High Five

Super Coach Weekend

Friday September 20 - Sunday September 22

 

During National Coaches week SONL will be hosting Super Coach Weekend at Holy Trinity High School (23 Lynch's Lane, Torbay). 

We have some great sessions, facilitators and topics that we hope all of our coaches and volunteers will engage in to share knowledge, experience and ideas to further enhance Special Olympics programming in our province! 

This event is FREE OF CHARGE; but registration is REQUIRED. Please contact jennifer@sonl.ca if you are intersted in attending. 

Please take a look at the schedule below (while most sessions are offered at Holy Trinity High there are a couple of outliers)

FRIDAY EVENING (September 20) 
TimeSession 1Session 2Session 3 
5:30pmWelcome
(Gymnasium)
 
6:00 - 
7:25pm
Basketball Clinic
1 of 2 part session - total 4.5 hours 
NLBA - Amanda Miles
(Classroom)
Bocce Clinic 1 
Shawn Dean
(Gym)
NCCP SOC Competition Introduction Course
* 1 of 3 part session - total 9.5 hours
Rosie Ryan & Sarah Lomholt-Farrell
(Classroom)
 
7:35pm - 
9pm
Soccer Clinic 1
Bobby Gamba
(Gym)
 
SATURDAY MORNING (September 21)
9 - 
10:25am
Basketball (3-on-3)
2/2 part session 
NLBA - Amanda Miles
(Gymnasium)
Intellectual Disabilities & Coaching Considerations
Jennifer McCann
(Classroom)
 NCCP SOC Competition Introduction Course
* 2 of 3 part session
Rosie Ryan & Sarah Lomholt-Farrell
(Classroom)
10:35 - 
12pm
Bocce Clinic 2
Shawn Dean
(Gym)
"Administrative" Coaching
Jennifer McCann
(Classroom)
Sprints & Blocks
Jennifer Stender 
(MUN Field House)
*max 6 ppl
12 - 1pmLUNCH (provided by SONL)
SATURDAY AFTERNOON (September 21)
1 -
2:25pm
Autism
Dr. Kimberly Maich
(Classroom)
Floor Ball
Steve Broom
(Gym)

 
NCCP SOC Competition Introduction Course
* 2 of 3 part session - total 9.5 hours. Finish time 4:30pm
Rosie Ryan & Sarah Lomholt-Farrell
(Classroom)
2:35 -
4pm
Rhythmic Gymnastics 
Kassie Deagle
(Cafeteria)
Competitions 
Jennifer McCann
(Classroom)
SUNDAY MORNING (September 22) 
8:30 - 12:30pmNCCP: Fundamental Movement Skills 
Amy Butt
(Classroom/Gym)
NCCP: Making Ethical Decisions
Lisa Fridgen 
(Classroom)
  
 

Session Descriptions & Facilitators: 

Session 

Description

Facilitator

Friday Sept 20
5:30 – 6:00pm
Holy Trinity High Gym

Welcome

SONL

Friday Sept 20
6:00 – 7:25pm
Holy Trinity High Gym

Bocce Clinic 1 (Friday)
Intro to Bocce
This session will explain the SO rules of Bocce and a basic understanding of the game.  This will be a hands on session in learning the equipment, set up and how to plan and manage a practice.

Shawn Dean
Shawn Dean is a longtime SO CBS Brightstars volunteer. He was the Provincial Team Head Coach for Bocce in 2018. He was a participant in the pilot of the coach and official bocce courses pre-COVID. 

Friday Sept 20
7:35 – 9:00pm
Holy Trinity High Gym

Soccer Clinic 1 (Friday)
The session will focus on basic soccer skills and drills, how to build a practice and touch on the basics of 5 v 5 game play. 

Bobby Gamba
Bobby has been coaching with the Feildians Athletic Association and Newfoundland and Labrador Soccer Association for 10 years. His coaching journey has seen him lead teams of all abilities and age groups, from Active Start to Senior. He has attended many Provincial, National, and International competitions as a player and coach, and hopes to help grow the sport within the Special Olympics clubs in our province.

Friday Sept 20
6:00 – 9:00pm
Holy Trinity High – Classroom

Basketball Clinic– Part 1
1 of 2 part session (total 4.5 hours)
*Must sign up and attend all sessions to receive credit*
This course is suitable for coaches who have limited or basic basketball experience. The workshop focuses on: 
The level of athlete you are coaching
Providing the basic skills and tools for planning an effective, safe and fun practice
Showing how to teach basic basketball skills in a fun and inclusive way

NLBA – Amanda Miles
Amanda has been facilitating basketball courses since 2016 and has recently started facilitating multi-sport courses as well.  She loves working with coaches and sharing information to make sport safer and a more inclusive environment for everyone. 

