Spring Months See Increased Engagement in Coach Education in Ontario
Throughout the year there’s typically a few pockets of time for coach education courses to be run in Ontario. These are the ‘in-between’ times on the rowing schedule where dedicated coaches are spending less time on the water and at the boat house and have more time for themselves.
During these times, Row Ontario partners with rowing clubs throughout the province to run coach education workshop for coaches who are looking to advance their skillsets, improve their knowledge base, or generally move up the coach education ladder. One of the pockets on the schedule is the early Spring, after the indoor rowing season has ended and before many clubs are back out on the water preparing for the outdoor season. The Spring of 2025 has been a busy time for coaches in Ontario, as both the number of coach education workshops and coaches participating in the workshops are near record highs.
Since April 1st, 97 Ontario coaches have participated in ten coaching workshops, with the type of workshops a mix of Learn-to-Row Coach, RCA Coach Weekend #1, RCA Coach Weekend #2 and Coastal Coach. They’ve also been hosted throughout Ontario, with eight coaches attending an LTR workshop in Thunder Bay, 17 coaches attending a Weekend #1 in Sudbury, and 16 coaches from Eastern Ontario attending an LTR workshop and nine attending a Weekend #1 in Ottawa respectively. Other workshops have also been hosted virtually as well as in St. Catharines, Guelph, and Toronto.
“Over the winter and early spring of 2025, I completed the RCA Learn-to-Row Coach Workshop and RCA Coach Weekend #1,” said Jen Pouliot, who took part in Ottawa coaching workshops. “Since then, I have begun applying the knowledge and skills I acquired to greatly improve my coaching of adult learners and recreational rowers at our club. This training is incredibly valuable, and I have not only broadened my technical knowledge of the three R’s (Rowing, Rigging and Racing), but also taken my coaching skills to a whole new level of proficiency. Most importantly, I am getting great feedback from participants on the new approaches I’ve adopted. Learning alongside other coaches and completing the group work (that is built in to both these training opportunities) was a total bonus that gave me practical experience using more effective training strategies in a highly supportive learning environment – this has both greatly boosted my confidence and provided me with an amazing peer network I can now rely on for advice when needed. This training was highly recommended by my rowing mentors and by far exceeded even my highest expectations!”
In addition to the workshops, there has also been an increase in the number of coaches seeking evaluation and NCCP certification. In the last few months Mary Milligan (Sudbury Rowing Club) and Jacqueline Watt (University of Toronto) have achieved NCCP Certification, while Tony Tremain (Hanlan Boat Club), Connor Elsdon (Argonaut Rowing Club), and Alex Roger (St. Catharines Rowing Club) have all become Certified Learning Facilitators. At least ten coach evaluations will also take place in the coming weeks in Ottawa, Orillia and Thunder Bay.
“The learn to row coach workshop in Thunder Bay was awesome because it brought the rowing community together and helped discuss ideas and potential different ways of doing things going forward,” said Hasan Pathan, head coach at the Thunder Bay Rowing Club. “For me only recently arriving from New Zealand it helped me connect with a wider network of rowing coaches.”
With the calendar now into June, there’s just a short window left before the summer season gets into full gear, but there’s still opportunities out there for those coaches looking to attend an upcoming workshop. There are three workshops – LTR (virtual), Weekend #1 (virtual), and Weekend #2 (Mississauga) taking place this weekend which will likely cap off the coaching workshop schedule until the fall.
Row Ontario would like to thank all the coaches and learning facilitators throughout the province for their dedication to continuing coach education throughout 2025. Your passion for coaching and the sport of rowing is contagious. Keep up the great work that you all do!
