Most coaches who start the NCCP’s Competition Introduction pathway want to finish it. Many don’t. In cycling, only about 8% of the people across Canada who started Competition Introduction between 2014 and 2023 finished it. In the other sports I studied, the average sat at 30 to 32%.
For my master’s research at Royal Roads University, I set out to understand why. I gathered data from 67 coaches, coach developers and instructional designers across 11 Canadian sports.
The headline finding: certification isn’t only a teaching-and-learning issue. Design, motivation, access and support all shape who finishes. That’s good news for sport organizations, because we control most of the design, access and support.
The old model treats every coach the same: one course, one portfolio, and good luck. A modern approach designs the pathway around the learner. Here are three places to start.
1. Make the pathway clear
Clarity came up as one of the most common barriers. Coaches weren’t always sure what they had completed, what came next, or how long it would take. When the next step looks unclear, a busy volunteer simply stops.
What you can do:
- Publish a one-page map of the pathway, with each step, how long it takes and what it costs.
- After every workshop, tell coaches exactly what their next step is and when to take it.
- Show coaches the evaluation requirements on day one, so nothing surprises them at the end.
- Design for each type of learner. A club assistant, a ride leader and a competition coach need different competencies, so give each group a course built for it. At Cycling BC, that thinking produced Club Assistant and Ride Leader Training.
2. Lower the cost and time barriers, and give coaches reasons to finish
Coaches with higher household incomes, access to incentives and paid coaching roles more often completed training and certification. In other words, the current system works best for the coaches who need it least.
What you can do:
- Offer subsidies or bursaries, especially for volunteer coaches.
- Connect certification to something meaningful: a paid role, a recognition program, or priority for team or event positions.
- Offer flexible scheduling and online options so certification fits around work and family.
3. Match the evaluation to the learning, and stay with coaches after the course
One theme stood out in my thesis: the evaluation often doesn’t match the learning. Courses run hands-on and collaborative, then the final step asks coaches to complete a written portfolio alone. The course is often the easy part. Coaches get stuck on the evaluation, the practice and the follow-through, usually on their own.
What you can do:
- Offer flexible evaluation methods, such as video submissions as well as in-person observations.
- Pair each new coach with an experienced mentor through the evaluation stage.
- Check in a few weeks after each workshop with a short, personal message.
- Treat certification as the minimum, not the finish line. NCCP evaluators score coaches out of 3 on each criterion, and 2 passes. Give every coach who passes a path, and the support, to reach 3 out of 3.
Match your role to the coach in front of you
Behind all three changes sits one shift: design coach education around the learner, not the curriculum. In my thesis I proposed a model I call SHAPE, the Sport-Harmonized Action Plan for Education. It builds on Grow’s staged self-directed learning model and matches the coach developer’s role to the coach’s experience:
- Instructor: for new coaches who need clear direction and quick, positive feedback.
- Motivator: for developing coaches who are starting to connect theory and practice.
- Moderator: for experienced coaches who learn best through questions and reflection.
- Mentor: for self-directed coaches who seek out new knowledge through their own networks.
In practice, that means facilitators who guide first, moderate when people disagree, and instruct only when a gap really matters, especially for safety. Before you step in, ask yourself W.A.I.T.: Why am I talking? Does something need to be said? Am I the best person to say it? Is now the right time?
Coaches bring different motivations, personalities and learning preferences. Programs that recognize those differences, with relevant content, flexible evaluation and real support, will see more coaches finish. The athletes those coaches serve will feel the difference too.
You can read the full thesis or my plain-language summary. If you’re working on coach education in your sport and want to talk it through, I’d be glad to connect.