Status of the Coach: Speed Skating

Status of the Coach: Speed Skating

Final Report

By

Mathew Dowling Dr Ian Reade

TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLES OF CONTENT GRAPHS AND FIGURES PREFACE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH BACKGROUND SECTION 2 METHODOLOGY SECTION 2.1 SURVEY INSTRUMENTS SECTION 2.2 SAMPLING SECTION 2.3 DATA REPRESENTATION: PROVINCIAL COVERAGE SECTION 3 RESULTS SECTION 3.1 COACH AND ORGANIZATION DEMOGRAPHICS SECTION 3.2 COACH EDUCATION SECTION 3.3 THE LTPAD SECTION 3.4.SUCCESS MEASUREMENT SECTION 3.5. ORGANIZATIONAL AND COACH EXPECTATIONS SECTION 3.6 COACHES WORKING ENVIRONMENTS SECTION 4 REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS SECTION 5 IDENTIFIED KNOWLEDGE GAPS SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS APPENDICES 1 2 3 4 5 5 5 7 7 9 9 17 27 28 29 33 36 37 39 41

Figures and Graphs

Figure 2.1: Status of the coach sample Figure 2.2: Provincial representation of sample Figure 3.1: Amount of hours worked per week on, off ice and in preparation to coach Figure 3.2: Speed skating coaches NCCP certification Figure 3.3: Histogram of coaches experience with inserted normal distribution curve Figure 3.4: Coaches age & experience descriptive statistics* Figure 3.5: Speed skating coach education Figure 3.6: Average salary of coaches by frequency and percentage Figure 3.7: Coaches salary comparison between all other provinces & Quebec Figure 3.8: How many competitions a year do you attend? Figure 3.9: How does your organization decide which coaches attend competitions? Figure 3.10: How satisfied are you with the access & quality to coach education? 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 16 18

Figure 3.11: How do you rate the following organizations' information regarding coaching education?18 Figure 3.12: Where you do feel (you) your coaches need to improve the most? Figure 3.13: Do you have any(job descriptions, contracts, evaluation & mentorship) 20 21

Figure 3.14: Does your organization have a policy on required minimum qualifications for coaches? 22 Figure 3.15: Does your organization have active coaches that you do not feel are qualified Figure 3.16: In which of the following LTPAD stages do you primarily coach? Figure 3.17: Organizational need for coaches within LTPAD stages Figure 3.18: Please rate the importance of the following measures of coaching success: Figure 3.19: Rank order of coaches task expectation Figure 3.20: Please rate the amount of decision-making autonomy you have Figure 3.21: Rate the value the following gives to formal coaching certification Figure 3.22: Is your organization actively striving to create full time coaching positions? 23 27 28 29 30 31 32 35

PREFACE Please note that the data and figures presented hereafter are accurate as of 7th February 2012. All the views expressed within the report are derived from the data and the independent judgment of the research team. Our examination of the data indicates a strong consistency between the two surveys used. As such, it was felt a combined report would hold more value, and ultimately more validity, to SSC than if presented as separate reports. Furthermore, the noted similarities increase our confidence in the data and findings presented hereafter. A significant proportion of the LTPAD (section 3.3) data contained within this report was presented at the Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L) Summit, Ottawa on February 2nd 2012. The underlying perspective and rationale behind this study is that sport organizations should be collecting data in order to make well informed, evidencebased decisions, rather than relying heavily on guess work, hunches or trial and error. In doing so, organizations, like SSC, will be better positioned to understand and react to the challenges it currently faces and be proactive in taking full advantage of potential opportunities for improvement and development within the sport of speed skating. For ease of reading, figures and graphs presented in this report are titled with the exact survey question. Where appropriate the type of survey is indicated in brackets. Many of the questions asked were also supplemented with a statement box to allow coaches/organizations to elaborate further on the answers given. A number of these soft responses have been added to this report to augment the hard data of the surveys. These are all indicated with a red indented text and quotations

Acknowledgement is made to the financial contribution of the Coaching Association of Canada which made this research possible

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

On behalf of SSC, the U of A coaching research team has collected data specifically to better understand the contemporary environment in which coaches and athletes operate. This data shall be presented in this report. The aim of this commissioned applied research was to determine how SSC might improve the national co-ordination and delivery of speed skating coaching and coach education. The project sought to help the SSC improve and enhance the national co-ordination and organizational delivery of speed skating coaching and coach education by improving SSCs understanding of speed skating coaches job expectations, satisfaction and working environment. Two surveys (an organizational and a coaches survey) were distributed on behalf of SSC to all speed skating organizations (P/TSOs, NTC and clubs) to better understand coach education and the status of the current environment in which speed skating coaches operate. The research draws attention to a number of findings including: 1) coach demographics, 2) perspectives on coach education, 3) LTPAD, 4) coaches success measurement, 5) coaches and organizational expectations and 6) working environments. Some of the more pertinent findings include coaches view to focus on access over content of coach education, concerns over limited organizational capacity- closely linked to the heavily reliance on volunteer coaches- and a clear divide between the task expectation of coaches and that of administrative staff. Although the focus of this project was to provide data by which SSC can inform its own decision-making. The findings point towards a number of recommendations that may or may not be adopted by SSC. These include: To focus on the development of organizational guidelines/information pieces to aid standard practice. To focus on access (rather than content) to coach education programs To adopt methods of rewarding coaches through simple commendations

1| ONE: INTRODUCTION & APPLIED RESEARCH BACKGROUND

In early 2011, Speed Skating Canada (SSC) and the University of Alberta teamed up to better understand the status of speed skating coaches within Canada. Although much work has been done in this regard by SSC, little is known about the contemporary environment for speed skating coaches. The aim of this research was to determine, from a national sporting organization perspective, how SSC might improve the national co-ordination and delivery of speed skating coaching and coach education. As such, this research sought to help the SSC improve and enhance the national co-ordination and organizational delivery of speed skating coaching and coach education by improving SSCs understanding of speed skating coaches job expectations, satisfaction and working environment. As SSC looks towards the future, such research is critical to provide SSC with the necessary data in order to make well informed, evidence-based decisions. The data presented within this report constitutes the follow up analysis from the preliminary report provided by the U of A coaching research team in December 2011. A combination of descriptive and cross tabulation analysis using both Microsoft Excel 2010 and IBM SPSS 17 statistical analysis software. Findings of this report are presented using a number of presentation formats. The findings are then supplemented with data inferences and commentary made by the research team.

