I never thought I would be a retired skating coach. Skating was my passion, my life and my reason for getting up in the morning. Coaching quickly became my new passion after university, and I had always envisioned myself as one of those coaches sitting on a stool teaching from the boards at 90, still loving it and giving back.
Circumstances changed, and demanded I “pivot” from my 30 year career in coaching. Truthfully, it was a struggle. So much of my identity was wrapped up in seeing myself as “coach” that when it was stripped away, I didn’t recognize myself.
Even though I’d found a gig that paid my bills, it didn’t feed my soul and challenge me the way coaching did, and I floundered away from the sport. I knew I had more to say, but I didn’t know how to say it.
One day, as I was aimlessly flipping through the available apps on my phone, I came across Anchor, an app designed to let anyone start their own podcast with zero cost and minimal equipment.
After floating the idea by a couple of coaching friends we were in business and we are now three podcasts in and loving the process.
Along the way, I’ve learned a LOT about myself and thought I would share some of my realizations with you. So without ado, here are 6 things I have learned about myself by recording a podcast.
I’ve always suffered from low self-esteem and imposter syndrome. Therapy, self-talk and affirmations (things every coach is VERY familiar with) have helped me with my self-image to the point where if I’m having a bad day, I can “fake it” perfectly with no one the wiser.
There is always a little voice inside my head that surfaces when I am trying something new or putting myself out there that asks, (in it’s insipid voice), “who do you think you are?” or, “why do you think people would want to listen to you?”
When you podcast, you’re sharing a little bit of yourself to the entire world (well, at the very least, our 5 subscribers…hey…we’re new!) It’s scary to be that vulnerable, knowing that you could be opening yourself up to criticism. Each podcast gets a little easier, but it’s still there.
2. My Love of Skating is NOT Dead
I’ve made no secret concerning my opinions on the issues I see systemically within our sport system in Canada, particularly for coaches working in smaller centres. After thirty years of coaching, and in particular the last nine years in a place that seems to be a hotbed of rumor, back-channeling, and toxicity, I was drained and disillusioned.
I felt that there MUST be something wrong with me, because no matter how hard I worked, or how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to make things better. As the saying goes, “same shit, different pile.” There is nothing worse than doubting yourself at every turn and walking on eggshells. When you add to that a history of chronically being undervalued and underpaid, as so many of us are, it results in burnout.
Over a year ago, I made the decision to NOT return to coaching, and it was like a weight had lifted off of my chest. I had no idea how much I had let the culture around me affect my mental and emotional health. And to be frank, I didn’t have much good to say about our profession in general.
I now know that was the depression and anxiety talking, and that my love of the sport is NOT DEAD; the lessons I have learned from doing it, and how I FEEL when I help young athletes learn, have kept my passion and interest alive. By sharing my thoughts, concerns and feelings in a safe environment with my trusted coaching friends, I am slowly finding my love of the sport again.
3. I Needed Grown-Up Time
Not that we need reminding, but, this year has felt like a zombie-fucking-apocolypse y’all, and the isolation was really starting to get to me. Like, having-entire-conversations-with-my-daughter’s-LOL-dolls and breaking-into-show-numbers-from-Hamilton-at-any-given-moment kind of getting to me.
Just being able to schedule an hour of intelligent, constructive, ADULT conversation with friends who absolutely “get” the world of coaching is GOLD.
4. I Need to Learn to Enunciate
I had always thought of myself as fairly articulate, both in the written word AND speaking. Turns out…not so much. In our last podcast we were chatting and comparing the two skating styles of the US skater Nathan Chen, and our Canadian icon Patrick Chan.
Now, I KNOW that their last names are “CHEN” and “CHAN” respectively, and I know when we were chatting about these two skaters I said Nathan Chen and Patrick Chan, but upon listening to the playback, I quickly realized that I was not very clear when it came to pronouncing the short “A” sound in Chan.
SIGH…..diction lessons for me it is. You will find me reciting “the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plane” a la “My Fair Lady” for the next little while. The irony is I actually teach English as a second language every morning and spend countless hours helping young kids learn how to properly pronounce those same sounds!
So for anyone listening to our third podcast, I am in fact saying “Nathan CHEN, and Patrick CHAN”….. but you just can’t tell.
5. I Am Blessed to be Surrounded by Intelligent Friends
I am blessed in my life. Every single one of my friends teaches me something every time I interact with them, and my co-hosts on our podcast are no exception. I learn something new about myself, the sport of figure skating, and coaching in general by our frank discussion.
I’ve always been a believer that sharing ideas and opinions is the best way to learn and grow, and this podcast has only reinforced that belief. Picking topics and sharing viewpoints, whether you are in agreement or not, opens your mind and helps you grow as individuals.
6. It Really Matters to Me That This Podcast Can Inform and Inspire New Coaches
As you get older, you always wonder what you will leave behind. Have I made life better for at least one person? Have I made a difference in the lives of my students, my friends, or my child?
With each podcast I realize I have a forum that my friends and I can utilize to inform others about the positives and negatives related to professional coaching. I’m hopeful we can do it in a funny, candid and constructive way, and provide some degree of mentorship and inspiration.
As senior coaches, and particularly as women in coaching, it’s our job to open doors and support those coming after us. It’s the least we can do for our sport, and to repay those that helped us along the way.
It’s always scary to put myself out there, but I’m so glad I did. I’m enjoying creating our podcast so much, and I encourage you to listen and become part of the conversation!
Check us out: Coaches On Edge on Anchor, Spotify, Google Podcasts, RadioPublic, Breaker, PocketCasts, and Overcast.
Have you stepped out of your comfort zone with any new ventures lately? Share your experience and what you’ve learned in the comments!
I have a confession to make. I used to be one of those coaches who did not believe ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder) was a real “thing.” I cringe as I write this, but there it is.
I can remember YEARS ago as I was in the midst of coaching a group of young boys for an ice show number. The boys were a handful, and I had been informed that several of them had ADHD.
“Right,” I thought to myself, “all these kids need are a strong hand and firm boundaries….seriously.”
So I cracked down. I was firm, and strict. Hell, I ran that practice like a drill sergeant. And those poor kids had no fun whatsoever.
When I think back to that time, I can’t believe how ignorant I was…..I had no knowledge of ADHD, and just assumed in my hubris that it was the result of inadequate parental discipline. I still shudder to think of my lack of empathy and understanding for those poor kids suffering with invisible conditions, as well as the parents doing their best to help them.
Fate has a twisted sense of humor, and she decided I was in need of a serious karmic tune-up. The first person put in my path to teach me valuable lessons was a competitive skater. I had worked with many recreational skaters in the past with ADHD and other special needs, but I had not had the pleasure and the challenge to work closely for a long period of time with a higher level athlete.
It was an eye-opening experience. There were so many behaviors I observed over the course of our years together that I was to learn were simply not in my athletes’ control, and I experienced first-hand the struggles faced physically, mentally and emotionally these brave kiddos face every-single-day.
I also learned that despite all of my coaching experience, my university degree, and my thousands of dollars spent on my NCCP coaching courses over the years, I had received virtually no training in 20 years of coaching with my association, (up until that point in time) on how to coach neurodiverse athletes.
It was an aha! moment, and I immediately went to work to learn as much as I could about conditions like ADHD, ASD, giftedness, dyslexia, processing disorders, executive function issues and so many others…..and let me tell you, there is a LOT to learn.,
After taking courses in Learning Disabilities and ADHD with different associations and colleges, I felt better equipped to be the best coach I could be for my skater.
Then fate hit me with the second of it’s one-two punch.
I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. My miracle baby after years of infertility. And it quickly became apparent that there was something different about her; not better or worse, (although she certainly demanded MORE of me than other babies and toddlers her age seemed to demand of other parents)…..just….different.
Sure enough, after years of research, advocating, homeschooling and fighting against judgement and stereotyping…..I had a diagnosis….well, one of possibly many diagnoses….my daughter has ADHD. And anxiety. And executive function issues….and possibly Aspergers. Let’s not forget possible dysgraphia. Or the possibility of processing issues….oh yeah…and pretty sure she’s gifted too!
(note: I am aware Aspergers has now been grouped under the autism umbrella and categorized as an Autism Spectrum Disorder–ASD–but Asperger’s and “Aspie” is the term we have chosen to use.)
Holy fuck.
On a personal level, I found out just how amazing, wonderful, frustrating, overwhelming and draining it feels to be the parent of a kiddo with an invisible disability and superpower like ADHD.
Not gonna lie though, sometimes it feels like I am drowning.
Over the course of the years, as my daughter tried different activities like skating, karate, soccer, and dance, I was able to observe many different types of teachers, coaches and dance instructors as they worked with my daughter.
I felt I had a unique viewpoint given my many years coaching, and my years parenting a neurodiverse child to REALLY understand what it takes to teach kiddos with unseen disabilities.
And I was, unfortunately, often disappointed.
I say this with the utmost respect to those amazing teachers and individuals I have encountered who were fully educated about my daughters needs, and those who went over and above to help her and really individualize her learning experience.
Some of my best friends are teachers, educational assistants and coaches to special needs kiddos, so I see and appreciate those who actively work to make a difference every day.
Unfortunately, most teachers, coaches and dance instructors simply don’t have the tools in their toolbox, the knowledge, or even the motivation to learn the techniques required to work with these kids.
And even MORE UNFORTUNATELY, most sports and educational institututions don’t supply adequate training or compensation for their teachers/instructors who deal with children with special needs, and are equally lacking with resources and supports for those who need it most.
I remember clearly my daughter coming home sobbing from school, not understanding why her teacher got mad at her for not finishing her work on time, or taking off her outside clothes after recess before she was late for class. Even though I stressed that my daughter struggled with executive functioning, working memory, and fine motor skills, all of which required more time and assistance to complete most tasks, her teacher was not able to give her the time, grace or help she needed.
I also remember a couple of my daughters’ dance teachers making the students sit on the studio floor for long lectures, a task that is painful for kids with ADHD. I also watched them giving long lists of instructions or corrections that were difficult for my daughter to follow and, in my opinion-the cruelest thing of all-telling the kids that only the students that could sit still and be quiet enough would be the ones who would get the best parts in the dance.
