Mission Statement

The National Team Coaching Apprenticeship Program is designed to provide opportunities for Canadian women coaches to work with their national team programs leading up to and during the 2012 and 2014 Olympic Games and major international events i.e. world championships, etc., which fall within the specified time frame.

Goals

1. To identify and nurture women who demonstrate the desired skills for national team coaching by providing them with enhanced learning opportunities, which will assist them in their future career aspirations.
   
2. To provide qualified Canadian women coaches in selected Olympic and Paralympic sports with advanced training opportunities and major games coaching experience and to prepare them for future coaching opportunities in international competitive events with national teams.
   
3. To facilitate an increase in the number of women coaches who will have access to international games coaching experience.
   
4. To provide all selected program candidates with the opportunity to experience pre-competitive training and team selection activities prior to major international games.
   
5. To support identified women coaches in their ongoing professional development through seminars, practical experience, and mentorship.

Program Description

The program is based upon the matching of an apprentice coach with a national coach and/or a mentor coach who has a formal link to the national team program. The national coach, apprentice coach and mentor coach, in consultation with the Coaching Association of Canada, will determine the role that the apprentice coach will play at major games. The apprenticeship program will be structured to meet the needs of each coach selected to the program and to enable an experience that will benefit both the candidate and the national team with which they become involved. This will be accomplished through the implementation of an approved personalized 3-year Learning Plan developed by the national coach, apprentice coach and mentor coach. The opportunity to link with women coaches in other sports will be provided through participation in national coach and other specific workshops.

• Up to $11,000 per year will be made available to selected candidates for the completion of the approved Learning Plan. Examples of learning plan activity expenses could include:
  • travel, meals, and accommodation for the apprentice coach to attend national team training camps, competitions, and/or professional development activities;
  • registration fees for professional development conferences, courses, etc.;
  • honorariums for the apprentice coach;
  • compensation for approved lost time/wages.
• Funding up to $1,200 will be available to contribute to the expenses of the mentor coach by CAC in year one of the program. It is expected that the NSO will contribute an equivalent amount to the mentor coach’s expenses in year two and three of the program.
• Expenses will be covered for the apprentice coach to attend three CAC professional development seminars.

• Canadian women coaches with a minimum NCCP Level 3 or Competition – Development certification (validation of certification is the responsibility of the applicant and respective NSO prior to application submission);
• Endorsement by the national sport organization, national team coach, and mentor coach
  (if mentor is not the national team coach);
• Coaches of Canada chartered member or working toward chartered member status;
• Availability for participation in the national coach workshop (March 2011, March 2012 and a debrief seminar in March 2013).

• Curriculum vitae, including information pertaining to coaching certification, coach education, and experience as a coach. (Please include a photocopy of NCCP certification card)
• Career objectives and means to accomplish the same.
• An indication of the means by which information and experience gained will be shared and communicated with other coaches within their sport.
• A good quality color photo, preferably in action as a coach, or a head-shot.

• 3-year Proposed Learning Plan for Apprentice coach containing:
  1. Nature, duration, location, and purpose/objective of the activities proposed for the candidate’s apprenticeship.
  2. Estimated costs (including: transportation, meals, accommodation, course & seminar fees, etc.). Please identify any cost covered by NSO/National Team budget.
  3. An indication of how the activity can be linked to the completion/evaluation of a Level 4/5 task if candidate is not Level 4/5 certified.
  4. An explanation of how this experience will fit into the overall career path of the coach.
• Summary of how the apprentice coach will contribute back to the development of women coaches with the sport.

• A review of the applications and a ranking of the candidates to be recommended for the program (in cases where there are more than one applicant).
• Letter of recommendation for each candidate (see below).
• Identification of the master/mentor coach.
• Identification of the supervision mechanisms that will apply to each activity and the mechanism whereby successful completion of the activities can be determined.
• A proposal for an NSO-driven women in coaching program designed to increase certification levels of women coaches or increase the number of women coaches involved in the sport.
• Implementation or use of CAC’s Handbook on Performance Review of Coaches.

• agreement to utilize some of its national team block resources to complement the needs of the candidate’s program, if necessary;
• agreement to involve the candidate in its pre-Major Games training and competitive programs from 2010–2013;
• agreement to involve the candidate as an active member of its coaching staff leading up to and including a major multi-sport games of choice;
• agreement to continue involving the candidate in its high performance activities on a regular basis following the completion of the program;
• agreement to contribute to the funding of the mentor coach expenses in year two and three of the program.

The NSO should also include a letter from the mentor coach outlining their commitment to act in a mentorship capacity through the duration of the program. This letter must be signed by the mentor coach and the NSO CEO or equivalent.