2|TWO: METHODOLOGY

2.1 SURVEY INSTRUMENTS Two survey instruments were developed and used to examine the Status of Speed Skating Coaches in Canada. These instruments are as follows: 1) The Status of the Organization: Speed Skating (44 items) 2) The Status of the Coach: Speed Skating (30 items) Developing these two surveys simultaneously allowed comparisons to be made between the current status of coaches and the organizations of which coaches operate in. The decision to develop and distribute two surveys to understand the status of the coach was deemed necessary given that coaches and athletes do not operate as independent entities, but rather athletes and coaches work as part of organizations. Thus, in order to understand speed skating coaches fully, more focus should be made on the organizations of which they operate within, in addition to the coaches themselves.

The surveys were adapted from a previous tested and verified survey entitled The Status of the Coach Employer which was used by the University of Alberta Coaching Research Group (UACRG) to survey high performance Canadian coaches. Adapting this survey increased the validity of our findings herein. The surveys designed for speed skating covered a number of topics derived both from coaching academic literature as well as questions identified practically by the SSC administrative staff and coaching committee. This report will present all the findings under six headings in section 3.Topic areas covered within the survey are: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) Coach and Organizational Demographics (see 3.1) Coach Education (see 3.2) Long Term Athlete & Participant Development model (LTPAD) (see 3.3) Success Measurement (see 3.4) Organizational and Coach Expectations (see 3.5) Coaches Working Environments (see 3.6)

Questions were a combination of both dichotomous and ordinal response formatted questions. The majority of questions comprised of multiple row matrices, formatted using a predominantly 7 point Likert scale question design e.g. least important 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. most important

A number of the data presented in tables/graphs indicate the Mean (average) Likert response by coaches and/or organizations. The instrument was also augmented with a number of unstructured response formats (comment boxes). These unstructured formats that preceded most questions were designed to elicit views and perspectives, which may be useful for SSC. Some of the more pertinent views are presented alongside the data presented in section 3 below. Both the Organization and Coaches surveys were bilingual (French and English), with translation conducted in-house by SSC. Both surveys are available for SSC use, and also accompany this report, should you wish to examine in detail the types of questions asked.

2.2. SAMPLING For the Organization Survey, the population was derived from SSCs organization contact lists including clubs, provincial/territorial branches and national training centers. For the Coaches Survey, the population was uncertain since we simply were not sure how many speed skating coaches are currently active within Canada. Coaches were therefore recruited through an open web link, whereby anyone could participate in the survey should they wish to do so. Reminders where also sent by the U of A research team and SSC to provincial branches to enhance the response rate. Figure 2.1. highlights the response rate to date. Figure 2.1: Status of the Coach Sample

English Coaches Survey* Organization Survey** 128 54

French 68 20

Totals 199 74

* Coaches Survey Completion rate 143/199 (72% completion) ** Organization Survey Completion rate 44/74 (60% completion) 2.3 DATA REPRESENTATION: PROVINCIAL COVERAGE From the sample response, the data indicates a fairly good regional coverage of speed skating across the country. The largest percentages covered are as expected: Ontario and Quebec; followed by Alberta. There are notable differences within the responses from provinces (primarily due to size). These differences are probably more indicative of the development of speed skating in Canada than any bias in representation of response. Given our lack of accurate data on the population of speed skating coaches in Canada, care should be taken when generalizing the findings to all speed skating coaches across Canada. Similar provincial representation was exhibited within the organization survey. For purposes of clarity see Figure 2.2.

Figure 2.2: Provincial Representation of Sample.

New- Nova Scotia Yukon Brunswick 2% 0% 2% Sask 0%

STATUS OF THE ORGANIZATION

PEI 0%

Alberta 10% Ontario 28% British Columbia 17%

NWT 0%
Nunavut 0% NFL + Lab 0% Nova Scotia 2% PEI New0% Brunswick 5% Saskatchewan 6% Yukon 1% Manitoba 8%

Qubec 33%

Alberta 14%

British Columbia 7%

Ontario 25% NWT 3% Nunavut 1%

STATUS OF THE COACH

Qubec 33%

NFL & Labrador 0%

Manitoba 3%

3|THREE: RESULTS 3.1 SPEED SKATING COACHES & ORGANIZATIONAL DEMOGRAPHICS COACH SEX 56% male; 44% female. Similar results were found in comparison of the French and English Coach Surveys Data was also analyzed using SPSS to compare coaches LTPAD stage against that of coach sex. No significant differences were found between LTPAD stage and sex of coaches.

Female 81(45%)

Male 100(55%)

COACH WORKING HOURS

Coaches were asked to identify their hours of work both ON and OFF the ice, as well as the amount of time spent preparing for practices per week. Figure 3.1. indicates that coaches spent the vast amount of their time coaching ON ice, with 89% of coaches spending 1-10 hours ON ice. Evidently coaches spend little time OFF ice coaching and equally little time preparing for sessions.

Figure 3.1. Amount of hours work per week ON, OFF ice and in preparation to coach 1-4 hours ON ice OFF ice Prep 92 (54%) 104 (74%) 122 (78%) 5-10 hours 59 (35%) 19 (14%) 19 (12%) 11-20 hours 21-31 hours 31+ hours 15 (9%) 2 (1%) 4 (3%) 1 (1%) 1 (1%) 1 (1%) 1 (1%) 1 (1%) 1 (1%) Don't Know 1 (1%) 14 (10%) 9 (6%)

These findings suggest that coaches do not commit a significant proportion of hours to their sport. Given that coaches are volunteers, this is unsurprising.

COACH QUALIFICATIONS From the coaches surveyed, discounting those who did not respond or record their qualification, the following statistics were derived:
Certification FUNdamental Leader FUNdamental Coach/Level 1* Intro to Comp/Level 2* Level Three Level Four Level Five None/Unknown # 4 17 70 40 5 3 38 % 2.3 9.6 39.5 22.6 2.8 1.7 21.5 Cum% 2.3 11.9 51.4 74.0 76.8 78.5 100.0

*Due to coaches response, distinction between old and new NCCP was not possible in these stages. Therefore results are combined.

