Warmth or Competence: Do parents value one more than the other in competitive youth sport coaches?

Competence and warmth are two of the fundamental dimensions which we often judge other people (Kervyn, Bergsieker, & Fiske, 2011). Traits such as friendliness, helpfulness, sincerity, trustworthiness, and morality, all contribute to someone’s perceived warmth (Fiske, Cuddy, & Glick, 2007). In contrast, traits such as intelligence, skill, creativity, and independence all contribute to...Read more

Next Level Coaching – Building an Effective Leadership Style

Coaches, in a nutshell, are educated leaders who influence people to work towards a specific goal. Effective leadership in sport requires knowing the best approach for assisting players based upon their level of skills and motivation, and transforming that knowledge into a dynamic environment for learning and success. There is no right way to be a leader but there are various behaviours and...Read more

Celebrating Canadian Coaches through National Coaches Week!

September 23-30, 2017, marks the third annual National Coaches Week! The Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) and the 13 Provincial and Territorial Coaching Representatives (P/TCRs)’s National Coaches Week is a week to celebrate the positive impact coaches have on athletes and communities across Canada. This week is an opportunity to recognize coaches for the integral role they play by saying #...Read more

Sport Participation on a Budget

The new school year is on the horizon and parents want to make sure that their children stay active and healthy. One of the easiest ways to help that along is by signing them up for a sport. A 2015 study noted that 85% of Canadians agree that sport builds communities and has an overall positive effect on participants, however 90% have also stated that the rising costs of sport are a barrier. How...Read more

A Strong Knowledge Base: The Difference Maker in Athletic Success

How do experts differ from novices? In sport, success in both low-strategy sports and high-strategy sports relies on having a solid knowledge base: knowledge may be what determines who is a true expert when athletes have similar skills and experience. As coaches and parents, the importance of knowledge bases give us a clue of how to enhance children’s athletic performances in ways other than...Read more

Long-Term Athlete Development: A Primer for Coaches, Athletes, and Parents

The Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) Framework was developed by Sport For Life to address several problems and gaps affecting low participation and excellence in Canadian sport, such as lack of fun, burn-out, poor skill development, and failure to reach optimal performance. Now applied by countries worldwide, LTAD provides guidelines for the “when” and “what” of skill development, aiming to...Read more

Celebrating Coaches! National Coaches Week!

Next week, September 17-25, 2016, is National Coaches Week , a week to celebrate the tremendous positive impact coaches have on athletes and communities across Canada. This week is an opportunity to recognize coaches for the integral role they play by simply saying #ThanksCoach. With events held across the country to celebrate coaching, National Coaches Week provides coaches with the recognition...Read more

THE SKILLS TAUGHT BY VOLLEYBALL COACHES AND THEIR RELATION TO LONG-TERM ATHLETE DEVELOPMENT

SIRC is pleased to be working together with Sport Canada to share current research on topics informing policy and promoting quality sport programming. This week we are sharing highlights of a recent article reviewing a research study on THE SKILLS TAUGHT BY VOLLEYBALL COACHES AND THEIR RELATION TO LONG-TERM ATHLETE DEVELOPMENT. Skills trained by coaches of Canadian male volleyball teams: A...Read more

COACHES’ PERSPECTIVES ON AN ONLINE TOOL TO PROMOTE POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT IN SPORT.

SIRC is pleased to be working together with Sport Canada to share current research on topics informing policy and promoting quality sport programming. This week we are sharing highlights of a recent article examining COACHES’ PERSPECTIVES ON AN ONLINE TOOL TO PROMOTE POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT IN SPORT. Project SCORE! Coaches' perceptions of an online tool to promote positive youth development in...Read more

To Teach or to Do: Do the Best Players Make the Best Coaches?

As the old adage says, there are those who teach and those who do. In the world of sports, there are both great athletes and great coaches. But is it possible to be good at both? Do the best athletes make good coaches? Highly skilled athletes demonstrate excellence in their sport, but may find it difficult to communicate how it is that they can do what they do. Very often, top performances occur...Read more