Do you know a coach who inspires and instills a life-long love of sport in their teams and athletes? Or a coach who embraces diversity, pushes the envelope and breaks through barriers?
Why not nominate them for an Ontario Coaching Excellence Award!
The Ontario Coaching Excellence Awards program celebrates the dedication and commitment of exemplary individuals who inspire, innovate and share knowledge of sport with others. The Awards recognize the importance of leadership, performance and the value of human insight which are all integral to great coaching.
Nominate Your Coach TODAY!
Nomination Form
Grassroots Coach Award (1 Male and 1 Female recipient)
- Two award recipients will be selected in this category; a dedicated male coach and a dedicated female coach who primarily coach youth or children.
Good-to-Great Coach Award (1 Male and 1 Female recipient)
- Two award recipients will be selected in this category; an outstanding male coach and an outstanding female coach who have coached athletes that have achieved a high standard of performance in competitive sport.
- Up to one outstanding individual who has made things better for their sport for years to come will be selected in this category.
- One award will be given to a coach who leads with vision, resolve and courage to challenge the status quo.
- One award will be given to a coach who has made a significant impact within the Aboriginal sport community in Ontario.
Andy Higgins Lifetime Achievement Award
- One award will be given to an outstanding coach who has made a significant contribution to coaching in Ontario over 20+ years.
Download and return the completed nomination form to Eric McLoughlin at events@coachesontario.ca by Thursday June 29, 2017 at 4:00pm.
A coach is nominated in one of the following six categories:
Grass Roots (1 Male, 1 Female)
Coaches recognized in this category are inspirational role models in the community. The coaching focus would be on introducing children and youth to a sport, developing fundamental movement skills while creating a positive environment for healthy development and instilling a life-long love to be physically active and stay involved in sport. A coach in this category would measure their daily success in the number of smiles achieved.
Good-to-Great (1 Male, 1 Female)
The coaching focus is on performance excellence and competing to win. The coach would be recognized as the primary coach who identifies talented individuals; who creates a training environment that further develops athletic skills and abilities to a higher level of success in competition over a period of time.
Trailblazer Coach
The Trailblazer coach is an innovative out-of-the-box thinker who inspires others to follow and has made a difference in their sport or for their athletes. Whether coaching a community rep team or top performing provincial athletes, the coach who pushes the envelope, invents new approaches to old challenges and breaks through barriers should be nominated for this award.
The “Aboriginal Impact” Award recognizes a coach who has made a significant impact by advancing the Aboriginal Sport system/community in Ontario. Over a sustained period of time they have demonstrated the value of physical, emotional and mental well-being of Aboriginal peoples of Ontario through physical activity and sport. Examples in this category include success in reaching out to and actively welcoming Aboriginal athletes to an existing team or sport program, introducing a new sport program to an Aboriginal community, or a coach who advocates for Aboriginal cultural and traditional practices in their coaching.
Andy Higgins Lifetime Achievement Award
An outstanding coach who has made a significant contribution to coaching in Ontario over a long sustained period of time—20+ years. Andy Higgins, an Olympic decathlon coach, an educator and all around good human being, has devoted his lifetime to instilling positive values, citizen development and making a difference in people’s lives through sport. A coach who dreams big, looks for the possibilities, and focuses on a lasting legacy would be an ideal award recipient in this category.
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School Sport Coach – Selected by OFSAA …………………… …………… 
The selection of recipients (1 Male and 1 Female teacher-coach) is based on their unique contribution to sport through continuous development of new coaches. The nominated coach must have influenced the development of new coaches and have shown evidence of program building as well as encouraging athletes to give back to sport. .
Interested in nominating your coach?
Nominations for the 2017 Ontario Coaching Excellence Awards are currently being accepted. Download the nomination form below and return to Eric McLoughlin at events@coachesontario.ca by Thursday June 29, 2017 at 4:00pm.
Nomination Form
Grassroots Coach Award (1 Male and 1 Female recipient)
- Two award recipients will be selected in this category; a dedicated male coach and a dedicated female coach who primarily coach youth or children.
Eligibility:
Nominee must be an Ontario resident who has been actively coaching Ontario athletes under the age of 12 for the past 2 years (minimum).
Good-to-Great Coach Award (1 Male and 1 Female recipient)
- Two award recipients will be selected in this category; an outstanding male coach and an outstanding female coach who have coached athletes that have achieved a high standard of performance in competitive sport.
Eligibility:
Nominee must be an Ontario resident who has been actively coaching Ontario athletes for at least 2 years. He or she must have coached at least one athlete to a national team spot (e.g. Jr or Sr team, Pan/Parapan Team) in the last 4 years.
- Up to one outstanding individual who has made things better for their sport for years to come will be selected in this category.
Eligibility:
- Must be an Ontario resident
- Actively coaching Ontario athletes for the past 3 years (minimum).
Note: Coaches who are nominated for other 2017 Ontario Coaching Excellence Awards may also be considered for this award at the discretion of the Selection Committee.
- One award will be given to a coach who leads with vision, resolve and courage to challenge the status quo. Over a sustained period of time they have demonstrated the value of an inclusive approach through acceptance and accessibility.
Eligibility:
Nominee must be an Ontario resident who has been actively coaching Ontario athletes for at least three (3) years.
Note: Coaches who are nominated for other 2016 Ontario Coaching Excellence Awards may also be considered for this award at the discretion of the Selection Committee.
- One award will be given to a coach who has made a significant impact within the Aboriginal sport community in Ontario.
Eligibility:
Nominee must be an Ontario resident of Aboriginal descent who has been actively coaching Ontario athletes of Aboriginal descent for at least 3 years.
Andy Higgins Lifetime Achievement Award
- One award will be given to an outstanding coach who has made a significant contribution to coaching in Ontario over 20+ years.
Eligibility:
Nominee must be an Ontario resident who has been actively coaching Ontario athletes or mentoring other coaches for the past 20 years.
Download and return the completed nomination form to Eric McLoughlin at events@coachesontario.ca by Thursday June 29, 2017 at 4:00pm.
The following are the winners of 2016 Ontario Coaching Excellence Awards: (Click to see their videos)
- Colleen Rasmussen-Taylor – Grass Roots Coach (Female), Softball, Port Perry
- David Currie – Grass Roots Coach (Male), Hockey, Sarnia
- Ken MacDonald – School Sport Coach (Male), Toronto
- Jo-Anne Dexter – School Sport Coach (Female), Cornwall
- Laura McPhie – Good-to-Great Coach (Female), Swimming, Guelph
- Terry Radchenko & Ross Ristuccia – Good-to-Great Coach (Male), Athletics, Toronto
- Craig Blackman – Everyone Matters Coach, Athletics, Toronto
- Kevin Sandy – Aboriginal Impact Coach, Lacrosse, Ohsweken
- Graeme Williams – Trailblazer Coach, Squash, Windsor
- Casey Curtis – Andy Higgins Lifetime Achievement Award, Tennis, Markham