My daughter felt unseen, unheard and unworthy. She still has nightmares about that particular dance studio. We have since changed studios and are with a wonderful, inclusive studio where my daughter has found her love of dance again.
But the damage was done.
So in an effort to save my fellow coaches some time as they work with athletes that may have these invisible disabilities, I thought I’d compile a list of the things I’ve experienced and information I’ve researched in an effort to better help YOU help YOUR students.
Before we get started, I’d like to impart a few words of caution.
When talking to your athletes parents about what you are seeing with their children, don’t normalize the behavior in an attempt to make them feel better. How often have you heard or been part of a conversation like this?
Tired parent: “So how did Sally do in her lesson today?”
Coach: “She did well, but she was pretty busy, she had trouble standing still and listening to me giving directions.“
Tired parent: “Sorry, she has a hard time maintaining attention, but she is listening….(sigh), she’s just very busy and it takes a lot of work to keep her on track.“
Coach: “All kids are busy, but she just needs to pay attention to the instructions so she knows what to doin the lesson.“
Sounds okay, right? The coach didn’t sound mean, just explaining what behavior is required in the lesson. I mean, we’re taught to be clear about our expectations, right?
The problem lies with the “all kids are busy” part.
You may think by down-playing that child’s hyperactivity you are making the parent feel better by pointing out that all kids are busy, or have difficulty paying attention.
But you aren’t making them feel better. In actual fact, you are making them feel awful.
Think about it. Kids with invisible disabilities have an actual, proven, neurobiological and physical disability. Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not there. They simply are MORE, and because of these deficits they demand MORE from parents and coaches.
Would you tell a parent of a child with cerebral palsy, “it’s okay, all children have trouble with movement and muscle tone.”
Pretty sure you wouldn’t. But when you tell a parent of a child with an invisible condition that “all children” are like that you are devaluing their entire experience of parenting their child. You are in actuality giving credence to the judgment they hear every day from people with no knowledge of the biological reasons for their children’s differences.
You are, in effect, saying that if all children are like that, then it must be an issue with the environment or parenting.
And that’s just shitty. Even when it’s meant with the best of intentions, it still hurts. The shame and recrimination we feel and think every day as the parent of a neurodiverse kiddo is a pretty heavy burden. Trust me, we already judge ourselves more harshly than other parents. So don’t add to that guilt, okay?
Next, as the saying goes, “if you’ve met one individual with autism, you’ve met one individual with autism.” (Steven Shore)
This means that no two neurodiverse athletes will have the same characteristics, strengths and weaknesses as the other. Every neurodiverse individual is unique, as coaches it is our job to figure out what works, what doesn’t and how to adapt our teaching styles to best accommodate them. It’s not their job to accommodate us…..they are physically unable to do so.
You have to approach every neurodiverse student as if they are a puzzle to figure out. You have to observe their behavior, discuss their needs with their parents who are often the BEST source of information, research their conditions, talk with other coaches or teachers who have had success with their own special needs students, and finally, use trial and error in your approach to coaching them.
Coaching students with invisible special needs is not for the faint of heart. These kids can try your patience and knowledge to the Nth degree, but when you figure out how they learn best, you will be richly rewarded. Without further ado, here are a few common sense and easily applied strategies you can use in your every day coaching these athletes.
1.Keep Your Instructions Short
Really short.
THIS.SHORT.
Seriously guys, I can not stress this enough. Asking kids with attention deficits to sit through long lectures, explanations or any instructions longer than a few chunks of information is actually not only unrealistic, it is almost cruel to them.
Give instructions in short, easy to remember chunks. Then send your student off to try it.
If you use “cue” or “key” words when you teach (and you should, because…hello!) then you need to try to use the same 4-5 keywords for everything.
I know, this is hard to do….especially if you are working on two very different skills in a lesson, but do your best. It is critical that you make your instructions as easily accessible for their brains as possible.
Think about it, learning is an incredibly complex process-when you learn something new you have to be able to access and rehearse the information as you hold it in your working memory, and then incorporate it into your motor program carefully enough so that you myelinate the correct pathway!
And let’s not forget that the brain also has to convert that information from your short-term/working memory to long-term memory, andthen be able to figure out where you stored the correct information when you need to access it in subsequent practices.
And of course, if you struggle with regulating attention, this will hamper the process of encoding the information….this is what happens when you have students who have seemingly grasped a skill or concept one day, then appear to have no knowledge of the skill the next. It feels like you are re-teaching skills constantly and can get quite frustrating. This leads me to my next point.
2.More Patience, More Understanding, More Kindness
Imagine what the learning process feels like for your neurodiverse students. These athletes are giving you every effort they can, doing their best to attend and learn, and they still struggle to retain skills from one day to the next, watching their neurotypical counterparts pick up the skills more rapidly and with less effort.
It’s not fair, and as a coach, you absolutely have to give support and empathy to these athletes. They will require more understanding, more patience, and more kindness than you may have ever thought you have.
Don’t think you have that level of support in you? Trust me, you will find wells of empathy you never knew you had, because when these kids finally achieve a skill they have worked and cried and literally bled for, it will feel like they have won the freaking Olympics.
(For a great infographic on how we encode, store and retrieve information, check out learnupon.com)
The learning process for any new skill is hard enough for a neurotypical learner, let alone a child who has a deficit in the brain processes required for these tasks…which leads me to my next point, kids with processing disorders.
3.Give the Gift of Time
A neurodiverse athlete or learner will often have difficulty in any one of the steps required to encode, store or retrieve information.
Often, upon hearing verbal instructions, students with processing issues require time for the auditory input to reach their brain. I think of it as that swirling circle you see when you type information into your web browser and are waiting for it to load.
You have to give your neurodiverse athletes more time then you would normally give your neurotypical athletes when you give instructions. If working in a group setting, give the instruction, using only a few chunks of information (remember, SHORT instructions) and send your neurotypical athletes out first to practice the skill.
Then, use the time with your neurodiverse kiddos to check for understanding. You can ask them to repeat what you said, and if you detect they are having difficulty you can repeat, rephrase, or reform your instructions, perhaps drawing a picture, or demonstrating the skill yourself while stressing the cue words.
Even more helpful would be pictures of the instructions posted for them to refer back to when necessary.
Too often, I see coaches blaming kiddos for not paying attention, or not caring, when they don’t understand given instructions. Remember, A CHILD WILL DO WELL IF THEY CAN, if they cannot, it is our job to help them to do well.
Talking louder and repeating the same instruction to your athlete when they struggled to understand it the first time will. not. help. It only creates anxiety and frustration in the learner.
I heard a brilliant analogy of this from the “Leaky Brakes” Brake Shop Webinar offered from the Child and Parent Resource Institute in London Ontario. I highly stress you check them out, because it will CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK about kids with impulse control problems.
Here’s the analogy: Imagine you have a beautiful sports car. This car is the top of the line, it can drive faster than any car on the road. Now imagine, there’s a leak in the brake line of this beautiful car. This car simply cannot stop when it needs to.
Will yelling at the car and repeating “stop, stop, stop!” help the car to stop?
Will threatening to take away the best oil from the car if the car doesn’t stop help the car to stop?
No, identifying that there is a problem with the brake line, that the car is physically UNABLE to stop at this time, and figuring out how to fix the brake line is how you fix the problem.
We have to change how we approach and work with these kids, realizing we cannot have the same expectations from them as we have from neurotypical kids.
And we absolutely cannot use the same language, motivation, or discipline techniques with our neurodiverse athletes as we do with our neurotypical athletes.
It just won’t work.
4. Help Them Prioritize
Often, athletes who seem to not give their best effort in a task are not procrastinating out of disinterest, they are unsure how to begin. Many neurodiverse athletes have deficits with executive functioning, which impedes how they access information to complete tasks.
In order to complete any task, we must be able to organize our thoughts enough to pick a beginning point. This involves prioritizing the elements of a task and picking the most important to complete first, organizing each subsequent element of a task in sequence, and finally, accomplishing the appropriate portion last.
This act of determining which elements of a skill must be practiced or completed first is sometimes the biggest obstacle to a neurodiverse athlete as they attempt to learn new skills and incorporate instructions.
In order to help, first, keep instructions short, and repeat them as many times as necessary for the athlete to remember. Where you might teach a skill with the “whole-part-whole” approach for a neurotypical athlete, when it comes to dealing with students who think differently, you must parse your instructions down even more.
Lower your expectations with regard to the time it takes to learn new tasks, and break skills down into chunks involving only 2 chunks of information or physical actions at a time.
Next, give your instructions using this phrase: “First…….then….”
Giving instructions in this format helps neurodiverse kiddos pick the most important step to begin with, and the next step to do after they have accomplished the first.
This gives them a clear path to learning the skill with much less use of brain power on their part, allowing them more enjoyment in the learning process itself.
I also highly recommend writing these instructions down where they are easily accessible, such as laminated lists you can re-use daily. Having instructions posted where neurodiverse learners can see them helps them when they lose focus and become distracted.
5. Dial It Down
Many student athletes have “sensory processing” disorders, which deals with the way a body receives and processes sensory information from the outside world. Children that have sensory issues often experience stimuli more strongly than others, and things like loud noises or bright lights can be painful for them.
If you know or suspect that an athlete may have sensory issues, you might want adapt their learning environment, choosing times when there is less stimuli, less people, and less noise. If you are teaching a sport in an environment that requires music, then watch the volume of the music, and make sure to modify it if it causes issues for the athlete in question.
Teaching group lessons with students who struggle with distraction may be difficult, however, kids that struggle with social cues learn so much about how to interact with their peers when they are working with a group of friends toward a common goal and under the guidance of an instructor.
I recommend a balance of group lessons for work on social skills and private for intensive skill work in order to provide the best benefit for your neurodiverse athletes, but remember, every neurodiverse kiddo is different, so trust your instinct for what you feel will work best for them.
