– by Jean-Philippe Lavoie

As the NCCP moves towards a competency-based approach the National Coaching Institutes (NCIs) are also evolving. Their mandate is moving towards developing advanced coaches in all contexts, helping coaches progress along the “novice to expert continuum” from certified status to advanced certification.

This change in NCI to a focus on Level 4 – high performance coaches to preparing expert – advanced coaches is consistent with the new structure of the NCCP. The concept of “advanced gradation” provides coaches of developing athletes with the opportunity to be recognized and achieve the highest level of certification without necessarily having to work with high performance athletes.

While recognizing the need to develop advanced coaches in all contexts, professional development for the current high performance coaches still remains. The NCIs will continue play a significant role in this area.

NCIs will have two core responsibilities:

1. Delivery of the new learning program, the NCI Diploma Program, for advanced coaches in the Competition – Development context. The Coaching Association of Canada, in partnership with the National Coaching Institutes and national sport organizations (NSOs), will revise the NCI curriculum to be consistent with the competency-based approach of the NCCP framework. A coach will acquire advanced gradation in the Competition – Development context upon completion of the NCI Diploma Program which will be structured around four themes: coaching leadership; coach effectiveness; performance planning; and training and competition readiness.
2. Delivery of professional development for existing national level coaches in the Competition – High Performance context. Within the structure of the new NCCP, the Competition – High Performance context will have a customized professional development program for coaches of high performance athletes.

Coaches who complete the advanced gradation for Competition – Development are likely to be:

• Canada Games and provincial head coaches
• Personal coaches of pre-carded, provincial carded, and developmental carded athletes
• Club coaches of highly ranked clubs and self-made/entrepreneurial coaches
• Post secondary coaches (Canadian Interuniversity Sport, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Canadian Colleges Athletic Association)
• NSO-identified coaches with potential to develop into coaches of high performance athletes
• National Training Centre coaches and assistant coaches

It is important to note that coaches who wish to advance to the expert level working with athletes from different contexts will have the opportunity to join the NCI.

The target is to develop the new NCI diploma program between October 2008 and June 2009 with implementation at the NCIs beginning in September 2009.

For more information, please contact Jean-Philippe Lavoie.

Competition – Development Goes Online
– by Don Watts

The Developing Athletic Abilities module in the Competition – Development context is using an online delivery format for a two-hour online self-paced pre-workshop session that is a pre-requisite for the nine-hour in-class workshop.

The online session is designed to:

• familiarize coaches with training terminology so they can communicate using common language;
• have coaches develop a profile of their athletes’ sport; and
• reflect on current training practices.

Completing the online session, allows the facilitator-assisted in-class workshop to focus on training applications using scenarios that allow coaches to transfer learning to their respective sports.

The online and in-class format is available to sports that plan to integrate the Developing Athletic Abilities module into their sport-specific training curriculum. This new format for delivering the Developing Athletic Abilities module will begin January 2009.

Coaching Masters Athletes
– by Anna Mees

It has been recognized that Masters sport is one of the fastest growing age categories in sport and physical activity. One of the unique characteristics of this category is the tremendously broad age range. Just as the needs of young children are unique, so are the needs of the Masters athlete. As the population of Masters athletes continues to grow at an exponential rate, it is critical that coaches are able to understand aging-related physiological, psychological, and sociological changes so they can effectively tailor training and development programs to best serve their participants.

In response to this rapidly growing population, the NCCP is developing the “Coaching Masters Athletes Handbook”. Grounded in recent academic research, the resource is intended as a practical handbook for coaches in sports with significant numbers of Masters athletes. The primary target audience is coaches already working with Masters athletes, however, the Handbook will be extremely useful for any coach anticipating an aging population of participants in his or her club.

Developed by renowned Masters swim coach Nigel Kemp, the resource has had input from experts working with Masters athletes in sports such as judo, rowing, waterski/wakeboard, lawn bowls, and weightlifting. The first draft of the resource is currently in the review stage. The project is on track for a launch early in 2009.

