July 29, 2016 – Central to all quality athletic programs is superior coaching and strong technical leadership, especially when the athlete is striving to achieve their optimal performance and international podium success.  At Canadian Sport Institute Ontario (CSIO), one of our primary goals is to better support and prepare the coaches and technical leaders that influence the athlete’s long-term success. CSIO’s Coach and Technical Leadership Team works closely with coaches and technical leaders across a variety of sports in a number of different ways.

The Advanced Coaching Diploma Program:
The ACD is part of the National Coaching Certification Program for Advanced Competition Development coaches. The two-year, part-time, applied diploma program looks at not just what a coach needs to know, but also how the coach applies the learning into their daily training environment. Throughout the program, coaches build a comprehensive portfolio of evidence that is shaped and assessed with the help of mentor coaches and content experts surrounding the program.

Professional Development Events, Workshops and Think Tanks:
For coaches and technical leaders working with high performance programs or feeding high performance programs, various professional development events offer new information, focused discussion, and facilitate sharing across sport. Canadian Sport Institute Ontario hosts and facilitates a number of events throughout the year to promote ongoing learning and development of coaches and technical leaders.

Upcoming topics include: Quad planning, monitoring athletes in training and competition, nutrition considerations for aquatic sports, technology to enhance learning, and debriefing with athletes.

Formal and Informal Mentoring:
Many CSIO staff work within the daily training environment of CSIO, partnered sports and provide expertise and informal mentoring to high performance coaches and technical leaders.

CAAWS Women in Leadership Workshops:
CSIO offers a series of three hour workshops on: Communication, Life Balance, Networking, Managing Conflict, and Change. These workshops are offered to help build a community of women working in sport and physical activity while building and shaping valuable leadership skills.

Coaches influence an athlete’s success throughout the athlete’s development pathway. Whether it’s the coach that encourages an athlete to pursue a specific sport, motivates an athlete to overcome a challenge or teaches a specific skill or tactic that allows an athlete to flourish, coaches that work with athletes throughout their careers should be celebrated.

Thank you to all of the current and past coaches that have contributed to the success of our Olympians and Paralympians!

And thank you to all of the coaches and technical leaders that create the environments needed for athletes to excel. You are all a piece of the athlete-success puzzle!