From taste, touch, pressure, sight and hearing, be prepared for your neurodiverse athletes to exhibit sensitivity in any of these areas, and work to lessen the discomfort so they can train free of distractions.
6. Delayed Development
All coaches have received training concerning the difference between chronological age (years) and developmental age (maturity). When working with neurodiverse children, it is important to remember two things:
First, it is very common to see delayed development in kiddos that have hidden disabilities like ADHD or ASD. Children can often lag behind several years from their counterparts.
This means that while you might be teaching a student who looks 12, he or she may be up to 3 years behind their counterparts in not only physical, but also social or emotional development.
As coaches, we have to recognize this lag and adjust our expectations on everything from emotional control to reading social cues.
Second, development in children with hidden disabilities and issues is often ASYNCHRONOUS, particularly in children with multiple special needs-often called twice- exceptional children.
This means that you could be dealing with a gifted 8 year old child who knows more than you about the Canadian political system, yet struggles to grasp basic time management each practice, and may have the emotional control of a 6 year old.
Be prepared to meet your neurodiverse athlete on all levels in order to best engage them as they learn.
7. Embrace Anxiety
This sounds funny I know, after all, who wants to embrace anxiety? What I mean is, as a coach, you have to realize that anxiety goes hand-in-hand with neurodiversity. Children who suffer with invisible disabilities often know they are different before they are even diagnosed. They know things are harder for them, and they feel shame and anxiety about not fitting in.
Often anxiety will show up as perfectionism, negative self-talk, crying, or reluctance to practice. Even more often, the anxiety about failure, or being different, will manifest in stomache aches, headaches, aches, pains and melt downs.
It is important to remember that if you have a child athlete that exhibits these symptoms often, and all possible physical causes are ruled out, then you are likely looking at a physical expression of their psychological turmoil.
Don’t accuse them of making excuses or trying to get out of work. They didn’t ask for this. Instead do what you can to alleviate their anxiety.
Help them name their fears, if they can’t express how they are feeling then they can’t address how to control those feelings.
Once your neurodiverse athletes have named their fears, don’t discount them or issue the typical “stop worrying” advice that we so often hear. While it is important to recognize your students’ anxiety, it is equally important to not try to fix it, or tell them to stop worrying. Doing this invalidates your athletes feelings, after all, they are allowed to feel what they feel.
Instead, start teaching mindfulness, growth mindset and relaxation strategies EARLY and OFTEN. Then practice, practice, practice.
I can’t stress this enough. As a coach of neurodiverse athletes, you must stay on top of their mental training….it will be as important as their physical training.
Once you have the basis of these strategies, stress to your athlete that anxiety is natural, but they have the tools to cope with it and you have faith they can do it.
Anxiety is a tricky monster for neurodiverse athletes, but it CAN be controlled with CONSISTENT EFFORT from them, and CONSTANT support from you, their coach.
8. Change Your Thinking
As coaches, we have this belief about what it takes for kids to be coachable. We’ve all seen those memes we circulate on Facebook, hell, I’ve even circulated some of them.
I know you all know the ones I’m referring to, memes that start like this:
Ten things that have require zero talent.
Being on time. (ten times harder for kids with executive function issues.)
Work ethic. (hard for kids with ADHD or ASD that are prone to distraction, which is often mistaken for laziness.)
Effort(often neurodiverse kids are so riddled with anxiety they give up, or they don’t even know where to begin due to executive function or processing disorders.)
I hope you are all starting to see what I am talking about here. It’s time to stop posting these motivational memes. We need to stop applying these neurotypical expectations to our neurodiverse athletes because they shame those athletes for which these behaviors are ten times harder.
We have to adjust our expectations when teaching kiddos that think differently. This means:
Stop asking them to look you in the eye when you are talking to them, often this makes it HARDER for neurodiverse kiddos to focus.
Stop asking them to stand up straight and stop fidgeting when you are explaining a task to them. Many kiddos have balance or coordination issues that require them to lean on something for support, and some have chemical imbalances that make it next to impossible to not fidget.
Stop asking kiddos to stand in line and wait their turn. Aside from just poor coaching (yes, I said it) asking neurodiverse children to stand in a formation and do nothing but wait their turn is not realistic and sets them up for failure.
As coaches, we need to change our beliefs about how we teach our students and what we expect from them. There are more neurodiverse athletes out there than we realize, and we simply haven’t adapted our teaching techniques to accommodate their needs.
It’s time we let go of outdated practices, and started really exploring how to best help this underserved population of athlete.
Sports can be a life-saver for kids struggling with invisible disabilites, following these simple tips can change lives for the better, both yours and your students.
If you have any tips for teaching and supporting neurodiverse athletes, feel free to share!
When I made my decision to homeschool my daughter, I had the luxury of time. I debated pros and cons, researched everything I could lay my hands on, and made the choice that was best for my daughter.
The key word there is choice.
I had a choice.
I can’t imagine what it must feel like to have the choice of homeschooling thrust on you out of a necessity to stay alive, and I empathize with every single parent out there who finds themselves homeschooling during the Coronavirus.
I mean, it’s not like we aren’t stressed out enough, why not add the extra responsibility of taking over our children’s education while we’re at it?
In order to lessen your load, and hopefully make the homeschooling process easier along the way, I want to impart some tips, and a long list some of the many websites and resources I have utilized for the past two years in our homeschooling journey. (I’m sure I have missed many, it’s been a long homeschooling journey for us, and I’ve tried everything!)
I won’t lie to you, homeschooling, and ESPECIALLY homeschooling during COVID-19, isn’t easy. But, for those of you trying to homeschool during the coronavirus, read on for help from someone who has been there, done that.
1. To Schedule or Not to Schedule
When I first began to homeschool, I bought a planner, and created a wonderful, comprehensive schedule. It had EVERYTHING: second languages, dance, music theory, interactive math, geography, I mean, it was a freaking thing of beauty.
And it was totally and utterly useless.
I quickly found out that children often don’t like to follow schedules, and my neurodiverse and gifted child REALLY, REALLY, REALLY did not like to follow schedules.
So I had a choice: I either spend endless amounts of time and pull out chunks of hair in frustration as I try to make my child comply to me, OR I could focus on where she wanted to go, and what she wanted to learn each day.
It was like night and day.
Suddenly I had a child who was eager to learn and curious about the world around her.
Look, you do you, if you need to make a schedule and follow it, and your child responds well to the routine, then go for it. But first ask yourself, is the schedule for them or for me?
These are crazy times. We all have to adapt. And if you are trying to homeschool during the coronavirus, I think adaptability may take top priority.
2. Make it Fun
Look, they may not show it, but our kids are listening, and taking in more then they are letting on. They know things are different, and they feel the stress and energy we are all carrying, whether you think you are showing it or not.
That’s why it is more important than ever to make learning fun. Keep it tactile. Make games out of it. Find as many interactive apps and programs as you can, change from video, to written work, to crafts, to dance and back as often as you need to to keep them happy and engaged.
You might just keep yourself happy and engaged in the process.
3. You Don’t Need As Much Lesson Time as Brick and Mortar Schools Provide
Because your children are getting focused, personal attention from you as they learn, you will find you do not need to devote as much time each day learning as they do at regular school.
The school day is often taken up by outdoor activities like recess, as well as transitioning between classes, busy work, or simply shifting focus from lesson to lesson.
You don’t need to homeschool for very long each day to achieve the same results as you would in regular school.
In fact, due to the anxiety caused by our current zombie apocalypse COVID-19 pandemic, I would recommend to keep sessions short and the overall lesson time short as well.
In most homeschooling blogs, you will see a general rule of thumb of 30 minutes recommended lesson time per grade, starting with Kindergarten. Hence a 1st grader would only need an hour of homeschooling daily. A 2nd grader would only need an hour and a half, a 3rd grader would need two hours, and so on, and so on.
Given the stress of our current pandemic, I would recommend keeping it even lighter than this, at 20 minutes per grade daily.
Again, keep in mind, if your child is keen on a certain day, let them learn as much and for as long as they want. And if they are reluctant, then don’t force it, give them the day off.
4. Keep the Sessions Short
I found that for my daughter, we had to do short mini-lessons of no more than 10 minutes each when we were dealing with subjects she wasn’t passionate about, and I had to intersperse them with physical activity, games or other breaks in order to give her time to re-group.
However, if we were dealing with a subject my kiddo was passionate about, it wasn’t abnormal for us to spend a day on that one particular subject.
Take your cue from your children. Follow where they lead, and you’ll be the better for it, I promise you.
5. Give Your Kiddo(s) a Sense of Control
Speaking of letting your kiddos take the lead, I recommend allowing THEM to be in charge of organizing the schedule and picking what they want to learn. I used laminated clipart to represent each possible thing we could do for homeschool every day, from a sewing machine icon for sewing lessons, to numbers for math. Every morning, I will pick out a handful that I feel we should cover for the day, and then I will allow my daughter to swap out any she’s not keen on and put them in the order she would like to do them.
This allows your homeschooler to play an active part in their own education. When they feel valued, respected and heard, they will be more willing to learn and follow direction later.
6. Incorporate ALL Their Senses When Learning
We all know there are many types of learners; visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and those that prefer to receive their information through reading and writing, so it stands to reason that you appeal to as many senses as you can when teaching your kiddos.
This means you use worksheets, videos, games, dance, singing, art or any other medium that appeals to them. My daughter and I improve her throwing skills and practice counting by 2’s, 3’s, 4’s, 5,’s etc. with each catch.
7. Learning Takes Place OUTSIDE of Lesson Time Too
If your kiddos are having a bad day, don’t sweat it. The beauty of homeschooling is you can improvise and make it up as you go. If they don’t want to homeschool today, then slip some learnin’ in when you cut up an apple for a snack, it’s a great time to learn fractions.
If it’s a sunny day, you can look for clouds in the sky and talk about cloud formation.
Everything is an opportunity for learning and everywhere is your classroom. Once you figure that out, you’re off to the races.
Without further ado, I will switch from tips for how to homeschool, and provide my list of resources, programs and apps that I’ve found to be particularly helpful.
