Mentors Express

Applications are open until Jan 30th.
Program spots are being granted on a first come first serve basis!

“Mentors Express is a unique opportunity to work one-on-one with a mentor in your field of choice. In my case (sport psychology and mental preparation) it is a great hands-on chance to have someone in your corner who is dedicated to serving, educating and learning from coaches. I think both the coach and the mentor benefit from this program. It’s a chance to problem solve, have individual and group sessions, and to broaden your coaching repertoire.”
– Dr. Shauna Taylor, Co-Chair, Canadian Sport Psychology Association

Coach competency is an integral aspect of Ontario’s community sport programs. Coaches have the unique capacity to inspire, drive and influence athletes, impacting their pathways to excellence and overall sport experience.

Mentors Express aims to enhance a Coach’s ability to apply various concepts from the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) by providing direct access to experts in four essential fields:

  • Sport Psychology
  • Nutrition
  • Leadership & Management
  • Strength & Conditioning

For more information on mentorship opportunities for Coaching Athletes with a Disability, please click here

Through dedicated training, in either individual or group settings, the Mentors Express program generates a connection between club coach and expert that may not otherwise be possible. This provides coaches with the opportunity to better support athlete development, expand on their existing coaching knowledge, and improve their overall coaching program.

The Goals of the Program are:

  • To enhance knowledge for those coaching at the club level within Ontario’s sport system.
  • To expand access to professional sport expertise to support coaches across Ontario.
  • To foster an understanding and working relationship between coaches and sport-science providers in Ontario.
  • To increase awareness of both the value of sport science and the professional expertise available in Ontario to coaches working at the ‘club’ level.
  • To assist in retaining quality club coaches in their local communities
  • To increase sharing and collaboration on initiatives that develop coaches from the regional level to the provincial and national levels
  • To improve the performance of athletes in Canada Games, Ontario Games and additional provincial/national competitions

IMPORTANT DATES:

Applications Open – Jan 16th, 2023
Application Deadline – Jan 30th, 2023
Project Completion – March 31st, 2023

At no cost to the coach or club, approved applicants are assigned a provincially-endorsed mentor in one of the four specialty areas, who will work directly with the registered coach (or coaches) at their own club or another arranged location. Coaches will be permitted multiple mentor sessions, as long as all meetings between coaches and their assigned mentor fall within the program timelines. Most receive 6 – 12 hours of access.

All participating mentors have been recognized by the CAO and the corresponding Provincial Sport Organization (PSO) to ensure accurate and informative training for all participating coaches. All fees, including mentor sessions and travel, are covered by the CAO with support from the Ontario Government through our Coaching Enhancement Funding programs.

All successful applicants will be asked submit a signed PSO support form from their Provincial Sport Body. Please submit your PSO support form to stuart@coachesontario.ca

What past participants had to say!

Working with Natascha offered a tremendous opportunity to enrich my understanding of mental training, to cover significantly more ground than the introductory NCCP courses. Moreover, having Natascha work directly with my female athletes gave them the opportunity to explore themselves and the impediments they had themselves placed in their development path. With Natascha’s help, the team’s confidence this season has soared and in no small way made it possible for these young women to achieve their primary outcome goal: a berth at a Provincial championship. It is difficult to overstate the contribution of Natascha’s expertise, coaching, and guidance to the success of our team this season. I would welcome any opportunity to work with Natascha again – she really is that good!

“Getting accepted into the Mentors Express Program really jump-started my coaching career. Getting the opportunity to sit down face to face with another coach with substantial experience gave me new outlooks on my team approaches, systems, and creating bonds with individual athletes to further develop their positive growth as both an athlete and youth through sport!”

“The Mentors Express program truly exceeded my expectations. My mentor was not only a wonderful wealth of knowledge, but also an excellent ally through some real coaching challenges over the past season. I can’t recommend this program enough to any coach who is looking for learning and networking opportunities across sport barriers. A truly unique and invaluable experience!”

“The Mentors Express program allowed us to create a personalized learning environment for our athletes and coaches and allowed for lots of flexibility in how the learning was done.  MJKO Boxing partnered with Dr. Leith Drury, a consultant for the varsity teams and coaches at Ryerson University and a service provider for the Canadian Sport Institute.  We worked together to deliver Leadership Training to our crew.  Ibrahim and I worked with Dr. Drury to create role playing exercises that were typical for our coaching environment.  It was a truly customized training session which allowed for some great team building.  We are thankful to the Coaches Association and Dr. Drury for this awesome program.  We would highly recommend it.”

“Without Mentors Express our coach would not have had training from a specialist, and would not have had the training to bring her riders to higher levels in dressage. Without it, our riders would never have qualified for the provincial competitions and never brought home a provincial level Gold Medal!  Now on to international…..”

“With Dr. Wesch’s guidance, I implemented a mental skills program with our 12U baseball team in Mississauga. Our team worked on mindfulness, self-talk and imagery. We taught players to understand what they can and cannot control. All off which contributed to a significant increase in fun, engagement and every player returned at the end of the season. It was so successful we shared it with the other teams in our organization.”

 

Questions or Concerns?
Please contact express@coachesontario.ca

Coaching Enhancement Funding Programs

The government of Ontario is committed to providing funding support for Ontario’s coaches.

View all available courses in Ontario

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