Entry-Level Competitive Coach (ELCC)

The Entry-Level Competitive Coach is the first step to coaching in the competitive stream. Find courses offered in your community by viewing the Calendar or contacting your Provincial Paddling Association. Multisport courses can be found through your Provincial Coaching Association.

Multisport Workshops

Competition-Introduction Multisport Workshops

These are introductory workshops for becoming a competitive coach in canoe kayak. ELCC candidates must take the following NCCP multisport workshops before the ELCC core workshop:

  • Making Ethical Decisions
  • Plan a Practice
  • Basic Nutrition
  • Teaching and Learning

More information regarding the workshops can be found at coach.ca. Contact your Provincial and Territorial Coach Representatives to see when courses are offered.

Format: Workshops offered in either classroom or online format

Prerequisite: None

Core Training

Take one of the following:

Sprint Small Boats – ELCC Core Training

The core training Entry-Level Coaching Course includes the practical and theoretical components of coaching sprint K1 and C1. Learn how to effectively plan practices according to various energy systems. Gain a greater appreciation of technique and understand how to analyze the kayak and canoe stroke. Coaches will also discuss best practices for running safe and well organized practices. Format: 12-16 hour workshop.

War Canoe – ELCC Core Training

The core training Entry-Level Coaching Course includes the practical and theoretical components of coaching war canoe. Enhance your coxing skills and learn the fundamentals of crew development. Learn to teach and analyze war canoe technique. Explore technical drills, racing strategies and team building fundamentals to put together a cohesive and competitive boat. Coaches will also discuss best practices for running safe and well organized practices. Format: 12-16 hour workshop.

Dragon Boat – ELCC Core Training

The core training Entry-Level Coaching Course includes the practical and theoretical components of coaching dragon boat. Steering skills and the fundamentals of crew development will be explored. Coaches will gain a better understanding of teaching dragon boat technique to prepare crews for various festivals and competitions. Best practices for running safe and well organized practices will also be part of the course. Format: 12-16 hour workshop.

Modules

ELCC Modules

ELCC modules are add-on workshops for coaches who have already completed ELCC core training. Coaches may supplement their certification by taking a module in another discipline, including sprint small boats, war canoe, dragon boat, marathon or whitewater. For example a coach who took core training in sprint small boats may wish to take the war canoe module. The module is a shorter, modified workshop which would include the war canoe specific coach training without repeating the theory learned in core training. Format: 5-6 hour practical workshop.

ELCC Advanced Gradation

ELCC Advanced Gradation is training and certification targeted at developing club coaches to lead learn to train, and train to train (U-15 and U-13) programs at their clubs. The training and certification builds on concepts from ELCC core, and prepares coaches to be able to design and implement a full season program at their clubs.

Multisport Modules

ELCC Advanced coach candidates must take the following NCCP multisport workshops as part of their training:

  • Design a Sport Program
  • Basic Mental Skills
  • Resistance Training
  • Coaching and Leading Effectively

Contact your Provincial and Territorial Coach Representatives to see when the modules are offered.

ELCC Advanced Gradation Workshop

The ELCC Advanced workshop builds on concepts from ELCC core, and adds new areas of training as well. In the workshop, as new concepts, coaches will learn how to manage athletes at regattas, design a season training program that encompasses competition schedule and energy systems, effectively design weekly training programs, design a staff structure and weekly schedules, and how to better monitor their athletes. In addition, coaches will work through activities to improve their abilities to detect and correct technique, create practice plans, as well as coach and provide feedback to athletes.

Format: 12-16 hour workshop

Pleasure Craft Operator Card

To learn to operate a motorboat safely, coaches should obtain their Canadian Pleasure Craft Operator Card. The exam can be taken online at boaterexam.com or through an approved course. This is not part of the ELCC process but a practical component to becoming a coach.

Certification

After completing Competition-Introduction Multisport Part A and B along with the ELCC core training, coaches are considered “trained.” While trained coaches have acquired the necessary knowledge, certified coaches have demonstrated their competence through an evaluation. To become certified, coaches must contact their provincial paddling associations to schedule an evaluation. Before the evaluation the coach must submit a practice plan and emergency action plan. The coach also needs to complete the online Making Ethical Decisions evaluation. At the scheduled evaluation the coach and evaluator will meet before and conduct a debrief after. The evaluator will observe the coach running a practice and evaluate certain criteria. The evaluation will take approximately 2-3 hours in total. When the coach passes, the evaluator will sign off and paperwork will be submitted to the Provincial Paddling Association, then to Canoe Kayak Canada and finally to the Coaching Association of Canada.

 


Competition Development

Courses

Multisport Workshops

Coaches can access these workshops through their Provincial and Territorial Coaching Representatives.

  • Competition-Development coach candidates must take the following multisport workshops as part of the training process:
  • Developing Athletic Abilities
  • Coaching and Leading Effectively
  • Managing Conflict
  • Leading Drug Free Sport
  • Psychology of Performance

Competition Development Part 1

This course takes several of the concepts introduced in ELCC training to the next level. Coaches will learn methods for analyzing performance and further their knowledge of canoe and kayak technique through biomechanical principles. They will build further on the concepts of practice planning to understand the fundamentals of building a yearly training plan. Leadership philosophies and the idea of creating an effective training environment will be central to this course. National Team Coaches, Integrated Support Team members and staff bring a wide variety of perspectives to the course. Coaches will identify a mentor to work with throughout their competition development training. They will also complete 5 multisport modules including developing athletic abilities, managing conflict, coaching and leading effectively, leading drug free sport, and psychology of performance. Format: 3 day course with additional multisport modules and mentoring activities to be completed independently. Prerequisite: ELCC Certified or former National Team athlete, Developing Athletic Abilities.

Competition Development Part 2

Coaches will look at performance planning and analysis as it relates to developing race tactics and evaluating a training plan. Leadership skills will be advanced with an emphasis on managing conflict and making ethical decisions. The concepts of recovery, injury prevention, tapering and peaking will be explored. Coaches will also look at athlete monitoring and strategies for crew boat selection. National Team Coaches and Integrated Support Team members are incorporated into the second part of competition development and coaches will continue to learn from their mentors. Format: 3 day course with additional multisport modules to be completed independently Prerequisite: Competition Development Part 1 and all multisport workshops.

 


Sprint High Performance Coach

High Performance Coaches focus on training athletes to achieve excellence at the highest levels of competition. Education programs for High Performance Coaches are a combination of formal in-class learning as well as other individual learning opportunities based on coaches interests, needs and learning styles.

COURSES

Advanced Coaching Diploma

The Diploma consists of four core themes; Coaching Leadership, Coaching Effectiveness, Performance Planning, and Training and Competition Readiness. Each theme requires coaches to complete a series of modules comprised of several 3 hour units of in-classroom sessions, seminars, workshops or labs. Coaches enrolled in the Diploma program will work with a designated master and/or mentor coach who will support them in their completion of program requirements. The diploma is completed through Canadian Sport Institutes and all assignments are integrated with Canoe Kayak Canada.

Accelerated Coaching Education (ACE)

This program will include an individually tailored curriculum in which the coach will work with mentors to develop specific objectives for advancing their education through an individual learning plan. An example of part of that learning plan could include travelling to World Championships or Olympic Games to perform race analysis, working with coach mentors and to observing coaching at the most elite level. There is a strong emphasis on individual learning from leading coaches and academics in this program.