Reading Eggs was one of the first English and grammar programs I was introduced to in my homeschooling journey and we are still using it. With different levels for different ages, you will find Reading Eggs Junior for kids 2-4 years old, Reading Eggs for kids 3-7, and Reading Eggspress for kids 7-13 years old.
I can’t say enough about this program y’all. For my neurodiverse kiddo, it checks all the boxes.
From fun animated characters, organized lessons, quizzes and progress reports, this app does a LOT of the heavy lifting for you. And my daughter loves, loves, loves the reward system! Every task and lesson completed earns your child eggs, which they can use to outfit their very own apartment. Not to mention the cool trading cards they can receive for lessons completed!
In addition, there is a great library for your child to access, as well as separate tasks designed for specific spelling and word study.
I highly recommend this app, I access it on my PC but you can also download the app in Google Play and the App Store.
Offered in conjunction with Reading Eggs, Math Seeds provides online math lessons for ages 3-9. As with Reading Eggs, this program is designed to be colorful, dynamic and fun, building steadily from one concept to the next, and breaking each down to easy-to-understand parts.
Just like Reading Eggs, all progress is tracked, and you can take a test to figure out which level to start your kiddo at. Rewards are abundant, and this time, your kiddo can totally outfit their very own tree house, cuz, you know…..TREE HOUSE!
Math Seeds is offered on Google Play and the App Store and is accessible through the Reading Eggs web page or App. The only catch is you may have to buy a Reading Eggs Subscription in order to receive Mathseeds. The price is affordable, starting at about $7 Canadian monthly.
Another great program available and offering free basic subscriptions during the COVID-19 pandemic is Education .com. With fun and engaging interactive lessons from grades pre-kindergarten up to grade five in Reading, Writing, Math and Typing, plus a MILLION worksheets and downloadable workbooks, PLUS fun ribbons for rewards, this is another great way to learn and not even know you’re learning.
Oh yeah, they’ll keep track of your child’s progress, provide assessments, and also give daily suggestions of downloads for science, art and social studies too!
My sister-in-law, who is a teacher, tipped me off to this math program, and I’m so glad she did. Imagine you are an explorer and you get to land on different planets and help the inhabitants by doing math problems. That’s the premise for this program, and it comes with so many other bells and whistles, from colorful interactive lessons, to complete lesson plans with accompanying worksheets and activities, it has it all.
And the best thing yet, they are providing free learning bundles during this challenging time. Check out Zorbits.com here for your free learning bundle.
Science? They’ve got it. English? Oh Yeah! Arts and Music? Check. Engineering and Tech? Yup. You will find ALL of these on BrainPop or BrainPop Jr. (K-3)
From video lessons on digital technology, to social and emotional learning, to quizzes and games, and even templates to form reports, these programs are informative and well-rounded.
Oh yeah, and they are free during the pandemic. SCORE!
You can find BrainPop and Brain Pop Jr. on the Google Play and the App Store. They also have a new app called BrainPop ELL which looks to be an English program/app. We haven’t tried this yet, but if it’s free, I would suggest you give it a try and let me know how you like it.
If you want an adventure, then I’ve got the perfect one for you! This program is completely immersive and interactive. Your kiddo gets to create an avatar and wander around the Adventure Academy universe, which is fully tailored to learning. From physics, to math, to English to social studies, your learner will be sent on quests and assigned tasks daily, all designed to promote learning.
Now, for those of you worried about online predators, there is a chat function, but you can set the privacy settings to wherever you would like for your own comfort.
The depth of material and content is truly remarkable, and it is a completely engaging way to get your homeschooler some socialization time combined with LOTS of learning.
You can find the Adventure Academy App on Google Play and the App Store.
If you’re looking for something new to introduce to your kiddo, you can try Chinese. Lingo Bus provides fully immersive Chinese lessons with a native Chinese speaker, along with tons of lesson materials, work books and videos on YouTube.
You can book lessons on your time, when it is convenient, and then you’re off and running.
The only drawback is price, Lingo Bus runs around $18 a lesson, but, personally I have found it to be well worth it. Once you have enrolled, there are review materials for each lesson, plus tons of printables and supplementary materials to help your child along the way.
I would recommend if you do enroll in LingoBus that you do your prep and review for each lesson on the iPad app, the PC program isn’t as responsive and tends to be glitchy. The online class platform works well on both PC and tablet platforms however.
If you’re looking to get your child interested in coding, you should check out Kodable. For grades K-5, you’ll find this to be a great introduction to coding and programming language. The kids get to create their own “Fuzz” characters, and use them as they play games and develop critical thinking and problem solving skills.
Tons of fun, this program utilizes drag and drop programming to allow you to design your own games, allowing the kids a chance to show their creative side too!
From Ocean Forests to Amazing Amphibians, these apps are so realistic and immersive it makes you feel like you’re actually there, watching a moray eel spring out of the rocks at the bottom of the ocean, or learning about the lifecycle of frogs in our wetlands. These apps are outstanding for providing immersive reading and science experiences.
From science to grammar, and everything in between, the RosiMosi Learning Games apps for Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 6 are great for mini-lessons. All you need to do is download the app from the App Store!
These games are a personal favorite of mine. Teach your kids algebra and other math concepts through simple games designed to teach them the basics….and beyond. Before you know it, they’ll be doing advanced algebra!
And they won’t even know they are learning, which , let’s be honest, is the goal, right?
Introduce your kids to mechanical engineering in the funnest way possible! In order to make the screen slide to each new stage, they first have to use problem solving to piece together simple machines, using gears and chains.
My daughter was entranced the first time we played this, and still loves to lose herself in this.
This is a must have. Seriously, go download it now.
I’ll wait……….
Did you download? Sigh…..
Go do it!
GoNoodle Kids is a must have for getting your kids moving and grooving, singing and dancing, and having a great time. Keep them active and OUT OF YOUR HAIR ( I knew that would get your attention) with GoNoodle.
Let’s not forget about our kids emotional health as we all hunker down. According to the Mindful Powers App, it is a “kid first, holistic approach to building social emotional learning.”
Teach your child mindfulness and meditation through a series of relaxing exercises developed specifically for children.
Great for bedtime, or anytime, you can get it on the App Store.
For your little ones, or your older kids that need help with printing and forming letters, this is an incredibly handy app to have. You can get it in the App Store but it is also available for android on Google Play.
If you have a budding ballet dancer in your midst, and you want to help them keep up their skills, the Royal Academy of Dance has downloadable dance exercises and lessons all grouped by Grade and Level. Use these videos to develop balance, coordination and creativity, not to mention good posture and great life skills! Available on Google Play and The App Store.
Keeping with the music and dance theme, why not dedicate some time to laying down some tracks and mixing some beats! Explore your kids creative side with this fun and interactive way to experiment with creating awesome music! Great for young and old alike, it’s never too early for music awareness. Let your child be their own composer AND conductor!
Help your child get quiet, restful sleep, and be more more focused and relaxed when they’re awake with this amazing app. Designed so your child can pick the appropriate story/meditation depending on their mood, I guarantee a delightful, tranquil experience.
Addendum: In my haste to get this blog out in answer to the requests from some of my non-homeschooling friends, I missed a few websites we’ve used in the past.
Without further ado, they are: Draw So Cute-a great YouTube video series designed to teach your child how to draw the CUTEST characters (hence the name), Froguts BioLearning-an absolutely fantastic way teach your child biology and anatomy through the coolest virtual dissection ever, Duolingo-for learning any second language of your choice, and MineCraft-which, I’m sure everyone knows by now, but did you also know they have an entire Education Edition?
The upside to all of my additions? They are ALL free or have FREE content during our lockdown…score!
Summary
I hope you find these tips and programs as useful as I have as you embark on your journey of homeschooling during the coronavirus. While not exhaustive, they should be enough to get you started.
Just remember, take it day by day, be gentle with yourself and your kids, and breathe.
You’ve got this!
If you have any apps or curriculum you want to share with everyone, please feel free to share and comment below!
For what seems like the millionth time, I am watching a coaching colleague go through the ringer in their skating club. Devalued, underappreciated, and gas-lighted, my friend is on the verge of leaving behind a successful coaching career because of the anxiety that seems to surround the profession.
Two years ago, I wrote a similar blog about the experiences of another coaching friend. And here we are again.
I know how they feel.
Nearly a year ago now, I hung up my skates. I was so disillusioned and disenfranchised with our profession, and with SkateCanada as a whole, that I swore I would not pay another DIME of my hard-earned money toward an association that did not value their coaches.
So why do so many SkateCanada coaches fall by the wayside? Why are so many figure skating coaches victimized, traumatized and exploited by our association, our clubs, our executive, and sadly even our skating coworkers?
Well, it’s hard to come up with a short answer here. As you can imagine, there are many dynamics at play, and the answer is multi-layered. Before I proceed, I want to stipulate that I am only talking about my experiences with coaching for 30 years in the SkateCanada figure skating club system. I have mostly worked with smaller, less competitive clubs, and have no idea what it would be like to work in a larger, busier club that could offer more money and resources and boasts a positive club culture to boot…..(and blade…see what I did there?)
I also want to stress that what I am about to write is an honest, and unbiased (as unbiased as I can get) representation of my 30 years experience in the Canadian figure skating coaching industry, as well as a summary of the hardships I have witnessed my coaching friends endure over the years.
Read on to find out what problems figure skating coaches face while working in the SkateCanada figure skating club system, and what suggestions I have to fix them!
Problem 1: We Don’t Get Paid What We’re Worth
When you coach figure skating, you are a private contractor, so you are by definition self-employed. This means you don’t get sick days, you don’t get benefits, there is no pension for you to pay into, and there is no holiday pay.
In itself, this is not a problem, the number of things we can write off as expenses for our business helps greatly with regard to taxes, but the problem lies in the perception that people have of figure skating coaches in general.
AAANNNNDDD by people I am referring to those people who serve on the executives of figure skating clubs.
There seems to be an assumption by many people who volunteer to serve on the board/executive of skating clubs that coaches:
Make so much money an hour that we must be rich.