The most common qualification was the Introduction to Competition with 2/5 coaches (approximately 40%) of coaches sampled being either trained or certified in this area. Around 1/5 coaches were Competition Development certified or trained, with only 8 coaches sampled having attained a Level 4 or 5 qualification. Very few of the coaches surveyed had a FUNdamental Leader qualification. Some coaches did not indicate their qualification. Separating whether this was due to having no qualification or deliberate omission was not possible. These two categories (None/Unknown) were therefore collapsed into a singular category. Figure 3.2. Speed Skating Coaches NCCP Certification
45.0 40.0 35.0 30.0 25.0 20.0 15.0 10.0 5.0 0.0

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COACH AGE/EXPERIENCE From the sample collected, the average age of speed skating coaches was 39 years old. The range of age was from as old as 83 years old and as young as 16 years old. Interestingly, separating French from the English surveys, the average age for a French coach was 30 (Birth year: 1980), whereas the average age for an English coach was 40 (Birth year: 1970). No difference was found between French and English experience in number of years. This finding, along with the 10-year gap in age, suggests that on average speed skating coaches in Quebec are 10 years younger than other provinces. This difference may be explained by the Quebec region encouraging coaches to develop their skills, gain qualifications, and practice coaching at an earlier age. More research would be required to explain the why of this particular finding. Speed Skating coaches on average have 9 years experience (see figure 3.3), with a standard deviation of 7.5. This suggests a relatively large range of experience within this particular sample set.

Figure 3.3: Histogram of coaches experience with inserted normal distribution curve

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Of the coaches surveyed, only 6.8% of them were currently inactive. The findings presented herein therefore give indications primarily of active coaches within speed skating. These results are summarized in Figure 3.4. below

Figure 3.4: Coaches Age & Experience Descriptive Statistics* Mean Mode STdev Range (Min) Range (Max) English Mean French Mean
COACH EDUCATION

Age Experience 1973 9 1967 5 14 8 1929 0 1996 43 1970 9 1980 8

Over half of the coaches surveyed had a Bachelors degree or more (56.5%), and just less than one in five had a Masters degree or higher (18.2%). Degree specialization within PE/Kin/Sport Studies was limited: approximately 1/11 coaches (10.5%) having specialized in sport related studies of any kind. The data suggests that the vast majority of coaches within speed skating are not PE/Kin/Sport study educated. In addition to the coach education demographic, the surveys suggest that PE/Kin/Sport studies are not taken by a majority of coaches, nor are sport specific studies considered necessary or valued by the majority of speed skating coaches. The general education status of speed skating coaches is outlined in Figure 3.5. below:

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Figure 3.5: Speed Skating Coach Education

PhD Degree in PE/Kin/Sport Studies Master's 0% Degree in PE/Kin/Sport Studies Master's 1% Degree in another field 15%

PhD Degree in another field 3%

High School 21%

Bachelor's Degree in another field 28%

College or Certificate 22%

Bachelor's Degree in PE/Kin/Sport Studies 10%

COACH SALARIES Speed Skating Coaches are primarily volunteers, with 86.9% of coaches surveyed receiving either no salary at all (59.6%), or between $1-4,999 (27.3%). These findings were also consistent with the Organization Survey. Figure 3.6. illustrates both the frequency and percentage of the coach sample salary range. What can be drawn from these figures, is that a vast majority of coaches within speed skating remain voluntary (i.e. no salary), with just over 60% of all coaches being paid nothing, and 27% at least being paid something (i.e. between $CAD 1-4,999).

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Figure 3.6. Average salary of speed skating coaches by frequency and percentage Frequency 4 105 49 10 4 6 3 181 Percent 2.2 58.0 27.1 5.5 2.2 3.3 1.7 100.0 Cumulative 2.2 60.2 87.3 92.8 95.0 98.3 100.0 .......

Unknown No Salary 1-4999 5000-14999 15000-29000 30000-49999 50000-80000 Total

This data suggests that very few speed skating coaches earn enough to constitute a full time salary. Thus, it is likely that there are very few coaches at any level, who are full-time professional coaches. Moreover, the figures presented above are skewed by the incorporation of Quebec who pays between $1-4999 to just over half of its coaches. Therefore the likely amount of coaches that are voluntary should be higher than noted above. These figures are outlined in Figure 3.7. below. Quebecs figures are indicated separately to highlight the difference between Quebec compared to aggregate salary totals.

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Figure 3.7. Coaches salary comparison between All other provinces & Quebec
$30,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $80,000

$15,000 to $29,999

Above $80,000

$5,000 to $14,999

No Salary

All provinces Coaches Salary/Honararia

$1 to $ 4,999

$30,000 - $50,000 49,999 $80,000 $ $15,00029,999

+$80 000

No Salary $5000 14,999

Quebec Coaching Salary/Honararia Range

$1 -4,999

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COMPETITION Coaches typically attend between 1-5 competitions a year. Similar findings were found in both the Organization and Coaches surveys. 3/5 coaches attend between 1-5 competitions a year on average. Just over 1/10 coaches are in attendance of ten + competitions a year. See figure 3.8. below. Figure 3.8. How many competitions a year do you attend?
35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 9% 6% 22% 19% 33%

N=118

61% (between 1-5)

11%

None

one-three four-five six-seven eight-nine

ten+

The Organization Survey also indicated that three quarters of organizations provided off-season training. Off-season training was defined for purposes of this research as the beginning of April until the end of August. Attendance of coaches at competitions is primarily based upon availability of coaches to attend. This variable scored higher than athlete-coach pairing and the organization preference for which coach attends competitions.

Figure 3.9. How does your organization decide which coaches attend competitions? Coach always goes with the athlete he/she coaches Organization names coaches for specific events Based on availability Not sure/don't know 32% 19% 47% 2%

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At competitions three quarters of coaches are covered for travel (76%) and accommodation (77%). Half of the coaches surveyed are given a per-diem to cover meals and 2 of every 5 coaches are given a daily honorarium.