For more information, please contact Anna Mees.

NCCP Best Practices

Competition – Development National Master Learning Facilitator
– by Cyndie Flett

CAC, in partnership with the Provincial and Territorial Coaching Representatives (PTCRs), is pleased to announce the creation of a new role within the NCCP: Competition – Development National Master Learning Facilitator (MLF). Four to five individuals will be selected to fill this role and will form the Competition – Development MLF National Team which will be under the direction of CAC.

The national MLF concept signals a new approach for the training, evaluation, and professional development of NCCP Learning Facilitators (LFs). CAC and the PTCRs believe that the Competition – Development National MLF Team will further enhance and strengthen the quality of NCCP multi-sport delivery by providing front-line LFs with nationally consistent messages during their initial training and on-going national support post-training.

The Competition – Development MLF National Team will work with Advanced LFs (identified by the province or territory) to ensure there is ongoing support to LFs.

A complete list of the roles of the National MLFs, the Advanced LFs and LFs can be found on the CAC website.

The National MLFs and Advanced LFs are new roles. The responsibilities they have in common with LFs are: participating in relevant professional development; promotion of the NCCP; facilitating Competition – Development multi-sport modules; and submission of constructive feedback to facilitate future improvements to the NCCP;

Some of the responsibilities of the National MLFs include: providing leadership to the Advanced LFs and the LFs for the delivery of the multi-sport modules; ensuring nationally standardized delivery and facilitation of the six Competition – Development multi-sport modules; developing the Advanced LF and LF training strategy; and providing ongoing training and support to the Advanced LFs.

Advanced LFs will co-facilitate the implementation of the LF training with the National MLF; support LFs in their province/territory; and observe and evaluate the LFs’ facilitation of the Competition- Development modules.

Examples of Competition– Development Pathways
– by Gérard Lauzière

There are likely as many different ways to implement the Competition – Development context as there are sports. Hopefully some of these examples will provide you with ideas on how to implement it in your sport.

CanoeKayak:
All multi-sport modules are fully integrated, although for the moment, they have a provincial Master Learning Facilitator offering the Leading Drug-free Sport module. They offer five days of workshops followed by approximately six months of practice and then five more days of workshops. It is a national delivery in which national team coaches are invited as expert presenters. In the Analyzing Technical and Tactical Skills module, coaches bring a video of one of their athletes which the experts analyze and provide feedback.

Wrestling:
No multi-sport modules are integrated. It will be a national delivery, they will take advantage of gatherings such as Canada Cup when they will deliver the first weekend of workshops. The next weekend of workshops takes place during training camps; one in the east (Nova Scotia) and one in the west (Alberta). Coaches can go to either one of the workshops; usually they bring athletes to these events to make some of the exercises more relevant. Coaches have pre-task work to complete before attending the workshops.

The first workshop is a three-day weekend in which coaches complete the Performance Planning module, the Plan a Practice 2 module, two technical sessions, and a part of Analyzing Technical and Tactical Skills module. The second weekend consists of the Manage a Sport Program module, two technical sessions, the second part of the Analyze Technical and Tactical Skills module, and finishes off with some technical assessments. Coaches can complete the multi-sport modules in their province whenever they are offered.

Triathlon:
Triathlon Canada has developed an interesting entry and evaluation system likely due to the small number of coaches at this level. The coach applies to enter the Competition – Development context; if the candidate is accepted he or she is evaluated in all outcomes and is assigned a mentor coach. This mentor provides the coach with guidance as he or she participates in the workshops and shares his or her experiences to help the coach fill in the gaps. This is all tracked on the website, where coaches can go to a protected area to exchange with their mentor and see their progress.

