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National Coaching Institute – Atlantic

The Director’s Perspective

It is an exciting time to be involved in the NCI. Sport in Canada is in the midst of a period of significant transition, with many major initiatives for enhancement of the Canadian sport system underway. Most importantly for the NCIs, coach recognition, professionalization and education is considered to be a central pillar for achieving those changes. The NCIs, in expanding partnerships with universities and the national sport organizations, will remain a prominent piece of the advanced coaching education and professional development plan.

In the mid 1990s, the NCCP was over 25 years old and famous worldwide as a model coach education program. However, it needed renewal and most importantly, it needed to realign with the LTAD. The revamping process is now well underway – beginning with more extensive, updated basic programs for coaches of younger, developing athletes of all ages and culminating in cutting edge, personalized, advanced educational programs for our coaches of high performance athletes.

Fomerly, the NCI’s role was to provide advanced educational opportunities only for high performance coaches. This was the level 4 and 5 of the “old” NCCP, which featured 20 “tasks.” In our new NCCP model, certified coaches with competitive athletes at any stage of development may seek age-appropriate advanced education through the NCI. These educational opportunities include a wide range of services – from short seminars, workshops and presentations, to advanced programs of study – including course work and apprenticeship work with a master coach – leading to a diploma and recognition as an expert coach.

In addition to updating, standardizing and expanding the curriculum, we are developing a more student-friendly, electronic delivery system to help us deal effectively with the summer and winter schedules of coaches and travel distances from the widely distributed parts of Atlantic Canada.

NCI Director Biography

Gary Ness attended the University of Western Ontario, receiving his BA and MA in the early 70’s before moving to Edmonton, Alberta where he completed doctoral studies in exercise physiology (1976). He then moved to Wolfville, NS to join the School of Recreation Management and Kinesiology (SRMK) of Acadia University, from which he is now retired. During his time as the Director of the School, he served a term as the President of the Canadian Council of University Physical Education and Kinesiology Administrators (CCUPEKA).

Gary’s involvement with coaching and coach education began in Edmonton, where he was the University of Alberta assistant track coach (1972-75) and the head coach in 1975-76. In late 1976 at Acadia, Gary was involved in teaching one of the first pilots of the new NCCP theory program. He has been involved as a writer and clinician for various theory and technical components of the NCCP, was for many years an NCCP Theory Master Course Conductor for levels 1 to 3, and has taught the Level 4/5 Tasks 1, 2, 5, 6 and 12 at seminars throughout Canada. He has taught international coaching clinics and seminars in Northern Ireland, Iraq, Qatar, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, St Kitts and Nevis, and the US.

While serving as the Canadian Racquetball Team head coach 1989 – 97, he coached several world champions and was a three-time winner of the CAC / Longine-Wittnauer Coaching Excellence Award (1990, 1992, and 1994). He currently is a Professor Emeritus as Acadia University and serves as the Director of the NCI –Atlantic.

Drop in Times for Athletes

The CSCA High Performance Training Centre has designated drop-in times for registered CSCA athletes:

Mondays – 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Tuesdays: 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Wednesdays:  3:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Thursdays:  3:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Fridays:  8:00 a.m to 12:00 p.m.

Athletes must book an appointment to enter the space outside of these designated times.