That coaching is our hobby, and not our main source of income.
Some coaches are lucky enough to coach as a hobby, (and how I wish I was one of them), but for many of us, coaching is our profession, our passion, and our main source of income.
Some of us, like me, are single parents to kids with special needs, who rely on that money we make from our coaching to feed and clothe our children and put a roof over their head.
The other misconception is that my fee, which currently is around $40 hourly for group work due to my qualifications, should be enough to sustain me.
Hmmm…..to check out the amount of hours I spent OFF the ice in preparation for my ON ICE time, I actually used a time tracker app from December to February last year. For three months, I scrupulously tracked every minute I spent running the SkateCanada Canskate program.
I spent 6 hours performing work off of the ice for every hour I spent on the ice. Now, to be fair, the club was paying me a higher hourly rate for coordinating the program. I was getting paid $80 an hour for every hour on the ice spent coordinating.
So, let’s do the math…..when all was said and done, I was being paid $11 an hour.
Now add to that that I was only teaching 2 hours of Canskate a week because it was a small club.
That means I was working 14 hours a week, for $11 an hour.
Think you could live on that?
How do you think your self worth would be if you worked for that after spending 30 years taking courses to better yourself in your craft?
But WAIT…it gets even better!
I was only paid that rate for each hour I was on the ice for coordinating. So, when we lost ice due to a holiday or a hockey tournament, even though I was still doing paperwork and admin work at home to make sure the program ran smoothly, I received….duh, duh, DUH…. NOTHING, because I was not ACTUALLY on the ice coaching.
I want to clarify something. These were not bad people. They honestly thought they were paying me a good and decent rate. The problem was, they had no idea what the job entailed, and unfortunately, they weren’t interested in finding out.
They got their moneys worth out of me, that’s for sure. But you know what? I was an idiot for accepting that hourly rate instead of a salary for coordinating, so that’s MY BAD.
Sometimes we get so caught up in wanting to create a great program, in showing loyalty to our club, and in wanting to create something good for the skaters that we forget to look after our own best interests…..
And it’s exactly this work ethic, attention to detail and love of skating that makes skating coaches easy prey for clubs that expect tons of work for little pay.
The other excuse figure skating coaches in small clubs hear constantly is that the club can’t afford to pay them the rate they should be paid at.
Really? I’ve seen the books for most of these small clubs. They could pay for us, they just don’t. The truth is, if you truly regard coaches as one of the most important assets of an organization, then you will move heaven and earth to figure out a way to price your programs and organize your ice time so you CAN pay them.
It’s all about priorities. Hiring and retaining good coaches should be the #1 first priority for a skating club.
A coach who actually cares about setting up a program that will promote excellence and longevity in your membership is an asset that skating clubs need to keep around, and figure skating clubs need to pay their good coaches whatever they need to remain in their clubs.
Solution to this Problem?
Educate every. single. new. executive member about your SkateCanada coaches, their qualifications and years of experience, and the going rate for said qualifications.
Pay your coaches what they are worth, then go back and pay them a little more. Seriously. Do it. According to this entrepreneur.com article, you should pay your good employees “anywhere from 20 percent to 40 percent over market rate.”
In order to afford paying your coaches what they are worth, price your programs intelligently, and book ice accordingly. If you don’t have good coaches, you won’t have good programs, and your club won’t grow, it’s that simple. Find the money, somehow. You’ll be glad you did when you have a healthy, sustainable membership.
After you have figured out how to pay your coaches what they’re worth, throw in some perks. Pay for coaching courses they want to take. Did they do a good job? Give everyone a Christmas bonus of a few hundred dollars. Pay for their SkateCanada membership every year, or pay for their First Aid re-certification courses. When a coach feels supported in their organization, they become loyal to their organization and will move heaven and earth to see it succeed.
Summary of Problem 1: It’s not rocket science. Any and alltime your coaches spend working for your organization they need to be compensated. Full stop. Nuff said. And as for you SkateCanada, asking for coaches to volunteer time and have it written into our contracts is nothing less than exploitation. You can’t train us to be business professionals, and then expect us to work for free. How and when we choose to volunteer is up to us, and should not be mandated.
Problem 2: The Power Lies in the Wrong Hands
Would Nike ask a group of people with no experience in marketing, fashion design, or business to come in and run their company? Would they put them in charge of the marketing decisions and products to be developed?
Sound crazy? Well, it is! But that’s how SkateCanada clubs are set up.
SkateCanada sets its figure skating clubs up as not-for-profit organizations, run by volunteers (mostly parents) of the skaters in the club, who have little to no knowledge of skating itself. Even if they have been skating parents forever, most have little to no coaching experience and have never taken a single course in how to run a SkateCanada program.
This is NOT to say we don’t need volunteers. In a club, we need people to take on the off-ice duties such as fundraising, ice-booking, signing up members, and behind the scenes organization.
The problem is, some executives feel they should have the power to tell coaches how to coach, what to coach and how to run their programs.
And they’re right. In the current SkateCanada system, all the power for hiring, firing and dictating what programs are run, how they are run, and when they are run lies in the hands of the executive.
Look, executives are full of highly capable, intelligent and talented people who willingly give their time and effort back to their community by providing a place for kids to skate.
I have known so many wonderful people on so many executives over the years. The purpose of this post is NOT to blame SkateCanada club executive members. The purpose is to show how silly this system is, and the burdens it puts on volunteers who simply don’t have the experience or training to make informed decisions about the on ice programming.
Now, on top of this lack of experience or training ADD A PERSONAL AGENDA into the mix.
The parents serving on the executives all usually have skaters training within the club. How is it possible to make objective decisions about what is best for the long term health of the club when you have a child that may lose ice due to your decision?
I’ve seen this too many times to count, the programs are all catered toward the best interests and emphasis of each current executive. If you have a good executive, you have good programs that are fair and balanced.
But it only takes one or two people who are misaligned in their approach and philosophies and…well…..all hell breaks loose.
C’mon my coaching friends, I know you’ve seen this before. Clubs can evaporate faster than a fart on the corner of Portage and Maine in the dead of winter when they are mismanaged.
Solution to this Problem?
SkateCanada should re-write the roles and responsibilities for each of it’s club members. They should delegate all off ice activities that do not involve athlete training to the executive, and delegate full authority for ice allocation, amount of ice bookings, and program execution to the coaches.
Let’s call these two branches: the Administrative Team and the Coaching Team
The people with the know-how and experience, in this case, the Coaching Team should be the people running the show on the ice.
Now, here’s where we have to be careful, because sadly, (and I am not excusing myself from this behavior at all, I ain’t all sunshine and rainbows either) sometimes the worst strife in a skating club is caused by coach-on-coach crime.
So, if the coaches are to have full authority and autonomy, how do they police themselves?
I would pose several suggestions:
Clubs should be required to hire a skating administrator/head coach/skating coordinator/head wizard who is themselves a coach. This person is the one with the ultimate decision making authority for what goes on, on the ice. This person is also the one in charge of mediating conflict among coaches, and reaching for outside help to resolve situations when needed.
Even though the head wizard/skating administrator/coaching coordinator has the ultimate decision making power, all coaching issues should first be decided democratically, with timely and recurring (paid) coaches meetings to discuss said issues. In the event of a deadlock on any issue, this is when the skating coordinator would step in to make the final decision.
It goes without saying that the head wizard/coaching coordinator/skating administrator should be carefully vetted by both the Administrative Team AND the Coaching Team, and each should get a vote, but coaches votes should carry more weight.
A hierarchy needs to be created where each coach knows exactly what their roles are, and who they report too. I’ve seen it happen too often where one coach is hired and told they are “in charge” of a program. Then another coach is hired and they are told by another executive member they are “in charge” of that program. As you can imagine, this leads to too many cooks in the kitchen, and much confusion as to who has the final say. This will also stop those coaches with big heads acting like they are the bosses out there when in fact they are NOT. (c’mon, I know you’ve ALL worked with these types….hell, on occasion I’ve BEEN this type.)
All head wizards/coaching coordinators/head coaches should be expected to take leadership courses of their choosing and this should be paid for BY THE CLUB.
SkateCanada should hire and TRAIN mediators whose sole job is to travel and help settle coaching disputes in clubs if they arise and a suitable solution is not able to be reached withing the coaching team. It is not realistic to expect the Administrative Team of an individual club to solve coaching conflicts in an unbiased manner when their skaters are actively engaged with the coaches involved in the conflict on a daily basis. I would also suggest we make these mediators part of a Coaches Union….read further down for more details.
Summary of Problem 2: By dividing up the power in a skating club, and giving coaches more autonomy concerning who they work with, as well as what ice is booked and which programs run, this would alleviate the stress placed on the Administrative Team. As a result, this could make the action of serving on the executive of a skating club a more enjoyable experience for all.
Problem 3: Coaches Are Not Treated In A Professional Manner
If I had a nickel for each time I was spoken to in a unprofessional manner, or talked down to, or admonished by an executive member as if I was a misbehaving child…….I’d have a LOT of nickels…seriously….WAY too many fucking nickels.
“Well,” you’re probably saying….”maybe it’s you? I mean after all, what’s the common denominator here?“
And to that I say, you’re right, I am certainly not perfect.
But it’s. not. just. me.
Countless numbers of coaching friends have shared that they consistently feel devalued, unheard, and often treated like mis-behaving children, all because they are simply attempting to navigate the treacherous political waters at their skating clubs.
I struggle to pinpoint why this occurs, and what makes volunteers in our sport feel they can micro-manage and second-guess professionals who have dedicated their lives to the sport in this manner, but I would propose this occurs because:
Club executives, and particularly the vast majority of presidents, don’t have a working knowledge of coaching or athlete development. By this I mean that even if they have some experience in skating, this is still not equivalent to taking the myriad of coaching courses, seminars and university courses most of us have taken. And they certainly don’t have the years of experience that club coaches have.
