At Special Olympics PEI we want to help our coaches become the best they can be. We are able to reimburse for all course fees and, by pre-approval, any travel/accomodation/meal associated. To this end, we offer the following resources to our coaches:
Special Olympics PEI Coaches Handbook
National Coaching Certification Program - Find the full list of Requirements for Coaches.
REMINDER: Volunteer Coach on-boarding process and Special Olympics requirements outlined in our current policies, and be sure to review our updated Registration Processes and Resources.
Required Courses and Coach Resources:
SOC Competition Coach Workshop
The free workshop helps prepare SO coaches for community and competitive programming by focusing on safety, fun, fitness, fundamentals, performance, and teaching fundamental skills. The material covered in this course is as follows: planning a safe practice for the SO athlete, associated disabilities, preparing for practice and emergency action plan, analyzing the SO athlete, modifying the practice for the SO athlete, and supporting the competitive environment.
Required by all Coaches and Volunteers in community/competitive sport programs.
Register by emailing mmcnally@sopei.com.
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SOC Coaching Young Athletes
This free workshop helps prepare anyone working with children with an intellectual disability. It includes content on Fundamental Movement Skills, information about Special Olympics’ athletes, and ways to modify activities and games if needed.
Required by all volunteers in youth programs.
Register by emailing mmcnally@sopei.com.
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SOPEI Online Volunteer Orientation
When: Ongoing (Only required once by each registered member)
Due: Before becoming a registered volunteer
Required by: All volunteers
Location: Special Olympics Canada's Online Volunteer Orientation
The Special Olympics Canada Volunteer Orientation course is an interactive eLearning module designed to equip volunteers with the information they need to step up their game or get started volunteering in their community. At the end of the module, participants will complete a Knowledge Check to receive credit for completing the course.
The course will take approximately 30-45 minutes to complete. Coaches can take the course online at the Special Olympics SOLearn platform. The course is free, but coaches will need to create a login.
Here are the steps you will need to take:
- Create an account at SO Learn.
- Follow the instructions in the registration confirmation e-mail that you receive.
- Click on "Orientation" from the home screen, then select "Special Olympics Canada Volunteer Orientation".
- Click on “English Course” or "Cours Français" from the orientation page and then select "Enter".
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Safe Sport Training
When: Ongoing (Only required once by each registered member)
Due: Before becoming a registered volunteer
Required by: All members
Location: The CAC Locker
Released in April 2020, this free online training on harassment and abuse is for everyone involved in sport: decision-makers, those with direct athlete contact (including caregivers), and those with no direct athlete contact. Certified coaches are also eligible for Professional Development points toward the maintenance of their certification.
This course will help you:
- Understand that everyone has a role to play in keeping sport safe, how the misuse of power leads to maltreatment and the principles of the Universal Code of Conduct.
- Understand the various types of maltreatment, the conditions that enable them, and how to recognize signs that they may be happening.
- Know what to do if you suspect maltreatment, and how you can create a culture that protects all participants.
This can be found on The CAC Locker under the eLearning tab. You will need an NCCP number to access but this can be created at no cost. If you have an NCCP number and need your password, please contact mmcnally@sopei.com! A step by step example is below:
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Make Ethical Decisions - evaluation
When: Ongoing - anytime
Required by: EVERYONE (Head Coaches within 1 year and Assistant Coaches within 2 years)
Important: this course is included in the required Sport Technical training for Curling, Figure Skating, Speed Skating, Cross Country Skiing, Alpine Skiing, Basketball, Softball, 5-pin, 10-pin, Rhythmic Gymnastics, and Swimming so the evaluation will be free.
Evaluation: once this course is completed you are required to complete your evaluation online to complete certification; follow the steps below:
You will need to Log-in to The Locker (if you need your NCCP# and password, email Matthew McNally) and:
- Complete Login with your NCCP# or email and password.
- Find the “Home” section or click the Home icon beside the red Profile Tab
- Select the “eLearning” option from the main screen under the navigation section.
- Select “Making Ethical Decisions (MED) online Evaluation” from the list on the left-hand side
- Select “Continue” below the Frequently Asked Questions
- Select “Begin” on the bottom right
A) If you previously took MED: You will have unlimited attempts at obtaining a passing grade of 75%
B) If you have not taken MED: There will be an $85 charge and you will have 2 attempts. Please save the receipt(s) and SOPEI will reimburse you.
