Swimming Canada recently announced its new coach development groups for 2021.
In addition to the select coaches group, which has been operating since 2014, Swimming Canada will grow the female coaches group launched in 2018, and add a new advanced coaches group.
In total, 48 coaches will be offered one or more of these development opportunities in the upcoming year.
“In identifying coaches, we considered those with an open mind, willingness to listen to diverse opinions, consider change, learn, and share with others,” said Iain McDonald, associate high performance director, Olympic program. “All will benefit from the three coach development opportunities delivered. The select coaches group has tended to skew toward younger coaches. As a guideline, the group has primarily involved head coaches who have produced athletes at the ‘On Track’ level. For 2021, we wanted to expand the group and involve a larger number of coaches from across the country.”
This year the focus for the female coaches group will include more swimming/sport-specific topics. The advanced coaches group will be made up of coaches Swimming Canada has worked with over the last number of years, many of whom have been select coaches group participants in the past.
“These groups are very important for the present and future of coaching in the current era of sport, not only in Canada, but in world swimming. We have had these coaching development groups running since 2014 and they are a targeted approach to development,” said high performance director and national coach John Atkinson. “We are looking to work with coaches who understand situations, work in a positive way with partners, and then make any situation work for them and use it in developing their athletes and clubs. We also look at how coaches respond to situations, how they look to thrive, and be leaders in a positive way, as well as being solution focused.”
A number of virtual sessions will be offered with both Canadian and international presenters. Topics will range from specific technical swimming issues to developing communication skills for the coaching environment, based on the principles of the aviation industry’s crew resource management training. There will be several joint sessions where all three groups are involved along with specific sessions for each group.
“We engaged with our provincial partners in the identification process and appointments of the coaches,” McDonald added. “Through this process we have been able to invite a diverse group of coaches from many different coaching environments from across Canada.”