Friday Sept 20
6:00 – 9:00pm
Holy Trinity High – Classroom

NCCP SOC Competition Introduction Course – Part 1 
1 of 3 part session (total 9.5 hours)
This course is REQUIRED for anyone wanting to coach at our SONL Provincial Summer Games 2025 (July 3 – 6 in Gander)
*Must sign up and attend all sessions to receive credit*
This course is not a sport specific course; rather it facilitates understanding the different types of Intellectual Disabilities and how it impacts your coaches, learning how to reduce risk to coaches and athletes to keep everyone safe in sport and create effective practices plans that consider our athletes’ needs. 
After completing the training, you will be entered in the Locker as being NCCP  SOC Competition-Introduction - Trained

Rosie Ryan & Sarah Lomholt-Farrell
Rosie Ryan is a longtime volunteer with SO Bay St. George Bravehearts as well as actively involved with NLAA and was a champion of School Sports NL.  Rosie is a facilitator for SONL’s NCCP SOC Snowshoe Course as well as the NCCP-SOC Competition-Introduction course. 

Sarah Lomholt-Farrell has been involved with the SO CBS Brightstars for numerous years. She was a first-time coach on Team NL at the SO Canada 2024 Winter Games in Calgary. SONL is delighted that Sarah is on the path to become a Learning Facilitator for the NCCP-SOC Competition-Introduction Course. 

Saturday Sept 21
9 – 10:30am
Holy Trinity High – Classroom

Basketball Clinic – Part 2
2 of 2 part session (total 4.5 hours)

NLBA – Amanda Miles

Saturday Sept 21
9:00 – 12pm
Holy Trinity High – Classroom

NCCP SOC Competition Introduction Course – Part 2
2 of 3 part session (total 9.5 hours)
*Must sign up and attend all sessions to receive credit*

Rosie Ryan & Sarah Lomholt-Farrell

Saturday Sept 21
9:00 – 10:25am
Outside (field near HTH)

Soccer Clinic 2 (Saturday)
The session will focus on basic soccer skills and drills, how to build a practice and touch on the basics of 5 v 5 game play.

Bobby Gamba

Saturday Sept 21
9:00 – 10:25am
Holy Trinity High – Classroom

Intellectual Disabilities & Coaching Considerations
In this session coaches will learn about the different types of ID, and how we can best adapt our coaching practices for our SO athletes
This will be refresher for coaches who have already completed the “NCCP SOC Competition Introduction” course

Jennifer McCann
Jennifer has been working with Special Olympics NL for a number of years; she has a wide range of knowledge about Special Olympics NL in a variety of capacities and is enjoys connecting with our volunteers who ensure our athletes have quality weekly sports programming. 

Saturday Sept 21
10:35 – 12pm
Holy Trinity High – Gym

Bocce Clinic 2 (Saturday)
This session will ensure coaches have a good understanding of the rules of bocce.  The course build upon skills, drills and strategies for coaches to learn to help their further their athletes understanding of the game. 

Shawn Dean

Saturday Sept 21
10:35 – 12pm
Holy Trinity High – Classroom

“Administrative Coaching”
This session focuses on the “paper” side of coaching – such as your EAP, when/where/how to fill out incident reports and who they go to, attendance, roles and responsibilities of the various volunteers positions, registration/medical forms and the Portal. 
If time permits we’ll also engage in a Q&A about Athlete Leadership and Healthy Athletes.

Jennifer McCann

Saturday Sept 21
10:30 – 12:30/1pm
MUN FIELD HOUSE

Sprints & Blocks
MAX: 6 participants
MUN Track & Field Coach Jennifer Stender will host 6 track and field coaches at her practice on Saturday Sept 21.   
This session will focus on how to properly use starting blocks and how to train for the sprint distances. 
After the session on the track, Jennifer has invited the 6 coaches to observe their water training at the MUN pool (same location).

Jennifer Stender
Jennifer Stender is a member of the NLAA Hall of Fame for her impressive career as an athlete and a coach/organization.  She was the Head Coach for multiple Canada Games and is currently coaching the MUN Sea-Hawks. 

Saturday Sept 21        1:00 – 2:25pm                         Holy Trinity High - Classroom

Autism Spectrum Disorder 
This session will focus on giving guidance for coaches on connecting with and learning about their athlete with autism. 

Dr. Kimberly Maich
Dr. Kimberly Maich is a MUN professor with the Faculty of Education. Her primary interests lie in disabilities and special education, with a focus on autism spectrum disorders in inclusive school environments. 

Saturday Sept 21        1:00 – 2:25pm                         Holy Trinity High - Classroom

“Administrative Coaching”
This session focuses on the “paper” side of coaching – such as your EAP, when/where/how to fill out incident reports and who they go to, attendance, roles and responsibilities of the various volunteers positions, registration/medical forms and the Portal. 
If time permits we’ll also engage in a Q&A about Athlete Leadership and Healthy Athletes.