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Optional Courses and Coach Resources:
Aboriginal coaching modules
The Aboriginal Coaching Modules (ACM) responds directly to the need for a national coach training curriculum that reflects the uniqueness of Indigenous culture, values and lifestyles. Originally designed for coaches of First Nation, Métis and Inuit heritage, the program has been expanded to include non-Indigenous coaches working within Indigenous communities and with Indigenous people.
Designed to complement the NCCP certification process, the ACM is a professional development training tool for all coaches who coach Indigenous athletes. Learn more here about the general and long term objectives. Typically these modules are completed in a 1 day (8 hour) workshop but can be provided separately upon request.
The ACM is comprised of three learning modules:
Module 1: Holistic Approach to Coaching
Module 2: Dealing with Racism in Sport
Module 3: Individual and Community Health and Wellness
Open to all Coaches and Volunteers in Special Olympics.
Register by emailing mmcnally@sopei.com.
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Special Olympics Canada Long-term athlete development 2.0 training
When: Ongoing - anytime
You will need to Log-in to The Locker (if you need your NCCP# and password, email Matthew McNally) and:
- Complete Login with your NCCP# or email and password.
- Find the “Home” section or click the Home icon beside the red Profile Tab
- Select the “eLearning” option from the main screen under the navigation section.
- Select “Special Olympics” from the list on the left-hand side
- Select the courses (one at a time) in the series and complete:
- LTAD 1: Introduction to Physical Literacy and Special Olympics LTAD 2.0
- LTAD 2: Quality Sport – Good People, Good Programs, Good Places
- LTAD 3: 5 Factors for Enhancing Physical Literacy
- LTAD 4: Athlete Stream: Discovery
- LTAD 5: Athlete Stream: Active for Life
- LTAD 6: Athlete Stream: Sport Excellence
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Coaching Association of Canada Locker Modules
There are a number of modules, developed by Special Olympics Canada and/or Coaching Association of Canada that has been launched on the Locker. All four courses are targeted at Special Olympics coaches and are being offered for free. Upon completion, it will be recorded on the coach’s NCCP transcript. Not Required but suggested resources for managing risk at program and competitions.
You will need to Log-in to The Locker (if you need your NCCP# and password, email Matthew McNally) and select the e-learning tab.
Anti-racism in Coaching:
Coaches in Canada play an integral role in creating a fair and inclusive environment for their sport. While the impact of racism in sports and coaching can be far-reaching, so can the effects of anti-racism coaching education.
After completing the Anti-racism in Coaching eLearning module, you will be able to:
- Build your knowledge of issues related to race and racism in Canada that affect coaching
- Expand your understanding of how to be an anti-racist coach
- Cultivate your skills in supporting racialized participants in sport
Coaches who are maintaining their NCCP certified or trained status will earn two NCCP PD points upon completion of this module. This module will take approximately 60-75 minutes to complete.
As a coach, learning about asthma serves an important purpose: you are making sports safer for more people to participate in and directly promoting inclusivity for those affected by asthma. Additionally, when you are confident in your abilities to identify and respond to an asthma attack, participants and their parents/guardians feel more comfortable taking part in community sports. This eLearning module will take approximately 40-50 minutes to complete.
When you have finished this module, you will be able to:
- Identify common symptoms and triggers relating to asthma attacks as per the Canadian Thoracic Society guidelines
- Describe the steps for how to treat an asthma attack
- Implement a plan of action for managing an athlete's asthma that includes coordinating with parents/guardians
Fostering intercultural skills is essential to promote inclusivity and understanding among participants and coaches. Embracing cultural diversity enriches team dynamics and enhances the overall sport experience for everyone.
The three 20-minute Intercultural Skills in Sport eLearning modules (Defining Culture, Culture and Me, Culture and Us) are designed to equip coaches with the knowledge and tools necessary to navigate diverse cultural landscapes within sports and ensure all participants feel valued and respected. We encourage you to complete all three modules to fully understand the concepts and how to apply them in your role in sport. You will need to complete the modules in order.
In this module series, coaches will:
- Gain insights into cultural humility and its role in fostering positive relationships
- Develop strategies for effective cross-cultural communication
- Learn to create inclusive sporting environments that celebrate diversity
- Enhance their ability to support and engage with participants from varying cultural backgrounds
Coaching Athletes with Autism in Sports:
In this module coaches will receive additional training regarding autism, specific to sport and coaching. The four sections will introduce coaches to autism and what it looks like in a recreation setting, 1:1 strategies for supporting individuals with ASD, and group coaching strategies for supporting individuals with autism. This module was developed in collaboration with the Canucks Autism Network. This module will take you approximately 60-90 minutes to complete.