Speed Skating:
Step 1: Self-evaluation and context finder
The coach completes an online self-evaluation questionnaire which assists him or her to identify his or her strengths and weaknesses as well as the best context in which to seek training. Based on the results of this questionnaire the coach either proceeds to Step 2 or seeks training and certification in another context.

Step 2: Coach Registration
The coach registers for the Competition – Development training and certification process on Speed Skating Canada’s website. In order to be accepted for the training process the coach is required to complete an online evaluation demonstrating his or her knowledge or required pre-requisites for Make Ethical Decisions (CAC online evaluation), Planning a Practice, and Design a Basic Sport Program.

Step 3: Coach training and preliminary evaluations
Once the coach has registered for the Competition – Development training process he or she will have access to online training tools as well as the preliminary evaluation modules which will serve to determine the coach’s readiness to proceed to the mentorship and evaluation portion of the Competition – Development context.

Step 4: Coach Mentorship and Practical Evaluations
Once the coach has completed the required preliminary evaluations he or she will apply to be assigned a mentor coach who will be responsible for assigning the coach practical project-based tasks as well as overseeing the evaluation in training and competition of this coach.

Step 5: Coach is certified

Athletics:
Athletics Canada will be integrating two of the multi-sport modules (Developing Athletics Abilities and Prevention and Recovery). It will be a national delivery and will take place during two technical congresses in which Athletics Canada will deliver the sport-specific modules and will bring in provincial Master Learning Facilitators to deliver the multi-sport modules.

The Value of a Modular Design in Competition – Introduction Course
– by Neale Gillespie

Canada Basketball is in the process of training Learning Facilitators to deliver their new NCCP Competition – Introduction course, Basketball - Intro to Comp to their coaches. During the design and pilot phase it became clear to Canada Basketball that offering a flexible delivery method was vital to clubs and associations across Canada. To this end, they developed a modular approach similar to the multi-sport modules offered by the provinces and territories.

Mike MacKay, Canada Basketball’s Manager of Coach Education and Development explains, “By offering a modular approach, the Learning Facilitator can deliver the training in three-hour blocks over a several days or weeks. We have found the coaches to be more alert and have the opportunity to reflect upon their current practices and to apply some of their learning between sessions. Through this approach we have also started to develop the idea of mentorship and on-going learning.” The modular approach can still be delivered in the traditional weekend workshop environment. This flexibility is helping associations meet the needs of their coaches within their specific environment.

Canada Basketball is a strong supporter of the Make Ethical Decisions (MED) module. Mike MacKay comments, “the MED module is an excellent process for coaches to use when faced with an ethical situation. In other words, a situation has happened or a decision has to be made, now what are you going to do? We wanted our coaches to consider how their actions may prevent situations before they occur. This means three things: that coaches can begin to develop a coaching philosophy that embraces LTAD principles and the NCCP code of ethics, that coaches learn how to teach their athletes responsibility and leadership skills helping these athletes to become more self-reliant, and that coaches learn how to work closely with parents to explain their philosophy in order to help prevent issues from arising.” Canada Basketball has expanded upon the Make Ethical Decisions (MED) module within the Competition – Introduction context to include teaching values to their athletes. By teaching values to their athletes, basketball coaches are able to help these athletes to learn how to take responsibility and to become more independent both on and off the court. Canada Basketball and the CAC continue to work together to stress the importance of both MED and values in coaching.

For more information on the Canada Basketball Competition – Introduction context design, please contact Mike MacKay, Manager Coach Education and Development, Canada Basketball at mmackay@basketball.ca.

Combining NCCP and Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD): Taekwondo Canada’s example
– by Gérard Lauzière

In an effort to save cost and ensure consistency during the development of their LTAD and first NCCP context, Taekwondo Canada coordinated simultaneous development meetings. Most of the LTAD committee members are also on the NCCP development committee. This way, they can share the cost between their CAC and LTAD budgets.

The LTAD committee members who were involved in the development of the Active Start and Fundamentals stages were key in developing the Reference Material of the Assistant Instructor workshop.