Many club executives don’t have a long term vision or goal for the development of the club after they are gone. For most volunteers, they serve on the executive for only a couple of years, some make it to four years, but they are the exception, and not the rule. Simply put-short-term volunteers don’t have the same stake in the success of the club as the coaches, who look to the club for their livelihoods and for job security.
Recently I ruminated to at friend that, that even though the names and faces change within the skating world, the issues all remain the same. And because of it I was becoming disenfranchised and disillusioned with the entire system.
I can’t begin to tell you how tiring it is to just get used to working with an executive; training and educating them regarding how the programs should be run, and finally proving your worth to them so they actually hear and value your opinions, only to have to turn around and repeat this process again in two years timewhen a new executive comes to power.
This endless cycle is exhausting, and it takes a toll on every coach I know. The stress of constantly having to explain our needs, actions or motivations is overwhelming and never-ending. What person wants to endure this kind of treatment year after year?
Yet this is how the SkateCanada club system is set up.
Solutions to this Problem?
I suggest that we go back to basics. In addition to re-distributing the power in Canadian Skating Clubs evenly between the Coaching and Administrative team alike, I propose:
Clubs are mandated to appoint AND pay for a person to be the head of the administrative team. Their job description, first and foremost, will be to work with the head of the Coaching team to communicate what is being done in terms of membership, fundraising etc. and likewise to communicate the activities of the coaching team to the administrative team so the right hand knows what the left hand is doing. If we can keep continuity in a club with a paid position for the Head Administrator, we then stop the vicious cycle of having to retrain new executive members when they are appointed.
By paying the Head Administrator, we place value on the position, and we make them accountable to all the membership as well. This ensures that, as coaches, we will no longer hear the “I’m a volunteer, I don’t get paid to be here” excuse from board members when caught in conflict with executive who feel they can act how they please because we get paid and they don’t. Think I’m kidding? I wish I were. It happens.
We TRAIN our leaders how to be better. Great leadership takes time, and support, to develop. Both the coaching coordinator and head coach should be attending leadership courses, and reading leadership books together. (which, goes without saying, should be paid for by the club.)
Clear channels of communication should be opened and regular meetings need to be scheduled for both the Head Administrator and the Head Wizard Coach. Again, these meetings and all club-related work should be paid for.
One week each season, each executive member should shadow a coach to see the difficulties of the job. Likewise, one week each season, each coach should shadow an executive member to get a better appreciation what life is like in their shoes.
Summary of Problem 3: By tweaking communication and asking for accountability to each other we will create a better understanding of the roles we fill. By seeing the value both the Administrative Team and the Coaching Team bring to the table, we create empathy, compassion and support for all stakeholders.
Problem 4: We Are Our Own Worst Enemy
Let’s pretend we are in the gymnasium scene in the movie Mean Girls. For those of you needing a refresher, here’s a link to the scene in question.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever put-down another coaching colleague during a conversation.
C’mon….be honest.
Now, raise your hand if you’ve ever been told by your students or parents that Coach X told their students you couldn’t teach (insert any skill here.)
If your hand isn’t up by now, you’re not being honest.
We do it all the time. Hell I do it. Now, I will clarify, it’s not like I go around openly dissing other coaches I’ve worked with, I usually reserve my criticisms or concerns about other coaches for private conversations with trusted friends whom I know would never divulge my words.
The point is, we all do it in one form or another.
The question is, why are we so fucking competitive with each other?
I mean, it’s not like there aren’t enough kids to find work for everyone. With the difficulties I’ve witnessed and experienced first-hand in hiring competent and qualified coaches, particularly for smaller or remote clubs, there is MORE than enough work for everyone.
So why do our egos get in the way?
Why do we lash out and tear each other down?
I believe it’s fear. Fear of losing income. Fear of losing face in front of clients. Fear of not measuring up to our inner thoughts about our own abilities.
Now add to the constant messaging by SkateCanada that it’s our job to police each other.
That’s right, you’d better know that Coaches Code of Ethics, in fact, you’d better sign it every year, just in case you need to quote those conflicting and vaguely defined protocols to defend yourself against your coaching co-workers who step out of line.
SERIOUSLY.
According to SkateCanada, we are allowed to promote our services, indeed, we can advertise…but wait….BE CAREFUL, better make sure it’s not seen as soliciting, because that would be bad.
The problem with the whole soliciting issue is, there are so many gray areas that it’s difficult to know where the boundaries lie.
I’ve never intentionally solicited anyone, but when asked questions by parents about coaching philosophies, sometimes it becomes hard to know where the line is and how to NOT cross it.
And this whole thing about making sure a new client has paid their bills to their old coach before they accept them as a student?
Come on.
It’s a beautiful thought. Imagine it. Every coach as honest as the next. All working together in perfect harmony. All following protocols exactly and verifying full payment has been made before starting to teach.
Do you know how many times I’ve gone out of my way to make sure this is taken care of with new students. All the time.
Do you know how many times other coaches have EVER reached out to me to make sure my students have paid their invoices?
In thirty years….maybe 5 times?
And I remember taking a new client a few years back that I had asked the mother specifically if all bills were cleared up. Within 5 minutes of having this conversatiom I then told the coach involved that the student’s mom had approached me for lessons via email Said coach never responded, and she certainly didn’t say anything about having any unpaid invoices.
Suddenly after my first lesson on the ice with this new student, the coach literally berates me for teaching my new student when..(gasp) her final invoice wasn’t paid….even though she had plenty of opportunity to tell me it wasn’t paid before I started her lessons.
Here are my points, and I’m going to be pretty blunt.
Thinking that all coaches will act ethically with regard to how they treat other coaches is a candy-colored unicorn dream. Those of us who actually give a shit about acting ethically are the ones losing out to those who don’t.
And SkateCanada does absolutely nothing about it.
Oh, they say they have harassment and abuse of power clauses and protocols in place.
Has anyone use these and received a satisfactory result?
What about SafeSport through SkateCanada? Well, according to some of Canada’s top athletes, they don’t feel it’s working, and I have to agree. After 7 years of stress in one of the most hostile environments I had every worked in, I turned to SafeSport for help, and the process was a hollow waste of time and effort that produced no solution at all. In fact I ended up leaving my job as a result and suffering a year of financial hardship.
25 years of paying into the SkateCanada system. Of working myself to the bone to be the best coach I could be. Of paying for ALL those coaching courses. Of supporting the athletes and sacrificing so much.
And I was worth nothing to them.
The culture of an organization starts from the top and trickles down. Is it any wonder why coaches run into lack of respect in their own clubs when this happens at the highest level.
So, where do we go from here?
Solutions to this Problem?
Stop expecting coaches to police each other. Pepsi doesn’t police Coca-Cola. And they certainly don’t hesitate to solicit business. Look I’m not saying it’s okay to be unethical, but the rules we have aren’t working. Why not put the resources and effort spent in throwing out vague and conflicting clauses of the dreaded Coaches Code of Ethics at each other and work on developing a system whereby we let our old-fashioned laws of the land handle things like slander.
Each club should be mandated to have a fair and equitable system in place for student allocation. I don’t care how it works, but every single coach in each club should have a fair shot at earning new students.
The Head Coach and Head Administrator should take an interest in coaches as people, sitting down each season and discussing the coaches personal goals, and asking how they can help them achieve these goals. Treat people like they matter, it’s amazing what can come of it.
We need a Coaches Union. I remember decades ago, hearing that a group of coaches were starting one, but it failed to gain traction. Well, my coaching friends, wouldn’t it be nice to have a group of people who were entirely there for our support and defense in times of trouble. Whose ONLY JOB was to help coaches who are in trouble or mediate disputes. Would it be worth a few extra bucks each year in dues? I know I’d pay a little more.
Summing It All Up: I’ve been around long enough in the Canadian Figure Skating system to see figures banished, skills introduced, then revised, interpretive skating become artistic skating, then interpretive AGAIN. I’ve seen a new judging system, the introduction of the Long Term Development Plan, the inception and roll-out of Canskate, and finally, Starskate and coach evaluators all come into play.
SkateCanada has been ever-evolving over the years, and has accomplished some amazing things. So why haven’t any changes been made in how we treat our coaches?
Maybe you can answer that, because I can’t.
Do you have any thoughts on what I’ve written? Feel free to comment and share!
As a coach with 30 years experience working in the Canadian figure skating system, and a skater of 47 years who also amateur coached, (I can’t be that old, can I?) I’ve seen and coached in nearly every variation of learn-to-skate program offered by SkateCanada. From the N.S.T. program, to Parent-and-Tot, to Learn-to-Skate, and EVERYTHING in between, I’ve seen them, coached them, and in some cases coordinated them all.
This latest iteration is simply called Canskate, and has been presented to the SkateCanada membership as something akin to the second coming of Christ. Now, at nearly a decade since its introduction, we’ve all had a chance to get to know the program inside and out. After coaching the program for several years, and running it this past year, I thought I’d like to list my review of the best, and worst features of this heralded program. (in my humble opinion)
Interested in finding out if SkateCanada Canskate is worth the hype? Read on!
Organization
As the person who nearly orgasms just by walking into Staples at the beginning of the skating year with visions of file folders and binders and training plans -oh my!!-I have to admit, I am truly impressed with the level of organization the Canskate program brings to the table.
SkateCanada has created a manual that provides the clubs and coaches with everything you need to know to administrate the program, such as:
Founding philosophies behind the program.
An intensive list of “who” should be doing “what” and “when.”
Templates for EVERYTHING from program assistant (otherwise known as PA) training, to parent newsletters, to suggested time allocation for groupings depending on the length of your session, and so on and so on.
Seriously. Kudos to SkateCanada for the thought and level of organization they put into this program and the Canskate manual they created so the program can be re-produced by the clubs it is meant for.
As someone who thrives on organization (indeed, I am often accused of doing TOO much for my programs) the SkateCanada Canskate program hits a home-run with its level of organisation. If you have the resources, all you need to do is study the manual, follow the plan, and literally reap the rewards of a happy membership.
Rating for Organization 10/10
Fun
This program, done right, is CRAZY fun for the students. With the colorful props, constant movement, easy to follow circuits, group activities for warm-up and cool down, not to mention stimulating music, there is endless color, motion and challenge for young skaters.
