New Coach Apprenticeship program launched for 2020/21

Last week saw the official kick-off of the Coach Apprenticeship program, an extension of Snow Australia Coach Academy providing key pathway coaches the opportunity to further develop and grow into career coaches in their specific disciplines.

The first session of the program, delivered on 15 December, gave participants a first deep dive into the program content for 2020/2021. The four pathway coaches selected by Snow Australia were Ethan Topalovic (Moguls), Nicole Parks (Moguls), James Winter (Snowboard Cross) and Jackson Hotham (Snowboard Cross). 

“All the coaches were super excited and thrilled to be a part of the program,” said Snow Australia Performance Pathway & Program Manager, Ben Wordsworth. “The Coach Apprenticeship program takes a system-wide approach to coach development and education. Our goal is to create a consistent and reliable progression pathway for coaches in winter sport.”

Pathway coaches selected into the program will be developed over a 3-4 year period. They will be embedded in National Institute Network (NIN) programs and work alongside key mentors to be trained and upskilled in the science and the “art” of high-performance coaching.

Wordsworth said he is looking forward to seeing the coaches working closely with Coach Academy leaders and other veteran coaches on the path to becoming an effective and productive member of an integrated performance team. “Working with our partners and with the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia and New South Wales Institute of Sport coaches, the apprentice coaches will receive invaluable guidance on skill acquisition, performance strategy, athlete/team development, and leadership approach.

“They will also be able to develop a number of key attributes related to self and situational awareness, discipline, planning, adaptability and ethical decision-making.”

In addition, the program will provide coaches the opportunity to make significant improvements in the areas of communication and collaboration, preparation and professionalism, role transition, personal longevity, and professional success.

The program is broken up into four tiers, with primary focus areas, objectives and specific key performance indicators (KPI) for each year. Some of the KPIs will be “hard” (i.e. objectively measurable) and some will be “soft”, or subjective, and discussed during performance review sessions. The curriculum will be delivered across a number of formats and channels which include experiential learning and observation, mentor-guided self-reflection, feedback discussions and behavioral assessments. Video/audio critique and formal professional development activities will also form part of the program.

All Coach Academy and Coach Apprenticeship program content will be housed on the Snow Australia “Snow Academy” online learning platform.