Coaching Athletes with Down Syndrome:
Special Olympic Canada’s Coaching Athletes with Down Syndrome eLearning module is designed for those who coach athletes with Down syndrome. In this module coaches learn how to empower athletes with Down syndrome to become active and successful participants in sport. This module will take you approximately 20‐30 minutes to complete.
The NCCP Coach Initiation in Sport eLearning module introduces new coaches to the foundational skills of coaching, such as long-term development, ethics, coaching motivation, and athlete safety and wellness. It also teaches the key coaching concepts and educational tools that are the foundation of the NCCP. This eLearning module will take approximately 60 minutes to complete.
This module will prepare you to:
- Understand your role as a coach in creating a safe, inclusive, accessible and welcoming sport environment for people of all abilities
- Understand the importance of and ways to listen to, and learn from, each person’s unique goals and needs
- Explain how quality sport participation and an inclusive environment is beneficial, and a right, for all participants
- Apply relevant principles to adapt your coaching environment for people of different abilities
- Apply basic coaching principles to enhance participants’ skill development
- Identify other relevant learning opportunities to support your development as a coach
Creating a Positive Sport Environment:
Participant-centered coaching strategies are an effective way to establish a safe and inclusive sport culture. By placing participants at the centre of the coaching process, coaches can promote growth and athletic development, foster creativity and learning, and protect participants from harm. This eLearning module will take approximately 40-50 minutes to complete.
After completing the NCCP Creating a Positive Sport Environment eLearning module, you will be able to:
- Describe the characteristics and benefits of participant-centered coaching
- Explain the types of harm that may occur when a coach misuses their power and how to respond to suspicions or knowledge of maltreatment
- Use positive coaching strategies to create a positive sport environment, enhance safety, and improve learning and performance
Diversity and Inclusion in Action:
The Diversity and Inclusion in Action eLearning module is designed for volunteers, coaches, staff, board members, and/or other stakeholders of your organization. In this module, you will learn how to contribute to the success of an organization that reflects, respects, and promotes diversity and inclusion. This module will take you approximately 30‐40 minutes to complete.
Making Head Way in Special Olympics:
Making Head Way in Special Olympics is the NCCP’s free, online answer to the prevalence and ambiguity of concussions in sport, specifically focused on individuals with an intellectual disability. Parents, coaches, and athletes all benefit from knowing as much as possible about concussions; this online learning tool developed in collaboration with CAC and Parachute is designed to help coaches gain the knowledge and skills required to ensure the safety of their athletes.
After completing the NCCP Making Head Way in Special Olympics module, you will understand:
- How to prevent concussions;
- How to recognize the signs and symptoms of a concussion;
- What to do when you suspect an athlete has a concussion; and
- How to ensure athletes return to play safely.
Mental Health in Sport:
Mental health impacts the quality of life and performance of both sport participants and coaches. This eLearning module was developed to educate coaches about mental health to empower them to effectively play a role in supporting the well-being of the participants in their sport program, while also supporting their own mental health.
Sport is linked to a range of positive outcomes, including improved mental health and well-being. Coaches have a great deal of influence over participants’ mental health.
After completing the Mental Health in Sport eLearning module, you will be able to:
- Describe the foundations of mental health
- Recognize and understand your role in promoting coach and participant well-being
- Understand the importance of self-care
Coaches who are maintaining their NCCP trained or certified status will receive 1 Professional Development (PD) point upon completing this module.
This eLearning module will take approximately 45-60 minutes to complete, and is available free of charge in the Locker.
Next Gen Men (NGM) is a Canadian leader in engaging and empowering boys and men on topics like mental health and gender-based violence. This course, Raising Next Gen Men, is for parents, educators, coaches, youth workers, and anyone who understands how much difference one, well-equipped mentor can make in young people’s lives. It will help you understand how boys shape, and are shaped by, a wide array of gender-based cultural norms, by delving into academic research in the field, young masculinity in popular culture, and real stories about boys. This is course is broken into 14 key lessons (approximately 8 to 10 hours of learning).
This course will:
- Increase your capacity to form strong connections with boys and engage them in meaningful topics
- Better understand the experiences and perspectives of adolescent boys, and feel more confident in yourself as a touchpoint for positive masculinity
- Stop feeling uncertain or overwhelmed, and start making a difference
Support Through Sport Series:
The Support Through Sport series offers training and resources to empower coaches to recognize and take action to address gender-based violence and teen dating violence.