This linkage permitted Taekwondo Canada to develop certain LTAD stages, in detail, that are also used as Reference Material in their Assistant Instructor program geared towards coaches of 4 to 9 year-old participants. The Reference Material for the Assistant Instructor workshop is actually the LTAD DVD.

This is a great way to reduce costs and ensure the harmonization of NCCP and LTAD. The steering committee members meet less frequently for longer time periods. So far the benefits seem to be outweighing the drawbacks.

NCCP Updates: Provincial/ Territorial

British Columbia
The Coaches Association of BC (CABC) has just wrapped up another successful “BC Coaches Week”. Coaches Forums were held in Nanaimo, Castelgar, Kamloops, and Kelowna while full day conferences were held in Richmond, Prince George, and Fort St. John. The sessions attracted over 500 coaches and covered topics such as: Mental Training; Sport Nutrition; the Art of Briefing and De-briefing; the Canadian Sport for Life; and Performance Planning.

The week-long celebration of coaches included the CABC Coach of the Year Awards and the Investors Group Sport Administrators Awards. Male and female community coaches were also recognized in each of the communities visited during the week.

The CABC partnered with BC Athlete Voice at each of the week’s events. BC Athlete Voice is a provincial organization developed to provide high performance athletes with a voice to express their needs and provide input on issues affecting athletes. In each of the communities where a forum or conference was held, an Olympic athlete or national-level athlete spoke about the influence their coaches have on their performances as well as the impact they have on their lives. Coaches were recognized by their respective athletes at each of these events through the Athlete Community Excellence (ACE) awards. The ACE awards give athletes the opportunity to nominate their coaches for the excellent work they do in their community.

The CABC is continuing to provide their membership with access to webcasts of pre-recorded presentations. This is a unique member benefit that CABC plans on expanding. To date, most of the topics have focused on mental training. Future topics may include: injury prevention; when to return to play; stretching; proper warm-ups; and other generic coaching topics. New topics are added to the collection every two months.

The training of new Learning Facilitators in the Competition – Development modules begins in December. CABC is currently selecting individuals who have the skills and expertise to deliver these modules.

The SportsFunder lottery program has been a significant boom to the coaching community in British Columbia over the past two years. Annually, over $250,000 of this program has been directed towards the development of community coach education. This has resulted in reduced cost to participants for sport-specific NCCP courses. Many hard-to-reach communities have received coach education as a direct result of this funding.

Alberta
The Coach and Official Development Initiatives provide opportunities for coaching and officiating development in Alberta. These initiatives parallel the priorities identified in both the Alberta Sport Plan and the Federal-Provincial/Territorial Priorities for Collaborative Action that was developed as part of the Canadian Sport Policy. The initiatives are:

• Above and Beyond : The Above and Beyond grant provides support to coaches and officials who would like to pursue educational or developmental opportunities.
• Visitation: The Visitation grant provides support to provincial sport associations and their clubs to offset travel and accommodation costs to host an out of province or out of country coach or official.

October 15, 2008 is the next deadline for the above grants.

Alberta Coaches Education Vouchers are offered through the partnership with the Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks & Wildlife Foundation (ASRPWF) and the Alberta Schools' Athletic Association. This program supports and encourages high school teachers, coaches, and physical educators to pursue NCCP certification by providing them with a voucher to be used towards an NCCP course.

Alberta is sponsoring 15 multi-sport Learning Facilitators to attend Petro-Canada Sport Leadership sportif, November 7–9, 2008.

For more information on NCCP courses in Alberta please visit:
http://www.tpr.alberta.ca/asrpwf/programs/sports/nccp/index.asp

Northwest Territories
Sport North offered Competition – Introduction Part A on September 20 in Yellowknife and will be hosting a Level 3 Theory Course prior to December.

