Coaches in Canadian Sport
Sport plays an important role in the lives of many Canadians. Quality coaching is key to a positive sport experience for participants. Sport, government, and business leaders recommend that all coaches become trained and certified in the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) to ensure that the sport experience of every participant is a good one.
Become a Marathon Coach
Obtaining training and certification
OMCKRA encourages paddlers already competent in Marathon technique and interested in teaching others to train for formal NCCP certification as Marathon Coaches. Sessions for training of coaches take place throughout the year. Each session will have from 5 to 10 individuals being trained over a one or two day period. Evaluation of the trained coaches takes place in the weeks following the training session whereupon the Learning Facilitator (LE) and Coach Evaluator (CE) report on the trainee's progress to the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC). Trained coaches must also complete a few online courses available at the CAC site for full certification to be awarded. OMCKRA supports the training sessions and also provides grants to offset the costs for those trainees who successfully complete certification. email [email protected].
Existing Coaches - Professional Development support
maintaining certification status
OMCKRA encourages and supports those already certified as NCCP Marathon Coaches to maintain their certification through on going training.
NCCP coaches maintain their certified status with Professional Development (PD) points. PD points can be earned through a multitude of activities that coaches already participate in, including: national and provincial sport organization conferences and workshops, eLearning modules, NCCP workshops, coach mentorship programs, and active coaching. In most cases coaches are already earning their required PD points -- maintenance of Certification Status is simply the introduction of tracking these points and recognizing coaches for their efforts.
Coaches Association of Canada regularly posts training opportunities.
To apply for OMCKRA training support email [email protected]
Marathon Coach Accreditation
The Marathon Canoe Entry Level Competitive Coach (ELCC) program is the entry point for Marathon coach candidates to NCCP. Coach Candidates spend a weekend workshop training, both in classroom and on the water. The ELCC workbook that Marathon coach candidates receive was designed with the primary goal of enhancing coaching education across Canada for Marathon Canoeing and Kayaking. Specifically, this workbook and its coaching course will work towards increasing the standardization and meaningfulness of coaching education across the country while striving to meet the education needs identified by coaches currently working in the field. The activities in the course have all been designed to help coaches develop the information and skills required to demonstrate the required coaching outcomes for their practical evaluations.
Marathon coach will leave the workshop with the tools to coach their first season. These tools include a series of ready to use practice plans, coaching tips for teaching entry level paddlers, a bank of activities, and a series of tools that will be required for their season such as templates for medical information and an Emergency Action Plan (EAP). The ELCC course and workbook use the problem-solving teaching methodology to further develop this skill in coaches, and so that coaches learn by doing.
To become "certified" in a coaching context, coaches must be evaluated on their demonstrated ability to perform within that context in areas such as program design, practice planning, performance analysis, program management, ethical coaching, support to participants during training, and support to participants in competition (www.coach.ca). Once they pass their evaluation they are Certified as coaches as long as they have also fulfilled other requirements such as Safe Sport training and Making Ethical Decisions.
A second level of Marathon coaching is under development
Coach Progression
Coach Candidates become Trained Coaches by attending an ELCC workshop run by a trained Facilitator. After completing online requirements and getting experience as coaches they are evaluated by a trained Evaluator to become certified.
What is NCCP?
The NCCP is a collaborative program of the Government of Canada, the provincial/territorial governments, the national/provincial/territorial sport federations, and the Coaching Association of Canada. It is the flagship program of the Coaching Association of Canada and is a structured progressive system through which coaches can upgrade their knowledge and skills.
The Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of coaching in Canada. Formed in 1971, its primary function is to provide expertise and guidance in the development of coaching education programs and services. Through these programs, the CAC influences more than 400,000 coaches, who in turn provide leadership to an estimated four million Canadians involved in many sports.
For more information about the NCCP and the ELCC coaching context, see our page on NCCP and contact CanoeKayak Canada (CKC) and the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) websites at www.canoekayak.ca and www.coach.ca.