3.2. COACH EDUCATION COACH EDUCATION INFORMATION, ACCESS AND QUALITY Coaches generally indicated that their knowledge within a host of areas (question 15) was fairly good (that said, note that the responses were self-reported). Notable exceptions being within Speed, Strength and Endurance Training. Both the Organization and Coaches survey indicate these to be areas of which coaches feel knowledge could improve the most. This suggests that more could be done to encourage coaches to partake and develop skills within technical and physiological areas of speed, strength and endurance training. QUALITY- The Organization Survey indicated that speed skating organizations were satisfied with the quality of coach education offered within Canada. In particular, the quality within LTPAD stages Active Start, FUNdamentals, Learning to Train,Training to Train,Training to Compete and Active for Life. See Figure 3.10 ACCESS- The Organization Survey indicated that speed skating organizations were generally satisfied. That said, they more dissatisfied with the access of coach education offered in relation to quality within Canada. In particular, the access within LTPAD stages: Active Start, FUNdamentals, Learning to Train, Training to Train, Training to Compete. See Figure 3.10. In relation to LTPAD stages, the results indicate that, generally speaking, coaches satisfaction was consistent across LTPAD stages. This suggests that there are no specific inherent weaknesses in either access or quality to coach education. See Figure 3.10. That said, the findings may be an indication that coaches do not directly consider their coach education quality and access within the context of LTPAD. This cannot be ruled out as an explanation for the consistency of quality and access in relation to LTPAD. See Figure 3.10.

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Figure 3.10. How satisfied are you with the ACCESS & QUALITY to coach education within the following LTPAD stages? 6.0 Mean Satisfaction 5.0 4.0 Series1 ACCESS Series2 QUALITY

3.0
2.0 1.0 0.0 1. Active 2. FUN 3. L to T 4. T to T 5. L to C 6. T to C 7. L to W 8. T to W 9. A for L LTPAD Stage

LTPAD stages 6,7 and 8 in terms of quality and access were generally considered as not applicable to most speed skating organizations. This is likely due to no coaches working and therefore wishing to be qualified within these stages. Figure 3.11 highlights how coaches rated the coach education information offered by SSC, P/TSOs and clubs. It is our view that self-reporting effects are apparent in the clubs rating of their own information as above average (dark pink on the

Figure 3.11 How do you rate the following organizations' information regarding coaching education?
40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5

Your Provincial/Territorial Branch Speed Skating Canada

Your Club

18

0 Terrible Bad Below average Average Above average Good Excellent

right hand side). Generally SSCs coaching education information was considered average with the PSOs considered the weaker of the organizations with regards to coaching education information. In summary, SSC should focus on ways to improve the access of coaching education over quality. Although what SSC offers is generally viewed positively, the access to coach education provided by SSC is viewed as more dissatisfactory than quality. Evidently, there is more room for improvement in terms coach education access than that of quality improvement.

COACH KNOWLEDGE IMPROVEMENT Figure 3.12. illustrates the ranked (no need very high need) areas whereby coaches need to improve from both the coach and the organization perspective. Again, similarities are noted between both the organizational and coaches responses. Understanding what knowledge coaches possess and do not possess is exceptionally important in the development of coach education programs. The coaches surveyed identified the need for more knowledge particularly in the areas of injury rehabilitation and training principles (technical, strength etc). See figure 3.12 on the next page. It should be noted that one of the variables were considered extremely high need, however in comparison, the list provided can be considered somewhat of a priority list for future coach education program development.

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Figure 3.12. Where you do feel (you) your coaches need to improve the most?*

Status of the Coach

4 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.8 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.6 3.6 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.3 3.2 3.1 3.1 3 3 3 Injury Rehabilitation Technical Training Strength Training Motivational Skills Anti-doping Seasonal Planning Endurance Training Speed Training Mental Training Racing Tactics Nutrition Equipment Knowledge Practice Planning Optimizing use of Ice Time Injury Prevention Working with Parents Practice Management Working with other Coaches Optimizing use of Ice Surface Communication Skills Leadership Skills Ethics

Status of the Organization

Motivational Skills Strength Training Mental Training Endurance Training Racing Tactics Injury Rehabilitation Anti-doping Speed Training Working with Parents Technical Training Working with other Coaches Ethics Seasonal Planning Nutrition Injury Prevention Practice Management Equipment Knowledge Optimizing use of Ice Surface Communication Skills Practice Planning Leadership Skills Optimizing use of Ice Time 4.7 4.1 4.1 4 4 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.1

*based on a 7 point Likert scale from no need for improvement very high need for improvement**

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JOB DESCRIPTIONS, CONTRACTS, EVALUATION AND MENTORING The vast majority of coaches reported no formal written job description (70%), no contract between themselves and their organization (85%), no evaluative procedures, both written (85%) and verbal (78%), and no formal coach mentoring (76%). If development of these procedures is an avenue SSC wish to explore, these findings indicate that SSC should focus more on the developments of contracts and written coach evaluations as these are currently the most under supplied procedures.

Figure 3.13. Do you have any of the following? (Status of the coach)

n A formal written job description A contract A formal written coach evaluation A formal verbal coach evaluation

Yes

No

Don't Know

180 44 (24.4%) 178 26 (14.6%)

126 (70%) 152 (85.4%)

10 (5.6%) 0(0%)

177 18 (10.2%)

151 (85.3%)

8(4.5%)

178 30 (16.9%)

138 (77.5%) 135 (75.8%)

10 (5.6%) 7 (3.9%)

A formal coaching mentor 178 36 (20.2%)

Coaches were also asked whether they would like SSC to provide formal job description templates for organizational use. The response was positive with a majority of coaches (68%) agreeing it would be a good idea. In particular, coaches stated:

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Generic job descriptions would be helpful as a starting position to outline roles and responsibilities. It would provide a guideline on standard expectations for the delivery of coaching.

HIRING AND RECRUITMENT OF COACHES Coaches and organizations were asked a number of questions surrounding the hiring (search and selection) and recruitment of coaches. From the Status of the Organization survey, the most likely method used to recruit coaches is to recruit skaters (5.6). This is closely followed by the recruitment of parents (5.0). Equally, organizations are least likely to advertise publically (2.3) for positions and recruit from universities and colleges (2.4).