Done correctly, the Canskate program should be a fun ride for neurotypical kids with no disabilities. However, if you are a child who struggles with sensory issues, neurodiversity, or disabilities, then this program may not be for you.
As the parent of a neurodiverse child, and a coach with years of experience, I can tell you that this program is simply “too much” for many children who are simply bombarded by all the sensory stimulation. Think of it. If you are already wired to perceive loud noises, lights, or too much movement as painful, then the Canskate program would be incredibly overwhelming.
We see this in many of the pre-skate students who are just starting out. Often, the slipperiness of the ice, the huge size of the surrounding space, the loud music we play for warm-up and the fluorescent lights are simply too much for them to process and they shut down.
Sadly, the prevailing attitude from many parents and many coaches is to let a child sit on the ice and cry rather than let them skate back to their parents at the boards for a much needed break. They think it’s tough love, or dealing with problematic behavior, often not realizing that some children may not actually have the capacity to listen, pay attention or regulate their emotions.
I feel strongly that blaming this behavior on the child for “being bad” or blaming the parents for a lack of stern parenting is simply…….well…..being ignorant of these issues.
Note: This never, ever happens on my watch. In my humble opinion, letting a child sit on the ice and cry until they skate, particularly for a child with unique needs and challenges, is nothing less than child abuse.
While some of this behaviour may indeed be acting out for “normal” kids (I use the term normal very warily, there really is no “normal” anymore), SkateCanada dropped the ball by not providing any information about how to recognize possible neurodiversity or disability.
Yes, I can already hear the defenders saying, “but there are waivers that parents are expected to sign before signing up for the Canskate program, and there certainly IS a question that asks for disclosure of special conditions!”
For that argument I would pose three statements.
Many parents don’t disclose their child’s special needs.
Many parents don’t know their child has special needs yet as they are still searching for a diagnosis.
Most coaches and certainly most program assistants are not trained or qualified to coach special needs students.
Often there is simply not enough man-power or volunteer helpers to give children requiring extra attention the help they desperately need.
All in all, while tailor made to be TONS OF FUN for typical kids, sadly, many kids that aren’t so typical may not find it as much fun.
Rating for Fun 5/10
Effectiveness
Next to fun for the skaters, this is perhaps the most important category. Does the SkateCanada Canskate program teach children how to skate effectively?
Well, YES……and…..no.
With it’s constant movement, the Canskate program is designed to keep the kids moving at minimum 90-95% of the time. This is a wonderful goal, given what we know about children’s attention spans these days. The Canskate program keeps the kids constantly learning and practicing their skating skills by virtue of carefully drawn out circuits, which the students follow repeatedly, with direction from their program assistants.
The sticking point here is not that they are moving or practicing, but that they are not purposefully practicing.
Here’s what we know about motor learning.
When we learn a new skill, we form connections from our brain to the muscles required to perform that skill. This connection is called a motor neuron. Think of it like a computer program.
Every time we perform that skill, the neuron we use to do so is coated with a fatty sheath called myelin.
Myelin makes the nerve signal travel faster down the motor neuron. The more we perform the skill, the more myelin is sent to encase that neuron, the easier and faster we are able to perform that particular skill. Not to mention more signals can now travel down that neuron because it keeps getting bigger.
If you’ve ever heard the terms “muscle memory” or “automaticity” then you’d realize that myelination is the mechanism by which we achieve the state of flow in our performance where we don’t actually have to think to accomplish a skill.
BUT HERE’S THE CATCH. IF YOU PERFORM THE SKILL INCORRECTLY, THE NEURON YOU USE FOR THE INCORRECT MOVEMENT WILL BECOME MYELINATED MORE THAN THE MOTOR NEURON FOR THE CORRECT TECHNIQUE.
This means you are developing a bad habit, because the brain and nervous system will always choose the faster, bigger, more myelinated neuron to perform the skill.
Bad habits acquired in Canskate will follow skaters through the rest of their career unless countless hours of practice are spent in constant repetition of the CORRECT technique.
Look, the optics are GREAT when there are 60 kids on the ice all moving around and never sitting still, but the truth is, for smaller clubs, often there is only one coach available, therefore the students are only receiving qualified instruction for 1/3 to 1/4 of the time.
The rest of the time skaters are left in the hands of program assistants whose job is expressly stated in the Canskate manual as “to guide” but “not to coach.”
This worries me. This means that for MOST of the time each skater performs a skill on a Canskate circuit, they may be performing it incorrectly, or with poor technique, therefore myelinating those sub-optimal pathways.
Given that most clubs have only fully implemented the new Canskate for approximately 8 years now, we haven’t seen the new crop of competitive elite skaters who have graduated from the program. It will be interesting to compare competitive results of those who started their skating careers in this new Canskate program with those who came before it.
Look, parents want their kids to be moving. As a parent of a competitive dancer AND a competitive coach, I expect to see my daughter moving instead of standing around. But, it’s the quality of instruction that we should also keep in mind. We need a program that allows us to provide an affordable way for kids learn to skate that is appealing to ALL involved.
This is how we build the base for club programs, and it is critical for a skating clubs survival that it is done effectively.
I realize that realistically, only a handful of skaters will continue from the Canskate program to StarSkate or the Competitive program, but surely, quality should start from the very beginning of our instruction?
If you are interested in learning more about how myelination affects motor learning, check out the book “The Talent Code” by Daniel Coyle. You can read my book review here.
(I do NOT receive any money for reviewing books or advertising them. It’s incredibly important that I only recommend books that have helped me with my coaching journey and I feel could help you.)
Rating for Effectiveness 7/10
Ice Usage
I love, love, love the way the Canskate program is laid out on the ice. Done correctly, the program covers the entire ice by virtue of a well thought out structure and design.
Perhaps my favorite innovation in the SkateCanada Canskate program is the use of both inside circuits and outside circuits, so ALL areas of the ice are maximized for the skaters use.
For example, one circuit will be drawn outside the perimeter of the square of ice from the blue-line to the boards, providing one group of students a set of skills to follow and practice, and another circuit will be drawn utilizing the inside area of that square for a second group to use.
This allows coaches to put a maximum number of skaters in a small area in a safe and organized way. This is crucial for the success of programs in small clubs, for in order for them to be sustainable, they need to maximize participants to offset ice cost.
Combine the use of inside and outside circuits with a fast track surrounding the perimeter for use for warm-up, speed drills, transitions, and anything else the coordinator wants to use it for, and it makes for a tight, effective design for ice usage.
Some tips that we found that might help, ( I can’t take any credit for thinking of these things myself, I’ve been lucky enough to work with wonderful and innovative people than ensured the program ran smoothly.)
When using inside and outside circuits, draw them on the ice with different colors of marker or bingo dabber, otherwise it’s too difficult for the kids to follow.
Always allow a few feet between the inside and outside circuit so beginning skaters with little control don’t run the risk of colliding.
Make sure you draw the start of the circuit CLEARLY and in big letters with BIG arrows for the direction of flow, then make sure to put the START of the inside and outside circuits that are sharing the same space in DIFFERENT places. If they are too close together, the skaters (and the PA’s) will get confused.
During warm-up for the fast track for the Canskate students, take the Pre-Canskate students to a dressing room where they can practice basic skills like falling down, getting up, balancing on two feet, and marching on the stable ground in a quiet environment before hitting the ice. When the Canskate warm-up is done, and the students are in their groups and off the fast track, then it is safe and easy to guide the Pre-Canskate students across the fast track and into their allotted lesson area.
All in all, the SkateCanada Canskate program scores max points for ice usage. This is one smartly and efficiently designed program in terms of ice flow and usage.
Rating for Ice Usage 10/10
Implementation
Out of curiosity, I decided to download a time tracking app and track the time I spent outside of the regular Canskate lesson time for things such as set-up, take-down, organizing the weekly schedules, keeping track of PA’s, writing e-mails, creating music playlists, printing and updating attendance lists and group records, writing report cards, preparing for PA training and actually PA training, communicating with coaches, writing newsletters for parents, etc., etc., etc..
Want to know how much time it takes to run a Canskate program well? (Yes, we ran a stellar Canskate program, I could be humble here, but……why?)
For every hour on-ice for Canskate I was spending an average of 6 hours off ice to coordinate it.
Yes, you heard me, one hour on, and six hours off.
Even if you are getting paid an increased hourly wage of $40 or even $60 per session, that still works out to a shitload of work for WAAAAAYYYYYY less than minimum wage.
This is why IMPLEMENTATION is the area of greatest concern for me, and possibly for some of you that have struggled to deliver this program as it is outlined.
I’ve taught and coordinated a LOT of programs in my life, and this one was by far the most work I have ever encountered. With the drawing of circuits, to the daily retrieval and storage of huge amounts of props and learning aids, to keeping track of daily lessons and rotations, the list is never-ending and it takes a huge toll, both physically and mentally.
Now add to that the other issue when it comes to implementation.
You need to have enough people to do the Canskate program properly.
This means you NEED to have enough coaches on the ice, you NEED a coordinator, and you need TONS of good PA’s who are willing to learn, take direction and are committed to the training required to be a program assistant.
I think you can see where I’m going with this?
Look, with the increase in the cost of living, affordable housing skyrocketing and both parents in families working more and more, that means there is less time for volunteering and less ability for people to get their kids out to volunteer opportunities.
Not to mention, (and I know I may offend some people), but not all volunteers are created equal, and not all coaches are either. As coordinator, it is a never-ending and often thankless task to try and figure out how to best keep your volunteers happy so they will keep coming back, but to also make sure the lessons are taught with the coach or volunteer who is best suited to that level or that task.
Often, just managing the PA’s or volunteers, (some of whom are amazing and you wish you had 10 more of, and some of whom are never on time, never follow direction and require constant monitoring), is a job in and of itself.
The worst feeling in the world is looking at a full sheet of ice, knowing you have to draw 6 circuits, set up props for those circuits and re-organize your coaches, all within 5 minutes!
