OTTAWA, ON, September 18, 2020 – As it marks the beginning of the sixth annual National Coaches Week, the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) and its National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) partners are encouraging Canada’s sport community to thank its coaches for their resilience and dedication in the face of the many challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has created.
National Coaches Week is a time to recognize and acknowledge the valuable contributions that coaches make to the quality of life in communities across Canada. It provides everyone the opportunity to recognize coaches for the integral role they play, simply by saying #ThanksCoach.
This year's campaign runs from September 19 to 27.
“National Coaches Week is an important opportunity for us to publicly express our gratitude and appreciation for every coach’s ongoing commitment to their participants, their teams, and their communities,” says Lorraine Lafrenière, CEO of the CAC. “We see the impact of quality coaching reflected in the quality of life in our communities and feel it when Canada’s athletes succeed on the world stage.”
"The Government of Canada recognizes the essential contribution of coaches in the Canadian sport system," says The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Heritage. "Due to COVID-19, coaches have had to be innovative in their methods and flexible in their approach in order to guide their athletes, who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances. I’d like all Canadians to join me in saying, Thanks Coach!"
Coaches' contributions are typically highly visible, whether on soccer fields, baseball diamonds, basketball courts, skating rinks, in swimming pools, school gyms, or elsewhere. This year, restrictions on in-person gatherings and physical distancing guidelines have brought these activities to a halt. Seasons have been cut short, training plans put on hold, tournaments have been cancelled.
Despite being physically separated from their teams and participants, though, coaches have found innovative new ways to engage and motivate them. For example, coaches are:
- pursuing their Professional Development within the NCCP through eLearning opportunities in the Locker, the CAC’s coach education platform
- supporting their teams’ and participants’ mental health and well-being through regular web conferences
- preventing the spread of COVID-19 by adhering to new Return-to-Play guidelines
"Canada’s coaches have demonstrated a remarkable resilience and innovation in the face of the pandemic,” added Lafreniere. “In doing so they’re teaching a valuable lesson to their participants – that they must not only anticipate obstacles but find new ways to overcome them to achieve success.”
The CAC presents National Coaches Week in collaboration with National Sport Organizations, their Provincial/Territorial Sport Organizations and Aboriginal Sport Bodies, Provincial and Territorial Coaching Representatives, and the thousands of clubs and millions of athletes across Canada. It is open to everyone across the country and acknowledges coaches working at all levels of sport – from community clubs up to national and professional teams.
Coaching contributes significantly to volunteerism in Canada – one in seven Canadians will coach at some point in their lifetime. Last year, more than 43,000 coaches across Canada were trained in the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP); nearly half of these training sessions took place at the community level, where most coaches are volunteers.
In last year’s campaign, nearly 7,000 coaches took a free eLearning module in the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) and more than 8,000 social media posts featured the National Coaches Week hashtags to share a message of thanks. Online, the campaign received more than 36 million impressions thanks to engagement from athletes, participants, parents, volunteers, and sport administrators at all levels.
How to Participate
Athletes, participants, volunteers, and parents can participate in National Coaches Week in many ways:
- Explore the Participation Guide: The National Coaches Week Participation Guide contains everything you need to make National Coaches Week a success for your coach, team, and organization.
- Enjoy FREE or discounted NCCP education: During National Coaches Week, coaches can diversify their coaching knowledge with free or discounted NCCP education. Connect with your local P/TCR, or National Sport Organization to learn more about their National Coaches Week events, or log into the Locker to access specific eLearning modules for free from September 19-27, 2020.
- Say #ThanksCoach on social media: Follow National Coaches Week on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using #CoachesWeek and #ThanksCoach. You can also use the National Coaches Week Facebook profile frame throughout the week to show your support. And don’t forget to watch and share the National Coaches Week official video.
- Join a community event: Organize a community event to say #ThanksCoach, or join one taking place in your province or territory. Submit your event to our new National Coaches Week Event Calendar or use it to find an event near you!
- Say ‘Thanks, Coach’ with a National Coaches Week Gift: Show your appreciation for everything your coaches do for you, your team, and your community with a National Coaches Week-branded notebook or backpack. Now available through our eStore.
For up-to-date information on National Coaches Week, visit www.coach.ca/NationalCoachesWeek and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using #CoachesWeek and #ThanksCoach.
About the Coaching Association of Canada
The Coaching Association of Canada unites stakeholders and partners in its commitment to raising the skills and stature of coaches, and ultimately expanding their reach and influence. Through its programs, the CAC empowers coaches with knowledge and skills, promotes ethics, fosters positive attitudes, builds competence, and increases the credibility and recognition of coaches.
About the National Coaching Certification Program
The National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) provides standardized, inclusive, and sport safety education to coaches and coach developers across 65 sports. Since 1974, more than 1.8 million coaches have engaged in NCCP training to develop their own coaching skills and to improve the performance of their participants at all levels of sport. The program gives coaches the confidence to succeed and is designed and delivered in partnership with the Government of Canada, 65 National Sport Organizations (NSOs), 13 Provincial/Territorial Coaching Representatives (PTCRs), and the Coaching Association of Canada.
For more information, contact:
Natalie Rumscheidt
Director, Marketing & Communications
nrumscheidt@coach.ca
613.235.5000 x 2051