Saskatchewan
In 2008 the Coaches Association of Saskatchewan provided training to 175 coaches in Competition – Introduction Part A, 63 coaches in Part B and 63 in Level 3 Theory/Competition – Development. A total of 36 courses have been offered throughout the province to date with many more scheduled for the fall and early winter.

Saskatchewan is partnering with Manitoba to offer Learning Facilitator training for the new Competition – Development modules. Training is scheduled for early in 2009 in Winnipeg. Saskatchewan anticipates training 8–10 new Learning Facilitators.

The Coaches Association of Saskatchewan has accessed funding through the Federal/Provincial bi-lateral agreement to help provincial sport organizations (PSOs) transition to the new NCCP by providing grants to support the training of Learning Facilitators, Master Learning Facilitators, and Evaluators. To date, 26 PSOs have accessed financial support through this program.

Dr. Don Clark has been hired as the new National Coaching Institute Director for Saskatchewan. Don brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the position as a coach, coach educator, and former university professor.

Corey Matthews (Regina) from Basketball and Jonathon Smith (Dillon) from Wrestling have been selected to participate in the Aboriginal Apprentice Coach Program pilot project for the 2009 Canada Summer Games. Both coaches are great role models. They will be provided with a great coach development opportunity while contributing to the success of Team Saskatchewan at the Games in PEI.

Congratulations to the following Saskatchewan coaches who coached at the 2008 Summer Olympic or Paralympic Games in Beijing:

• Carla Nicholls – Athletics
• Cory Neifer – Shooting
• Don Bates – Softball
• Jeff Toth – Swimming.

Congratulations to Saskatchewan’s Aboriginal coaches who, along with their teams, captured their 6th North American Indigenous Games title in Cowichan, BC. Team Sask won 243 medals!

Manitoba
The full complement of six Competition – Development courses were delivered in August, targeting 2009 Canada Games coaches. Another round of Competition –Development courses will be offered in October/November.

Congratulations to Kylie Case (cycling) and Cathy Cullen (athletics) for being named as apprentices in the Women in Coaching Canada Games Apprenticeship Program. Both women are making the transition from athlete to coach. Kylie was a national espoir mountain biker and former Canada Games participant. Cathy, a former University of Manitoba elite distance runner who completed the 2008 Boston Marathon, has experience coaching with the Canada Games athletics team.

The 2008 Manitoba Summer Games wrapped up in Carman with a large number of regional coaches selected as part of the Manitoba Summer Games “Thanks Coach” program.

Baseball: Faron Asham
Basketball – Female: Uzo Asagwara, Kristin Donovan
Basketball – Male: Don Marlow, Chanse Kornik
Soccer – Female: Celso Arvelo, Mladan Cvar
Soccer – Male: Corey May, Mark Allard
Softball: Bob Agnew
Swimming: Michelle Stamn, Szandra Temesvari, Lawrence Cohen
Triathlon: Raymond Gosselin, Lisa Gosselin-Boulet, David Lipchen

The Aboriginal Sport Circle, in partnership with the Coaching Association of Canada, will host a Learning Facilitator’s training session for the Aboriginal Coach Manual (ACM) from October 23 to 25, 2008, in Winnipeg.

Coaching Manitoba welcomes two new staff: Kylo Harris and Sheldon Reynolds. Both Kylo and Sheldon have extensive backgrounds in coaching and are trained Learning Facilitators. Kylo will be focusing on promoting coach education in rural Manitoba. Sheldon will be handling the NCCP administrative duties as well as promoting coach education in Winnipeg.

Dartfish biomechanics courses, which teach coaches to film, edit, and analyze their athletes with DARTFISH Technology software, will be offered in October when facilitator Carolyn Taylor returns from Bejing, China. She has been filming events for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer.

For a list of NCCP workshops, go to: www.coachingmanitoba.ca/nccp/nccp.php.

For information on other Coaching Manitoba initiatives visit: www.coachingmanitoba.ca.