As outlined above, Archery Canada has 2 streams for coaches, Instruction and Competition. Through the coaching pathway, coaches are introduced to more advanced, more technical topics as they progress through the different levels. Coaches will be certified after the successful completion of each level and can choose to complete as many of the four levels as they would like. 

An outline of the courses, and their requirements are below:

Instructor and competition courses availability vary by province. If you already have an NCCP number, you can see any planned upcoming courses in the NCCP locker. 

If you are new to coaching, and do not have an NCCP number, reach out to your Provincial Coaching Coordinator, hear about upcoming courses in your area, below. Some scheduled courses can be found in the CAC’s Locker Calendar through the link below:

English: https://thelocker.coach.ca/calendar/embed/1C2E?hideFilters=ds

French: https://lecasier.coach.ca/calendar/embed/1C2F?hideFilters=ds

Additionally, as you progress through the coaching pathway, NCCP multi-sport modules, such as Making Ethical Decisions, or Planning a Practice, will be a requirement to complete your certification. All upcoming NCCP Multi-sport courses, can be found in the NCCP Locker Calendar, or through your Provincial Coaching Association website.

Instructor of Beginner Archers

Who should take this course?

This course is intended for first time coaches, who are looking to learn the skills needed to instruct beginner archers, whether at their club, or at a summer camp. The archers they coach will be new to the sport, and generally not competing. 

Examples of Coaches: Summer Camp Coaches

What does the course look like?

The Instructor of Beginner Archer’s course, is a 1 weekend course, typically 15 hours in length. In this course, your learning facilitator will cover technical and theory, in a hand’s on course. They will also complete an on-site evaluation by the end of the weekend, of the beginner skills.

Following the completion of this weekend, the coach will be considered a “Trained Coach”. To become certified, the coach will have (12) months to complete their portfolio, to be evaluated by your learning facilitator. This portfolio consists of your workbook, provided to you during the weekend course, a self-assessment, and 2 observations, from another coach, and parents of the archers you are coaching. For all context level’s to be fully certified, you must complete, and pass the CAC’s Making Ethical Decisions online evaluation. 

Instructor of Intermediate Archers

Who should take this course?

This course is intended for coaches at the club level, who have a group of archers that have been shooting for some time, and are looking to advance, or improve their technique. These archers might be participating in domestic competitions. 

Example: Club based coaches

What does the course look like?

The Instructor of Intermediate Archers course, is also a 1 weekend course, typically 15 hours in length. The Learning Facilitator will begin to introduce more technical coaching skills at this level. Following the weekend, the coach will complete training and a workshop evaluation, consisting of Case Studies and presentations, and be granted “Trained” status.

To become certified, the coach will need to submit a portfolio, consisting of your workbook, as well as complete an On-Site Evaluation with your learning facilitator. This evaluation will be of a practice session with your archers, and observe the coaches skills and intervention tactics with an intermediate level athlete. This can either be done in person, or through video (to be discussed and planned with your learning facilitator).

Introduction to Competition – Archery

Who should take the Intro-to-Comp course?

This course is intended for coaches, who wish to pursue a more competitive style of coaching, working with archers who have the intention of competing at a Provincial or National Level. This course is meant to provide an introduction into the skill set that is needed to coach at a higher level. 

Examples: Club Coaches with Archers competing locally, or at a Provincial Level. 

What does the course look like?

The Introduction to Competition course, consists of (2) separate weekend workshops, that are at minimum 6 months apart. The first workshop, is similar to the Instruction of Beginner/Intermediate Archers, where the skills for this level will be introduced by a Learning Facilitator, and provide hands-on training. Following this weekend workshop, the coach will receive trained status

To become certified, the coach will create a Yearly Training Plan (YTP) for a 6 month period, and work through it with their archer over the 6 months, maintaining a log book. Additionally, there will be another workbook to complete, as well as other portfolio tasks. Workshop 2 will provide the opportunity for the coach to present, and defend their developed YTP, and will be evaluated in this workshop. Upon successful completion of workshop 2, the coach will be listed as Certified. 

Competition Development – Archery (Comp-Dev)

This is currently the highest level  of coaching certification that Archery Canada offers to coaches. 

Who should take the Comp-Dev course?

The competition Development stream is designed for coaches who coach, or want to coach, archers at an elite level, with intentions of competing on a Provincial Team, at Nationals, or working towards the National Team. 

Example of Coaches: Canada Winter Games Coaches, Coaches with archers competing internationally.

What does the course look like?

The Competition Development course, is currently the only course that requires the completion of 6 multi-sport modules before enrolling in the weekend workshops. These course offerings vary by province, and more information can be found on the CAC website. The modules to be completed are:

1. Coaching and Leading Effectively
2. Managing Conflict (Online Module and Evaluation)
3. Developing Athletic Abilities
4. Leading Drug-Free Sport (Online Module and Evaluation)
5. Prevention and Recovery
6. Psychology of Performance

(Please note, some exceptions may be made to allowing coaches to enroll in the workshops, without completing the modules, if the courses are not being offered at regular intervals in your region). 

Once the multi-sport modules are completed, the coach can register for Workshop # 1. This is a weekend course, approximately 15 hours in length, that will introduce the content to the coaches, required for this level. If all the modules, plus Making Ethical Decisions, are complete, the coach will receive Trained status following workshop 1.

After Workshop 1, the coach will develop a Yearly Training Plan, to be used with an athlete throughout the year. The YTP is to be submitted to the evaluator for review. An In-Practice evaluation will also be scheduled, for the evaluator to assess the coaches skills. 

Once complete, the coach will attend the second workshop, which is at minimum, a year after the first. Here their YTP will be evaluated, along with their workbook and log book. Following Workshop 2, the LF will schedule an in-competition evaluation, to assess the coaches skills coaching their archers, in a competition setting.

If successful, the coach will be given Certified Status.

High-Performance – Comp-Dev Advanced Gradation

This content is currently in development phase. This level will be intended for coaches who want to pursue High Performance Coaching, at a highly competitive level. More information to follow. 

Example of coaches: National Team Coaches

Archery Canada is dedicated to having a clear National Coaching Certification Challenge Process (NCCP) to help support and provide clarity the coaches in the archery community. In order to provide transparency in the process, we have developed a document outlining the details of the NCCP program as it relates to Archery Canada.

This process is for coaches who are currently actively coaching at a specific level in Canada, and are looking to become certified at that level, and have the skills to challenge the work for that level, in lieu of taking the course.

Archery Canada NCCP Challenge Process

• Coaching Association of Canada
• NCCP Locker
• Making Headway NCCP Online Module
• NCCP Making Ethical Decisions
• Responsible Coaching Movement
• NCCP Sport Nutrition