Required Coaching Certification

Being a coach is both rewarding and a whole lot of fun. You don't need to be a superstar skier but it does require commitment and some competency on skis, skiing both uphill and downhill. You should be able to ski most trails confidently.

Don't worry, many coaches started out uncertain of their abilities. The Hollyburn Jackrabbit Ski Club is a supportive environment for you to develop your skiing and coaching skills.

Once you have decided that you want to be a coach, the club sponsors your training. The first course is Introduction to Community Coaching, which introduces you to the Jackrabbit program and coaching. This is a day-long course that allows you to coach Bunnies (up to age six). The second course is the Advanced Community Coaching course, which runs over a Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday in classroom and on-snow sessions. It will allow you to teach Jackrabbits (non-competitive). These courses are normally offered in December and January before the regular Jackrabbit and Bunny program starts. Insurance coverage requires all coaches to have both courses as a minimal requirement, even if you are only planning on coaching Bunnies. Please check the event calendar for the exact dates of these courses.

The two courses will instruct you in various coaching and teaching strategies, proper ski technique, class management, and games and drills for teaching cross-country skiing. Your skiing will definitely improve and you will gain a new understanding of the sport of cross-country skiing.

Our club also offers in-house training sessions before the start of the programs to familiarize you with the teaching terrain at the Cypress Mountain Cross Country ski area and to let you network with the other club coaches. Our experienced coaches are the backbone of our club and have lots of great ideas to share. Whenever possible, we attempt to pair new coaches with experienced coaches.

Additional Coaching Certification

If you would like to coach with the racing program, you need to complete competition coaching courses under Cross Country Canada's Coach Development Model, starting with the Learning to Train dryland and on-snow courses.

The National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) has recently completed a transition to a Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET) structure. For more details on all the NCCP coaching courses and information on the CBET program, go to the Cross Country Canada website at http://www.cccski.com/main.asp?cmd=cat&ID=76&lan=0.

There is also training available with the Canadian Association of Nordic Ski Instructors (CANSI). There are four levels of cross-country certification and two levels of Telemark certification. CANSI focus on the teaching of recreational cross-country skiing. The skiing standard for the Level 1 CANSI is much higher than NCCP Level 1. The Level 1 CANSI course is two days in length with an optional three hour pre-course. Candidates must be able to classic and skate ski at a strong ability.

CANSI certification is not needed to teach Jackrabbits, however, many of our advanced level coaches have both NCCP and CANSI certification. The club supports further training if you are interested.

For more information on volunteering as a coach contact the Training Coordinator or send us an e-mail.