Jennifer McCann

Saturday Sept 21        1:00 – 4:00pm             Holy Trinity High – Gymnasium

Floor Ball
Floorball is a new sport to Special Olympics in Canada and Newfoundland & Labrador.  This session will introduce coaches to the sport and equipment. Coaches will leave the session with the skills necessary to start a weekly program in their area. 

Clubs who have coaches attend this session and are interested in starting a floorball program or adding it to their weekly activity/fitness night cycle will be entered into a draw to win floorball equipment

Steve Broom
Steve Broom runs a company called Infinity Floorball out of Wolfville, NS.  He has been involved with the sport for a long time and helps organizations with intro to floorball sessions, train the trainer, referee training, and equipment supplies. 

Saturday Sept 21         1:00 – 4:30pm              Holy Trinity High - Classroom

NCCP SOC Competition Introduction Course – Part 3
3 of 3 part session (total 9.5 hours)
*Must sign up and attend all sessions to receive credit*

Rosie Ryan & Sarah Lomholt-Farrell

Saturday Sept 21         2:35 – 4:00pm              Holy Trinity High – Cafeteria 

Rhythmic Gymnastics
This session will focus on helping coaches learn the routines (strong focus on Level A, B, C), the necessary skills and progressions on how to develop skills.  Coaches will also learn what judges are looking for in terms of the execution of the routine. 

Kassie Deagle
Kassie Deagle is a former rhythmic gymnast from Nova Scotia with over 10 years of experience. Now a coach for the national stream Nova Scotia provincial group, Kassie’s influence extends beyond competitive gymnastics. She has been involved in the Nova Scotia Special Olympics Summer Games for many years and has learned the SO Rhythmic gymnastics program to ensure all athletes and coaches are set up for success. One of her favourite experiences was when the Special Olympics Canada were hosted in Nova Scotia when she was able to connect with athletes from across the country. Her dedication to both rhythmic gymnastics and inclusive sports strengthens her commitment to empowering athletes of all abilities. 

Saturday Sept 21         2:35 – 4:00pm              Holy Trinity High – Classroom

Competitions
The session will focus on best practices for preparation, during and after a competition; including roles and responsibilities of the various volunteer roles, what divisioning is and how it works. 

Jennifer McCann

Sunday Sept 22      8:30am – 12:30pm

NCCP: Fundamental Movement Skills
The NCCP Fundamental Movement Skills Workshop, is suited to any person working with participants who wish to improve their fundamental movement skills. It is designed for coaches, educators, and recreation/youth/sport leaders who want to learn how to observe, detect, and correct the fundamental movement skills to guide the physical development of children. After completing the training, you will be entered in the Locker as being NCCP Fundamental Movement Skills Trained

Amy Butt
Amy has been the Participation Nation Coordinator for School Sports NL for the last 15 years.  She loves being able to share her physical activity centered learning with others! She has been facilitating the HIGHFIVE PHCD over the last 5 years and more recently has begun facilitating the FMS workshop. 

Sunday Sept 22      8:30am – 12:30pm

NCCP: Making Ethical Decisions
This course is REQUIRED for anyone wanting to coach at our SONL Provincial Summer Games 2025 (July 3 – 6 in Gander)
After completing the NCCP Make Ethical Decisions module, you will be able to:

  • analyze a challenging situation to determine its moral, legal, or ethical implications; and
  • apply the NCCP Ethical Decision-Making Model to properly respond to situations in a way that is consistent with the NCCP Code of Ethics.

After you have taken the module, you can access the NCCP Make Ethical Decisions online evaluation free through the Locker. Successful completion of the evaluation is necessary for coach certification in any NCCP program.

Lisa Fridgen

Sunday Sept 22      8:30am – 12:30pm    Pearl gate Track & Field, Mount Pearl

Athletics Clinic (Field Events) 
Running Long Jump:
In this session, participants will learn about
- The components and general rules of competing running long jump, 
- How to measure a long jump approach run, and 
- General drills for jumping and for practicing the components of long jump  

 

NLAA/Pearl gate Facilitators
Kathryn Bautista – Running Long Jump
Kathryn is a horizontal jumps coach with Pearlgate Track and Field Club and is a member of the 2025 Canada Games Athletics Coaching Staff. She has pursued coaching education through the Athletics Canada National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP); she has completed both the Club Coach and Performance Coach courses and is a certified Athletics Club Coach in Jumps. Using her professional knowledge as a physiotherapist, she uses an evidence-informed and innovative approach to coaching. As an athlete, Kathryn has competed locally, within the Atlantic provinces, and nationally in the 100m, long and triple jump, and 4x100m relay. She competed at both the 2009 and 2013 Canada Summer Games for Athletics. She continues to enjoy training for sprints in her spare time. 

As a former volunteer with the Special Olympics Active Start Program, Kathryn is excited to be helping with the SONL Super Coach Weekend!