Figure 3.14. Does your organization have a policy on required minimum qualifications for coaches?
Not Sure 2%

When asked whether there is a minimal policy requirement for coaches, just over 2/3 coaches said no, with just over 1/3 coaches saying that their organization did have a minimum requirement. (see figure 3.14

YES 35% NO 63%

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Figure 3.15. To your knowledge does your organization (due to a lack of options) have active coaches that you do not feel are qualified?
Not Sure 6%

YES 40% NO 54%

Around 40% of the sample agreed that there are currently coaches within their organization actively coaching that are not qualified for the position. Therefore, a large percentage of coaches that are currently active within speed skating, according to coaches currently operating, are not qualified for their role (see figure 3.15)

ORGANIZATION SUPPORT FOR UPGRADING TRAINING Coaches and Organizations were asked to rank the following variables in terms of never provided always provided: funding for courses, funding to travel to conferences, educational resources and recognition in their evaluation. As two different Likert scales were used between the surveys, it is not possible to directly compare them. That said, there is consistency in the ranking of the four variables. They are ranked below from the most provided to the least: 1) 2) 3) 4) Funding for tuition/course fees Educational Resources Funding to travel to conferences/seminars Recognition in their evaluation

All the variables surrounded the Likert divide, suggesting that these variables are occasionally provided within all organizations. Although, the exact extent of this cannot be ascertained due to the potential central tendency bias.

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A total of 104 out of /404 plausible coach responses to this question indicated unsure; suggesting that many coaches were simply unaware of what upgrading and training that their organization offered.

QUALITATIVE FINDINGS OF HOW TO IMPROVE COACH EDUCATION From the qualitative data analyzed from both the Coaches and Organizations Survey, four major themes towards improving SSC coach education were identified: 1. Unease about the implementation of the LTPAD Many coaches expressed concerns with the implementation process of the LTPAD. SSC should not be complacent that just because competition reviews and the sport specific plans (i.e. LTPAD) are both in place that these will filter down organically without any further support. Coach education is a significant cog in the wheel of LTPAD implementation. Coaches express a clear concern of how LTPAD implementation has been inserted into coaching education at present. SSC needs to take a more active role in coach engagement especially at the grassroots level. In my opinion, the implementation of LTPAD was extremely frustrating and has tainted my view of how SSC implements change. The provincial organization should be required to have a LTAD Model in place and have an implementation plan in place to receive any funding from the province. There should be a check that money being delivered is fulfilling the mandate. Better attention to the early stages of the LTAD. Less worry and resources to [competitions] and the politics of [competitions] where it pertains to children 12 and under. 2. More use of online technology Many of the qualitative comments indicate a desire for SSC to move towards more online coach education resources and opportunities. Although much has been done in this regard, there is an identified gap between what is currently offered to what coaches would like. The use of online resources and coach education is even more significant, given the geographical hurdle Canada faces. SSC should focus on ways to enhance its online programs.

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More computer-based ways to share knowledge Online courses would be very helpful More webinars, day/weekend programs on one subject, not trying to cover many subjects in one program Home study sections with internet or blog interactive for partthen hands on for practical session. Also, I would give more online resources I believe that in this day of technology, on-line access to learning opportunities for coaches of all levels would be of value 3. More varied, timely and frequent coach education courses Coaches often suggested that there should be more coach education courses offered. Moreover, these courses should be more varied and not just constitute basic technical or core coach functions. Many coaches also indicated that consideration of timing was important when running sessions. Providing more online access to coach education may be one avenue to expand on in order to facilitate this need. They need to offer more training coursesif they do not have the numbers to run courses then they need to start getting other provinces involved I think that it would be nice if it is offered more than once a year. I believe that organizing seminars and workshops regularly would help enormously our coaches to develop / improve their skills. The basic courses are great, but I think that the practical part needs to be improved (workshops, interaction, inter-club training, change of experience among coaches) More frequently offered courses and multiple opportunities with which to complete the training. A lot of the coaching education or clinics take place in Southern Ontario and it would be nice to have one once and a while in Northern Ontario

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4. Coaches perception of a bureaucratic and confusing NCCP system Coaches commonly expressed a distain or frustration for the new NCCP system despite its implementation many years ago. Many still found the process confusing and ambiguous. Coaches often felt that the system was not efficient, with only few course offerings. For those who attend, their attainment of certification is seen as a bureaucratic and lengthy process. Improving this efficiency of certification and the perception of the new NCCP should be a focus for SSC in the future.

It was very difficult to commit the time, travel, financial demands of the facilitator time and energy so I droppedout of the program after 15 years as an NCCP instructor. We have had fewer skaters or parents express interest in the courses since its implementation so less help is available NCCP program is confusing to follow. Confusing to find the courses that would allow me to re-certify what I already have (Level 3 Theory, Technical & Practical) or at least get the courses that would "replace" the Level 3. For those of us who have coaching experience and competed nationally there should be an easier way to get our levels and support from our branch or SSC

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3.3. THE LTPAD The vast majority of coaches surveyed were primarily coaching within the 2 nd, 3rd and 4th stages of the LTPAD (Fundamentals, L to T, T to T). See figure 3.16. Figure 3.16. In which of the following Long Term Participant and Athlete Development (LTPAD) stages do you primarily coach?

35.0
30.0 25.0 20.0 15.0 10.0 5.0 0.0 21.6% 26.5%

32.7%

81% of speed skating

coaches within FUN, L to T & T to T stages

11.7%

1.9% Active FUN

1.9%

3.7%

L to T T to T L to C T to C L to W T to W A for L

The need for coaches also mimicked this with the majority of speed skating organizational need for coaches within the 2nd, 3rd and 4th stages of the LTPAD (Fundamentals, L to T, T to T). See figure 3.17. Given these findings both within the Coaches and Organization Survey, SSC should be focusing on stages 2,3,4 in terms of trying to fulfill the organizational needs for coaching education as most coaches lie within these three stages. Also note, none of the coaches surveyed considered themselves to be in the Learning to Win or Training to Win stages. Given that the sample set does have coaches within levels 4 and 5 education, we expect that even the more qualified coaches still do not consider themselves as primarily coaching in the higher LTPAD stages. See figure 3.17.

