It’s that time of year when cross country ski clubs are looking for new coaches to join their coaching ranks. Due to attrition, it is a constant search. The success of a club is due to many things, but the club coaches have a large part in this. This is my story, and is about the joy I get from being a coach.

This past week while out night skiing with my group, I was reminded of why I am passionate about this sport. Firstly, I love cross country skiing. It helps me stay in shape through an activity that gets me into the outdoors, close to nature, and with like minded people. However, being out skiing and coaching my Track Attack group for the first time this season was exciting. The stars were bright, the snow was good. After the summer away from skiing, the kids were excited to see their ski friends, and to ski the trails and the terrain park. Some days it’s tough to get up to ski practice after a long, challenging day at work. Once I’m there though, I come away energized and in a positive frame of mind.

My Journey

Many parents begin by coaching some of their children’s sports teams. Sports such as soccer, baseball, and hockey first come to mind. I was no different than many parents. With some sports I was pretty much left to my own methods, while with others coach training was available. Fortunately for me, I got involved in coaching in the sport of cross country skiing, and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Its been a 26 year (and counting), journey for me, and it is a journey about which I am passionate about.

My journey began in the Caribou Region of B.C. in a town called 100 Mile House. One of my co-workers was a key figure in the local cross country ski club, the 100 Mile Nordics. My wife and I were wanting to get involved with the club, and registered our 2 daughters in the learn to ski program. In those days it was called the BC Rabbit Program. Being young, with young children, and being an active outdoors kind of guy, I was a prime candidate for recruitment.

I jumped in with both feet to not only become a parent of a Rabbit skier, but also a Rabbit coach. That winter I took my first two courses in the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP for short). My club was 100% supportive paying for the course fees, and hosting the course at our club trails. The instructor, was also a club member, and he became one of my first mentors. He helped instill in me a love for the sport.

Armed with my level 1 technical course materials and lesson plans, which I found to be extremely useful, I began coaching. A friend and I were assigned to coach in a group with an experienced coach. Jim was an all around pleasure to watch coach the kids, and to learn from. His children were adults, but here he was still coaching the Rabbits, and mentoring people like us. The youngsters we were coaching were about ages 6-8 years of age, and my daughter was in this group. After my first season, there was not doubt that I was hooked on coaching cross country skiing.

At the end of the season I was able to take the level 1 coaching theory course with NCCP. Within the year I was a certified NCCP level 1 coach.

I advanced to the level 2 courses and became even more enamoured with coaching. Then, Cross Country Canada and the provincial sport organizations revamped the coaching programs to follow the Long Term Athlete Development Model (LTAD). As before, the course materials and the facilitators were excellent. They provided people new to coaching with hands on lessons plans and materials to support them in coaching young people.

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to coach young skiers from age 6 to 16 years of age at the club level. Introducing the young skiers to competition was part of our program, and the vast majority enjoyed racing. As they grew older it was more than just learning how to ski, but they learned about setting goals, training, organization and planning, learning how to handle victory and defeat, being appreciative of those that supported them, and giving back to the sport.

My daughters, Layah and Emily, were amongst the children I coached. Being dad and coach at the same time can have it’s challenges. However, it was certainly extremely satisfying not only watching my own children develop and have success, but all the kids I taught.

Some days I wondered if my message was getting through, especially with my own children. Layah, my oldest daughter, had been given the opportunity to go to the Cross Country BC fall dryland and glacier ski camp. She returned home full of stories about the new friends she had made and the things they experienced. I overheard her say to my wife “mom, the coaches at the camp were teaching us the same things Dad has been.” Needless to say, that was a little bit of validation for me, and I was relieved to hear that some things were sinking in.

As my coaching career developed I had the opportunity to become a learning facilitator for new coaches. This pushed me out of my comfort zone, but I found that helping new coaches from all walks of life, with their own experiences, to enter into the coaching ranks, very satisfying.

I recognized that adults new to the sport of cross country skiing were increasingly in need of and wanting cross country ski instruction. So I decided to take some CANSI (Canadian Association of Nordic Ski Instructors) training. A fellow club member and CANSI instructor was facilitating a course at my club so I signed up. It was and excellent program and, I incorporate CANSI and NCCP materials weekly as I teach adults and my youth ski group.

The Benefits of Coaching

• you learn how to become a better skier. I really started to learn how to cross country ski in my first course with the on snow technique sessions. Subsequent courses, and club mentoring by senior coaches allowed me to improve my abilities.
• you learn instructional (teaching) methods and techniques that enable you to teach the skills to others. I became a much better communicator, and learned how to properly demonstrate a technique and to provide feedback in a safe environment.
• you are provided with well researched materials i.e. lesson plans, games that teach skills, visual demonstrations, etc.
• there is a well established coaching methodology that is regularly updated.
• there is a supportive coaching community for mentorship and guidance at the club, provincial and national levels.
• you can be a positive role model for youth, and learn to guide youth as they take their first steps into the sport including competition.
• it is satisfying to watch children and youth learn the techniques you teach, and to grow not only in the sport, but as individuals.
• teaching children a sport they will have for life. My daughter, Emily, left the sport in her teens. Now that she has her own children she wants to get return to the sport, and get her young family cross country skiing.
• teaching something helps you to become extremely good at doing it. There is no doubt in my mind that my skiing is at the level it is today due to my being a coach.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. If you speak to other coaches I am sure they will describe many other benefits they get from coaching.

A Word About Competition

I believe that an introduction to competition is an important part of a healthy and thriving cross country ski program. The skills the young skiers can develop from being in races are many. Things like goal setting, challenging themselves, physical and mental preparation (for older skiers), organization and planning, how to handle defeat and victory, learning and adaptation, proper diet and hydration etc. All are important skills that young people can apply to many areas, not just cross country ski racing general.

Both of my daughters started racing when they were 6 years of age and competed into their teens. They still talk about the friends they made from other parts of BC and even out of province, the places they got to visit, throwing snowballs at the boys after the race, etc. It helped them to grow and mature as individuals.

As you can see from the items I listed, the coach has a major role to play when introducing children to competition. I always thought of it as introducing them to competition in a fun filled, low key kind of way. I enjoyed getting my skiers ready to race, and guiding them at the event. The days were long, and jam packed, but I loved every minute of it. I’ll talk about this more extensively in my next post.

I hope that this blog, “The Joy of Being a Coach” has sparked your interest to become one. It has changed me, it has shaped who I am, and given me so much joy. Feel free to come and chat with me about it or contact me through my website.

See you on the trails or better yet, coaching the kids.

Roy, the XC Ski Guy