It’s not even April yet and Baseball Canada has seen a surge in potential coaches seeking certification through the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP).
Since January, an astounding 612 people have signed up for the Initiation Coach Program, Baseball Canada’s new training module for future coaches. Baseball Canada estimates receiving up to 3,000 registrations within the next year – well beyond the 612 registrations received last year while the Initiation Coach Program was being phased in alongside the old training system.
Under the old coach training system, potential coaches had to register for various technical courses along with further theory courses to begin their basic training. Under the new Initiation Coach Program, the technical and theory courses have been integrated. The result is a more efficient, more comprehensive program that will benefit future coaches as well as athletes.
“The training coaches will receive will be more meaningful and directly related to what their needs are,” said NCCP contractor and New Brunswick Baseball’s Coaching Co-ordinator, Mike Bowes. “The previous program was more instructional-based while this one is more interactive. It will be more efficient in giving coaches the tools they need to become competent coaches – that’s the focus.”
Another major benefit of the program is the fact that the introductory phase of the new Coach Initiation Program is completed on-line. Potential coaches can now receive their basic baseball-specific training at their own pace and on their own time, something which is receiving tremendous feedback from future coaches across the country.
“The way the world works now people are more likely to do it this way,” said Bob Gillis, a technical representative with Baseball Nova Scotia. “It just makes it much easier to get people on board and begin the process of being an effective coach. That and you can have an unlimited number of people doing the courses all at the same time, which previously wasn’t possible.
The Initiation Coach Program now also allows coaches to essentially better tailor their instruction to the level of competition at which they wish to coach.
The new system features two different branches: “Regional Coach” and “Provincial Coach”. For example, an individual seeking to simply coach a Pee-Wee team in the local baseball league would follow the Regional Coach branch while those interested in coaching at the provincial or national levels would follow the Provincial Coach branch.
The new training module will also distinguish between coaches who are “In Training”, coaches who are “Trained” and coaches who are fully “Certified”.
“In Training” designates a coach who is currently taking courses. Once the coach completes the courses in question, he become “Trained.” In order for that coach to become “Certified”, he must then pass an evaluation process, which includes a module on making ethical decisions, a review of the coach’s portfolio and an observation session with a trained evaluator.
“I think that’s something extremely important that has kind of been swept under the rug in the past,” said Saskatchewan Baseball Technical Director Greg Brons of the emphasis the Initiation Coach Program places on ethics. “Now, in this day in age with bullying and other such issues, it’s something that we definitely need to address because we need to be prepared for a multitude of scenarios that we may very well come across on any given day.”
Furthermore, certified coaches will have to demonstrate a willingness to further their own education, keep learning, and stay up-to-date with new coaching methods in order to maintain their certification, which will come up for renewal every three years.
All of the changes, says Baseball Canada Manager of Operations André Lachance, place a positive outlook on the future of Canadian Baseball.
“This is only the beginning because we’re going to continue to improve many of the other coaching programs currently in place,” he said. “All of this is possible thanks to Baseball Canada’s Coaching Committee, which worked extremely hard over the last couple of years in order to allow us to introduce these more effective measures of training coaches.”
Anyone interested in becoming a baseball coach at any level is encouraged to visit http:nccp.baseball.ca. Registration is only $37.45. Along with the registration, coaches will receive access to hundreds of videos and materials related to drills, practice plans and skill development tools over the NCCP website.
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