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Figure 3.17. Organizational need for coaches within LTPAD stages

3.4 HOW COACHES MEASURE SUCCESS

Our initial findings indicate that coaches measure success through the athlete themselves; indicated through the skater satisfaction and their willingness to learn as key measurements. See figure 3.18. Despite the majority of coaches surveyed in stages 2,3 & 4 and the LTPAD rhetoric, coaches still measure success based on the short and long term results of the skater at competitions. This remains a concern for the implementation of the LTPAD within speed skating

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Figure 3.18. Please rate the importance of the following measures of coaching success: n MEAN SD Skater Satisfaction Willingness to Learn Relationships within the Organization Long Term Skater Performance/Results Mentoring other coaches Parent Satisfaction Sport Orgs Growth & Development Contribution to the Sport Community Short Term Skater Performance/Results Performance of Administrative Tasks Skater Recruitment Management of Budget Fundraising/Revenue generation 151 151 151 151 151 151 151 151 151 151 151 151 151 6.7 6.4 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.3 5.3 5.1 4.7 4.3 4.2 3.8 3.5 0.5 0.8 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.6 1.5 1.7 1.7 2.3 2.3

Coaches do not measure success based upon administrative duties or tasks set by the organization. Success measurement and coach expectations findings are closely linked to each other.

3.5. COACH & ORGANIZATIONAL EXPECTATIONS

Expectations of coaches are similar between the Organization and Coaches surveys, indicating that organizations and coaches are generally in agreement with the expectations of the other. In other words, what the coaches and the organizations say is very similar. Coach expectations are clearly skewed towards their core coaching tasks such as creating programs, supervising, athlete competition registration and preparing for competition and NOT administrative peripheral tasks such as recruiting skaters, facility arrangement, budgeting, fundraising, etc. See figure 3.19. Coaches are not expected by the organization, (nor do the coaches expect) to be involved in anything beyond the core coaching work. One coaches comment summed up bluntly: Administrative tasks are not done by coachesthey are done by club executives. The coach volunteer ethos provides an us and them mentality between coaches and administrative staff.

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Figure 3.19: Task expectation of coaches (organization and coach perspective) in descending rank order*

Supervising technical practice sessions Status of the Coach (1-7 Point Likert) Coaching skaters at competitions

Organization Survey 4.1 4.1

Coach 6.4 Survey 6.2 6 2.1 5.9 2.2 2.3 6 4.7 5.5

Top Five Tasks Bottom Five Tasks 4 Upgrading coaching knowledge (workshops) Updating coaching knowledge 3.9 1. Supervising Technical Practice (literature) Fundraising/Revenue Generation 6.4 1. sessions developmental skaters Teaching 3.9 2. Coaching Skaters at 6.2 2. Teaching Classes at Attending meetings of your organization 3.8 Competitions College/University 3. Upgrading Coaching Knowledge 6 3. Planning Budgets/Financial Teaching recreational skaters 3.8 Management 4. Teachingother coaches 6 4. Organizing Competitions Mentoring Developmental 3.6 Skaters Creating physical conditioning 3.5 5. Updating Coaching Knowledge programs Arranging for Facilities 5.9 5. (literature) your sport organization Promoting 3.4 Evaluating the physical condition of athletes Supervising physical conditioning programs Reviewing video and competition preparation Status of the Organization (1-5 Point Likert) 3.3 3.2 3.1

2.6 5.3 3.0 5.4 4.5 5.1 5.2 5.1 4.6 3.1 2.1 3.8

Preparing skaters for life after their career 3.1 Top Five Tasks Bottom Five Tasks Registering athletes for competitions 3 1. Supervising Technical 4.1 1. Fundraising/Revenue Generation Media/Public relations 3 Practice Sessions 2.Coaching Skaters at 4.1 2. Teaching Classes at 2.9 Purchasing equipment Competitions College/University Writing reports 2.8 3. Upgrading Coaching 4 3. Planning Budgets/Financial Knowledge (workshops) Management Organizing training workshops 2.8 4. Updating Coaching 3.9 4. Arranging for Facilities Organizing competitions 2.7 Knowledge (literature) 5. Teaching Developmental 3.9 5. Recruiting Skaters/Supervising Recruiting skaters Skaters Support Staff/Personnel 2.6 Recruiting/Supervising support staff/personnel 2.6 * Only top and bottom five tasks are shown here. For the complete task expectation Arranging for facilities 2.5 lists, see Appendix 2 in page 64. Planning budgets/financial management 2.3 Teaching classes at college/university Fundraising / revenue generation 2.2 2.1

2.2 3 2.3 3.6 2.6 2.6 4.3 2.6 3 3.2 3 2.3 2.2 2.1

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Figure 3.19: Task expectation of coaches (organization and coach perspective) in descending rank order

COACHES DECISION MAKING AUTONOMY Linked to the above expectations and measurement of success is the decision making autonomy of coaches. In line with the findings indicated above, the findings of decision making autonomy suggest that coaches, in general, have a lot of autonomy over daily tasks, creation of training groups and meeting attendance, but little autonomy over administrative roles such as club equipment, budget etc. Figure 3.20 For each of the listed areas, please rate the amount of decisionmaking autonomy (i.e. are free to do what you think is best) you have as coaches Choice of daily tasks Creation of training groups Attendance at meetings Supervision of coaches Hours of work Selection of competitive events Athlete selection Days of work Developing HP program policies Club equipment Club risk management Program budget Facility booking/scheduling n 144 144 144 144 144 144 144 144 144 144 144 144 144 mean 6.4 6.1 5.7 5.6 5.5 5.3 5.2 5 4.8 4.8 4.3 3.9 3.8 SD 1.8 1.9 2 2.4 2.2 2 2.1 2.3 2 2.2 1.9 2 2.1

nb: shown in rank order of perceived coach autonomy * all not applicable results were omitted for purposes of this graph. That said, results indicate very little decision-making autonomy outside their expectations and specific role within their organization. A majority of coaches felt they either had no decision making autonomy or considered a number of areas not applicable that were outside their core functions. These areas included: budgeting, risk management and club equipment.

HOW COACHES SHOULD BE REWARDED The speed skating coaches surveyed are not motivated financially, with the least importance placed on increasing salary and bonus payments. As most coaches are volunteers and, are by definition paid nothing, coaches do not coach for the money (see quote below). Both surveys indicate that any incentives to reward

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coaches should not be financial but appreciative, with the highest valued reward according to coaches being verbal and written commendations.

Dont think that most coaches do it for the money, but some form of recognition is appreciated Coach awards were rated as more important than financial incentives, but less than that of a simple commendation. Given this, SSC should encourage organizations to simply recognize and commend coaches more The results indicate that coaches are generally self-rewarded and intrinsically motivated. They are not expecting the world, but small appreciation will go a long way. More could be done by SSC to encourage its organizations to reward coaches through written and verbal commendations.

