Aspiring Coaches raise their game

No matter where a coach is along in their career, the Advanced Coaching Diploma (ACD) is the right destination for further professional development. Whether at a high-performing club, Canada Games or National Team level, the ACD offers a coach-driven, expert-led, peer-enriched and mentor-supported coach education program.

As a result, the ACD is comprised of a broad cross-section of coaches at various stages of development, from club to national team, and everything in between. That diversity, in both focus and competence, is one of the things that sets the ACD apart and provides each cohort with a rich and comprehensive learning experience.

“The idea is to make the content relevant for each coaching context,” explains Jason Sjostrom, CSI Calgary Director of Coaching. “If the ACD reaches a coach at the right stage of their development, whether that be a Canada Games level coach or a National Team coach, then we are the right destination for that coach.”

Shayne Hutchins, CSI Calgary ParaMedical Lead and ACD Facilitator, has been teaching Injury Prevention and Risk Management for the ACD for two years. This particular module is focused on teaching a system to enable coaches to work closely with the paramedical and strength and conditioning teams to engineer healthy athletes capable of withstanding the demands of their sport.

“What we often see, at any level, is that injury happens when the athlete can’t respond to the load of the program,” says Hutchins. “To correct the training error, there needs to be a change in exercise and or the addition of therapy to the program.” The goal is to provide the coaches with the tools and best practices necessary to prevent and manage injuries with the Integrated Support Team (IST) by their side.

Hutchins says that no matter what level the coaches are at, this particular approach is a novel one. He teaches the same methodology to everyone so that the principles of the system can be implemented by any coach. It’s particularly beneficial when coaches within the NextGen development pathway learn how to prevent and manage injuries, because their athletes will arrive at the national team with a good foundation for long-term health.

The result of this kind of teaching is that it provides the coach context referred to by Sjostrom – every coach can take what they’ve learned and apply it to their particular situation and then come back to share the outcome with their classmates. Says Sjostrom, “We support everyone’s individual development and collectively that enriches the learning experience.”

Registration for the Advanced Coaching Diploma is now open. Successful candidates will be chosen in January 2019, and the program begins in April 2019. This competency-based adult learning experience is offered both in person and online through the CSI Calgary. The ACD program is available across the COPSI Network in both French and English.

For more information and to apply, click here

Canadian Sport Institute Calgary: @csicalgary
Written by Kristina Groves: @kngrover
Photo by: Dave Holland @csicalgaryphoto
8/11/18