Now, add in the fact that you know your coaches and PA’s will be angry because they only want to teach their circuit. Why? Well, because it is within their comfort zone and they only want to be the “master” of their circuit, but you have no other choice because one coach has just called in to say they aren’t coming, three volunteers aren’t able to show, and you are now missing 5 PA’s with the flu.
Never mind that your back is breaking from the strain of already lugging all the props and materials out of storage, and you’re not getting anywhere near enough of the pay you should be for this, yet it’s all on you to figure it out for the 45 skaters who are about to hit the ice and expect a good lesson.
Oh yeah, and be supportive and set a good example for everyone while you’re doing this, ok?
Never-mind that after the fact everyone (parents and board members alike) will be a critic and feel they can weigh in on your performance, even though they have not even a tenth of an idea of how much work this program is to pull off.
See where I’m coming from?
Look, (and I’m looking squarely at you SkateCanada), this isn’t a club-level problem, it’s a problem with how you’ve got the club system set up and the way you expect coaches to be remunerated for their jobs for programs like Canskate.
Canskate coordinators do not get near enough pay for what they are doing, and I will say the same about any coach for group programs. It is customary for coaches to only charge half their hourly on-ice fee for off-ice work.
To this I say BOLLOCKS! Coaches with years of experience and solid credentials are highly skilled and rare individuals and should be paid what they’re worth both on and off the ice at the same rate.
When you pay a highly skilled individual only half the amount they should be paid for off-ice work, you de-value their work. When you incorporate things like “mandatory volunteer hours” into their contracts, it becomes exploitation, pure and simple.
So, all in all, while I am a big fan of this program, the systems in place to support it in most small to medium-sized clubs just aren’t there, and the expectation that coaches should work for nothing is frankly, unacceptable.
SkateCanada needs to do better. Yup, I said it, and I’ll keep saying it until changes are made.
Rating for Implementation 3/10
Buy-In
What does “buy-in” mean? Well, this means that the club membership, from coaches, down to board members all have to buy-in to the Canskate program and decide it is worth the effort it takes to run it, and worth the money it takes to pay for people to coordinate it and coach on it.
I personally think the Canskate program is the most important program the club has, and should be thought of as ‘long-term investment” for the longevity and success of the club.
I love the Canskate program. I believe that with a few minor tweaks, it could be phenomenal for helping young skaters develop a life-long love of skating, and even better, it could ignite that competitive spark for those who develop a passion for it, like I did.
The problem is, there are so many hurdles to overcome in order to run this program. When you factor in the workload, the volunteers and manpower required, and the knowledge and training that are mandatory to make it successful, many clubs either can’t run it the way it was meant to be run, or to be honest, some clubs and coaches simply choose not to run it.
SkateCanada has gone over and above with promoting the Canskate program. Opportunities for training abound, plus there are tons of incentives for those who run a great Canskate program, but let’s face it, even though they say that clubs are expected to follow the program as it was intended, and we know that a club could have it’s sanction revoked for not following it….this hasn’t happened yet.
Quite frankly, I don’t think SkateCanada has the money or the means to make visits to clubs and monitor and police how they implement their Canskate programs, and just as frankly, they shouldn’t have to.
But the sad fact is, many clubs, coaches and yes, even board members haven’t bought in to the benefits of this new program.
I hope in time this will change, I’ve seen the benefits it can have, and with the cost of ice increasing rapidly, the future of small clubs may come to depend on their ability to move away from single coaching and toward a group coaching format that can pack as many bodies safely on the ice for training.
I guess we’ll wait and see.
Rating for Buy-In 6/10
Content
When I say content, I am talking about the skating skills we teach on Canskate and the different areas of focus, such as warm-up and cool down.
My favorite thing about the SkateCanada Canskate program is its focus on teaching skating skills for all ice sports, so when a skater is done, they may choose figure skating, hockey, ringette, or speed skating. I love this approach, and salute the creative team who put together the stages, fundamental areas and skills. This is a well thought out and easily follow-able pathway to skating competency.
I love the way the Canskate program utilizes the fast track for developing speed, and I also love the circuits themselves, they are fun, and colorful.
One note I have found over the years, is that we shouldn’t allow the skaters to stay in a fundamental area on the same circuit for more than about 5-7 minutes. Kids these days simply get too bored and need more stimulation, so I have found that it’s better to do more rotations each session than the manual actually prescribes.
Keep in mind, this differs for differently-abled children or neurodivergent children who may need an entirely different learning plan than the one followed by the masses.
Another note: I found if you want to utilize the fast track during each allotted stage/circuit time frame, you might want to have large cardboard arrows placed on the glass around the rink with sticky putty, and as coordinator, you can switch these arrows during warm up and during each rotation to show the direction of movement on the fast track so everyone stays safe.
My only big concern with the content of the Canskate sessions is there is no allotted free time for the kids. Look, these little kids are structured from the moment they get up, throughout their school day, and for our entire Canskate session. Whey not allow for some free time for them to practice what they learn, explore the space they are in, and learn how to interact with each other for 10 minutes at the end of the session.
The science backs me up.
According to study after study, scientists are shouting from the rooftops about the need for unstructured play, and its benefits both socially, emotionally and cognitively cannot be understated.
But scientists have learned that free play isn’t just something children like to do—it’s something they need to do. It exercises their minds and their creativity. More than anything else, play teaches children how to work together and, at the same time, how to be alone. It teaches them how to be human.”
Time Magazine: The Secrets of Childhood, Inside the Minds of Our Younger Selves
So while I love nearly everything about the content of the Canskate program, I would love to see some time allowed for fun, unstructured play for its participants.
Rating for Content 8/10
Opportunities for Mentorship
This topic is near and dear to my heart. I strongly feel that it is our duty to help mentor and guide young coaches as they start on their journey. Coaching is not an easy profession, and there are often more negatives than positives.
Canskate provides the perfect opportunity for young coaches and skaters to test the waters as they learn basic coaching techniques surrounded by supportive mentors.
In theory, every club should have a supportive culture and a philosophy of empowerment, but in practice, this is harder than it looks.
I feel that there should be more attention placed on the mentorship and guidance aspect of the Canskate (and the Star Program) and those coaches involved should be provided with paid leadership courses which can give them the tools necessary to create a positive and nurturing culture for PA’s and fledgling coaches alike.
Leadership ain’t easy. As a person who struggles with it, I can attest to the fact we need more emphasis on how to be positive, encouraging and supportive leaders for our membership. This would only benefit us all.
Interested in mentorship in coaching, why it’s important, and how you can get on board? Check out the Guide from from Coach.ca.
Rating for Membership Opportunities 6/10
Summing It All Up
As you can see, I am a fan of the SkateCanada Canskate program, but after working as a coach on it, and implementing it as a coordinator, I would love to see some small tweaks to both the program itself AND the underlying club system supporting it.
If feel that if we REALLY want to look toward the future growth and sustainability of our sport as we see prices rise and wages drop, we need to get more creative than ever, open ourselves up to feedback, and work together to make the SkateCanada Canskate even better for everyone involved.
Final Score for the SkateCanada Canskate program: 6/10
Any Canskate coaches or coordinators out there? What are your thoughts on the program? Do you agree with any of these ratings? Disagree? Sound off in the comments below and share to your friends! Let’s start a conversation!
Note: I do NOT currently receive any perks or money from my reviews. My goal is to give my HONEST opinion about books and resources that can help anyone be a better coach, administrator, mentor or parent.
In time when I build up membership, I may participate in affiliate marketing, but, I will only recommend products on my site that I believe to be the best quality and the most educational.
My Rating for “Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators and Icons AccelerateSuccess“: 9/10
Overview: For any coach who has wondered if there was a
better way of teaching a skill, or for any club administrator who spends hours
trying to find new and innovative ways to schedule programs for maximum
efficiency this book is for you.
For those of you who don’t like to challenge the status quo, and who believe in doing things as they have always been done….. well…. this book may change your mind.
As the author, Shane Snow, writes: Smartcuts is a book that studies the “patterns through which rapid successes and breakthrough innovators achieved the incredible.” Snow explains that through his studies of pioneers in various fields, he has created a “framework for breaking convention” which “explains how people do so much with less.”
Sound interesting? Perhaps appropriate for youth sport organizations? Read on.
As coaches, we all ascribe to the conventional wisdom of working our way up the ladder, both in our careers and in how we train our students. Smartcuts debunks this theory, suggesting that instead of climbing the ladder, we should create our own ladder and develop the self-awareness to determine when it is time to make our lateral move over to it.
This is only the first method Snow uses to illustrate all
the ways people can create spectacular successes in their lives and each
consecutive method will spark light bulb moments of either recognition
from your own experiences of past triumphs, or discovery of new ideas
that may propel you to the next level in your career or life.
For those of you who feel constrained by our conventional systems of learning in sport, and in life, this book outlines why YOU may actually be the next great pioneer simply by challenging the status quo.
Smartcuts speaks to the rebel in all of us.
Best Feature of this
Book: Snow has whittled this book
down into 9 basic strategies for creating a smarter, more efficient way to
success, and explains each strategy through entertaining anecdotes of real
success stories. This personal touch
allows the reader to become engaged in each tactic, and identify with each
story, driving home the lesson encased in each chapter.
Pros: Snow is obviously an expert in the subject
matter, and his intelligence and passion for the subject matter reaches out
from the page and captures the interest of the reader from start to finish.
Every person can find a little bit of themselves in the narrative, and will
finish the book feeling inspired for their next adventure or project.
Cons: Many of the
principles in this book relate more to business practices than athletics,
however all of the theories listed for success are easily modified and adapted
in order to increase chances of success, and decrease the time it
takes to achieve that success for coaches, skaters and organizations alike.
Conclusion: Smartcuts is an excellent and eye-opening read that will leave you inspired, invigorated and chomping at the bit to create your own Smartcut to a more successful you. I highly recommend Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success for anyone looking to take a firmer hand in their own destiny.
Have you ever had to create your own ladder? Share stories of your SMARTCUTS in the comments below!
BellaZinga.Blog 