VALUE OF CERTIFICATION All stakeholders generally valued certification, although evidently, some stakeholders slightly more than others. Certification values (according to coaches perceptions) were typically in order of governance structure with Sport Canada and SSC valuing certification most.

Figure 3.21. Please rate the value you believe each of the following groups gives to formal coaching certification:

SSC Sport Canada OTP T/PSOs Coaches Clubs Parents Athletes

n 139 139 139 139 139 139 139 139

Mean 6.3 6.2 6.1 6 5.6 5.5 5.3 4.7

SD 1.2 1.2 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.7

*based on a 7 point likert scale from not important - high importance Equally coaches viewed athletes and parents as valuing certification the least. That said, coaches still believed that both athletes and parents still valued certification as relatively highly, just less than most.

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The higher up the organization, the higher the frequency of unsure by coaches. This is not surprising given that coaches are less likely to have any contact with organizations at the higher level of the governance structure. The amount of unsure responses to OTP might explain why this figure is not as high as could be expected. More research would be required to fully the understand this discrepancy. From the qualitative analysis of this question it is evident that a few coaches are still not entirely convinced of the new NCCP system and still view the process and lengthy and bureaucratic.

Certification is a means of training and learning. It is not the outcome Experience trumps certification

Although certification is valued highly, it is not considered a vital part of what constitutes a coach.

3.6. COACHES & ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

HOW COACHES BELIEVE THEIR ENVIRONMENT CAN BE IMPROVED Related to the reward section above, coaches want the environment to be enhanced, but enhancement for coaches is NOT more money in their pocket, its adding value in other ways to what they already do. The variables showed either tendency towards not important or very important extremes indicated below: Not important improvements: Salary, Benefits, Time off, Lightening the Work Load etc

Very important improvements: Assistant coaches, more sport science, more financial resources available, more access to education, and more financial support to athletes etc Coaches do not want to work less, or get paid more for their commitments. Improvements to the coaches environment are adding to their repertoire to what they already do (e.g. access to more resources, more education etc). This is

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where SSC should focus its efforts in terms of improving the coach environment within speed skating.

ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY Linked to the above concerns over organizational need for more coaches and the LTPAD (section 3.3) is the underlying concern over speed skating organizational capacity. Very few coaches were in the higher end LTPAD stages. A fundamental question here is whether these findings are due to a lack of athletes and therefore interest in coaching these athletes or capacity concerns. In cross-referencing this with the membership data, it seems that the coach need is higher in the fundamentals and goes down in a relatively linear fashion through the stages until a heavy drop off around the training to compete stages. It is the view of the researchers that given the average coaching qualification being 1.8, it seems that, even with elite athletes, these organizations would not be able to support them within the top stages of the LTPAD. From our sample of coaches, the supply and organizational need for coaches is inverse to that of the demand of athletes. Regardless, from the data, SSC should focus on the fundamentals, learning to train and training to train stages in terms of improvements. This is where the vast majority of athletes, and vast majority of coaches are within the LTPAD pathway. Crucially, when asked whether speed skating organizations felt their organization was actively striving to create full-time coaching positions over half strongly disagreed to this statement.

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Figure 3.22. Is your organization actively striving to create full time coaching positions?

25 20

15
10 5 0 Strongly Disagree 2 3 4 5 6 Strongly Agree

In summary, the organizational capacity of speed skating organizations can be viewed as minimal. They are heavily volunteer based (and therefore not professional driven). Given the organizational need, the attitudes of the administrators who run them, and the qualification level combined, most speed skating organizations seem unable to facilitate high performance athletes even if they wanted to; which our findings suggest they currently do not. Capacity is therefore of concern to the future long term development of the sport.

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4| FOUR: REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS The primary purpose of this research was to provide data by which SSC may make more evidence based decisions. By this, the researchers accept that SSC is better placed in understanding its own sport and as such how best to implement its policy into practice. With this in mind, the data does, however, hold a number of key recommendations that may or may not be adopted by SSC. Outlined in this section are recommendations derived from the data. These recommendations, rather than being formalized or concrete, offer insights for future direction of policy and highlight specific areas by which SSC might wish to focus their limited and finite resources. Recommendations: To focus on the development of organizational guidelines/information pieces to aid standard practice. For example, search and selection and hiring procedures within organizations. Particularly when asked questions surrounding job descriptions, organizations were very positive to SSC intervening to a) develop templates for job descriptions for speed skating organizations, b) develop templates for contracts for speed skating organizations, c) templates for coach evaluation methods for speed skating organizations. To focus on access to coach education programs over the content of coach education programs. One of the most notable findings of this research was the desire for improvements to be made on the access to coaching education as a priority over the content. In particular, more focus on appropriate timing and ability to take the required modules should be an area of deliberate focus for SSC. To find methods to reward coaches through simple commendations. Our findings indicated that monetary rewards are not a motivating factor, nor should they be the rewarding factor for coaches. SSC might consider various ways by which it can encourage its organizations to reward coaches, even more than formal pin recognitions. Examples here might include template commendation letters and certificates of achievement and so on.

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5| FIVE: IDENTIFIED GAPS KNOWLEDGE GAPS

MORE WORK COULD BE DONE TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE WHY OF THE STATUS OF THE COACH FINDINGS .

Due to the very nature of this quantitative study i.e. surveys and numbers. The questions answered here primarily respond to how or what interests of SSC. This report only provided speculation as to why the data indicated trends. As such, more research could be done to fully understand what this report has revealed. To illustrate this, below are a few examples: Better understand the capacity concern For example, whilst uncovering that a majority of speed skating organizations do not actively strive to create full time coaching positions, what this report cannot fully explain is why, organizations are not actively striving to create full time positions. More examination would be required to fully explain the why of many of the questions asked within the Status of the Coach and Status of the Organization surveys. What should be included in templates. Again, a key finding of this report, but clearly more questions could be asked around exactly what could be included in job description templates, contract templates and so on are all areas whereby future study may be able help. The significant difference in age of coaches in Quebec. This report for a significant difference in the age of Quebec coaches versus other provinces. More could be done to understand why such a large age gap exists and what implications this has for coach education. Provincial breakdown of results. Although the focus of this report was on a nation-wide level. It would be possible to break down the findings contained within to provide an insight into the status of coaches provincially/territorially. This may be particularly useful for those provinces that were stronger represented in this sample. Why are coaches not expected to do administrative tasks? It is clear that coaches do not expect, nor are they expected to do administrative tasks within the organizations that they work in. The assumption can be made that this is due to limited ability to commit time due to being volunteers. Much more could be done to better understand this finding.

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OTHER AVENUES OF POTENTIAL KNOWLEDGE GAPS

More exploration into the LTPAD implementation. Although a number of questions either asked directly of, or had implications for, LTPAD; LTPAD was not the entire focus of this survey. The findings and the comments made by coaches within the survey suggest that much more work could be conducted to better understand one of the fundamental issues being faced by speed skating organizations, coaches and athletes. More exploration into understand LTPAD opinions. Linked to the above identified gap. It is clear that their were varying opinions and perspectives surrounding the LTPAD model and what it means for the practice of speed skating. More study could be undertaken to understand the grass-roots perspective on the implementation and current effect of the LTPAD in practice. More exploration into understand the identified variance on P/TSO provision. Also apparent from the data is the significant variability in offering between provinces/territories. Variability was particularly notable in salary, coaching age, coach education perspectives/needs. Much more could be done to gain a greater understanding of the individual provincial/territorial needs and whether they can be individually met. Better understand how coach education access may be improved. Access to coach education was a major finding of this report. More research could be done to better understand how access to coach education might be improved. For example, would an online, modular approach to coach education be an appropriate method for coach education delivery? Better understand how SSC can help its administrative volunteers, not necessarily coaches. Whilst it was clear that the emphasis of this particular project was on the Status of the Coach, what ironically became obvious from the surveys was the clear distinction between the role of the coach within and organization and the complete separate roles of the administrator. More research could be done to better understand the administrative roles and how they might be improved by SSC within speed skating clubs.

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6| SIX: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

ORGANIZATION COACH EDUCATION CAPACITY

One of the major themes of this report is the minimal organizational capacity of coach education characterizing most speed skating organizations. Our results indicate that speed skating organizations have limited capacity in terms of number of coaches, qualified coaches, and resources available to coaches. The extracts (derived from section 3) below summarize the overall organizational capacity concern: Our results indicated that very few coaches were in the higher end LTPAD stages with most coaches working on an entirely voluntary basis (paid nothing). The results of these surveys suggest that most speed skating organizations seem unable to facilitate high performance athletes even if they wanted to (which our findings suggest they currently do not want to). Speed Skating organizations are not actively striving to create full time coaching positions. When asked whether speed skating organizations felt their organization was actively striving to create full-time coaching positions over half strongly disagreed to this particular statement. Organizations have no real interest or desire to expand and grow their programs. If expansion is likely, the organization administrative staff is seen to be the catalyst. SSC should consider ways to improve coach education capacity within its grassroots organizations. The base which SSC currently sits on, according to our data is relatively stagnant. If the aim of SSC is to grow and develop the sport, it may consider ways to enhance capacity. If not, our data suggests that speed skating organizations will be happy to remain as they are.

VOLUNTEER ETHOS AND CORE COACHING EXPECTATIONS

The second major theme of these surveys is the volunteer ethos and expectations of coaches within Speed Skating. The vast majority of speed skating coaches are not paid and are not professionals. Although these coaches put a considerable amount of effort and are the lifeblood of the sport, they are limited in terms of their decision making abilities- particularly any administrative decisions within and around the organization- and are expected to conduct duties specifically related to their core coaching requirements. The below extracts (taken from section 3) highlight this concern: The volunteer ethos that pervades most speed skating organizations means that expectations of coaches are clearly skewed towards their core coaching tasks

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such as creating programs, supervising, athlete competition registration and preparing for competition and NOT administrative or peripheral tasks such as recruiting skaters, facility arrangement, budgeting, fundraising and so on. In short, they do their job and go home. Coaches are not expected by the organization, (nor do the coaches expect) to be involved in anything beyond the core coaching work. As one coaches comment summed up bluntly Administrative tasks are not done by coachesthey are done by club executives. The coach volunteer ethos provides an us and them mentality between coaches and administrative staff. Results indicate that there is very little decision making autonomy outside coach expectations and the specific role of coaches within their organization. A majority of coaches felt they either had no decision making autonomy or considered a number of areas not applicable that were outside their core functions. These areas included: budgeting, risk management and club equipment. Coaches want the environment to be enhanced. Enhancement for coaches is NOT more money in their back pocket, its adding to what they already do. The variables showed either tendency towards not important or very important extremes indicated below: Not important improvements: Salary, Benefits, Time off, Lighten the work load Very important improvements: Assistant coaches, more sport science, more financial resources available, more access to education, and more financial support to athletes

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APPENDIX 1: CANADIAN SPORT FOR LIFE SUMMIT PRESENTATION (FEBRUARY 2 N D 2012)

APPENDIX 1: CANADIAN SPORT FOR LIFE SUMMIT PRESENTATION (FEBRUARY 2 N D 2012)

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APPENDIX 2: COMPLETE TASK EXPECTATION VARIABLES (FIGURE 3.19)

Supervising technical practice sessions Coaching skaters at competitions

Organization* Survey 4.1 4.1 4 3.9 3.9 3.8 3.8 3.6 3.5 3.4 3.3 3.2 3.1 3.1 3 3 2.9 2.8 2.8 2.7 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.3 2.2 2.1

Coach 6.4 Survey 6.2 6 5.9 6 4.7 5.5 5.3 5.4 4.5 5.1 5.2 5.1 4.6 3.1 3.8 3 3.6 4.3 2.6 3 3.2 3 2.3 2.2 2.1

APPENDIX 1: CANADIAN SPORT FOR LIFE SUMMIT PRESENTATION (FEBRUARY 2 N D 2012)

Upgrading coaching knowledge (workshops) Updating coaching knowledge (literature) Teaching developmental skaters Attending meetings of your organization Teaching recreational skaters Mentoring other coaches Creating physical conditioning programs Promoting your sport organization Evaluating the physical condition of athletes Supervising physical conditioning programs Reviewing video and competition preparation Preparing skaters for life after their career Registering athletes for competitions Media/Public relations Purchasing equipment Writing reports Organizing training workshops Organizing competitions Recruiting skaters Recruiting/Supervising support staff/personnel Arranging for facilities Planning budgets/financial management Teaching classes at college/university Fundraising / revenue generation

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