The four eLearning modules within the Support Through Sport series each focus on different topics regarding gender-based violence and teen dating violence. Understanding Teen Dating Violence is the foundational module, with the three additional eLearning modules in development.
- Bystander Empowerment
- Gender-based Violence in Sport
- Modelling Healthy Relationships
- Understanding Teen Dating Violence
The 30-40 minute modules are now available for free in the eLearning section of the Locker. Visit for more information, including reference materials, advocacy resources and other information.
SIRC - Air quality and outdoor sport safety:
Environmental factors such as precipitation, extreme temperatures, lightning, and air pollution can adversely impact the health, safety, and performance of sport participants during outdoor training and competition. To protect all participants—including coaches, officials, and spectators—from exposure to these environmental factors, sport leaders (e.g., coaches, officials, sport administrators) should make informed decisions about when to modify, cancel, or reschedule outdoor events. There is a wide understanding of how to protect participants from lightning, yet few understand how to protect sport participants from poor air quality. In this module, you will learn how to do just that! This eLearning module will take approximately 30-40 minutes to complete.
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
- Describe the major air pollutants, where they come from, and their impact on human health
- Explain why air pollution presents a significant risk to sport participants
- Describe the effects of air pollution on the health and performance of outdoor sport participants
- Use the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) and regional and local air quality alerts to protect outdoor sport participants from exposure to air pollutants
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Canadian Women and Sport - Gender EQuity LENS
When: Ongoing - Online
The Gender Equity LENS e-learning module gives you the information and tools you need to act on your commitment to gender equity, helping you make policy and program decisions to better serve women and girls in your sport. You’ll learn how to bring a gender lens to your decision-making and create the conditions to support women and girls to participate, lead and stay involved.
What is the LENS framework?
Whether we realize it or not, each of us looks at the world differently, through different lenses which shape our perceptions, attitudes, and actions. The LENS framework is a four-step process developed to help you make more equitable decisions by taking stock of the relevant issues and barriers, challenging assumptions, prioritizing your ideas, and making an action plan for equity.
Why should I take this e-learning module?
This module was designed for sport leaders and decision makers – anyone who shapes sport programming, ranging from coaches to CEOs of sport organizations. Everybody has a role to play in making sport more inclusive and reducing barriers for people who have historically been excluded, like girls and women.
What can I expect?
By taking this e-learning module, you will:
- build your understanding of key equity and inclusion concepts, including gender, intersectionality, and unconscious bias
- learn how embracing gender equity can make your sport better for all involved;
- learn how to apply our LENS framework to help you ask the right questions and challenge assumptions that keep equity out of reach; and,
- learn how to create sport environments that support women and girls to participate and lead in sport over the long term
- Receive two NCCP professional development points upon completion of the Gender Equity LENS e-learning module (if you are registered with The Locker through the Coaching Association of Canada)
More Details and to register: Visit the Canadian Women and Sport website
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Responsible COACHING MOVEMENT - Rule of Two
When: Ongoing - Online
The goal of the Rule of Two is to ensure all interactions and communications are open, observable, and justifiable. Its purpose is to protect participants (especially minors) and coaches in potentially vulnerable situations by ensuring more than one adult is present. There may be exceptions in emergency situations. Not Required but suggested resources for managing risk at program and competitions.
More Details: Visit the CAC Responsible Coaching Movement website or check out the 20-minute Understanding the Rule of Two eLearning Module
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Commit to kids
When: Ongoing - Online
Commit to Kids: Foundational Information for Safeguarding Children from Sexual Abuse is for individuals who work with children looking for foundational information on child sexual abuse, or those looking to refresh their knowledge on the topic. Parents who have children in child-serving organizations may also find the content relevant.
This video discusses:
- The scope of child sexual abuse
- Barriers to disclosure
- Grooming and boundary transgressions
- How you can help safeguard children from sexual abuse
Commit to Kids: Foundational Information for Safeguarding Children from Sexual Abuse results in a record of participation upon successful completion of the final quiz when a learner achieves a score of 100%.
For a more comprehensive professional development on safeguarding children from child sexual abuse, consider taking Commit to Kids online training.
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RESPECT IN SPORT
When: Ongoing - Online
Not Required but suggested resources for managing risk at program and competitions.
More Details: Visit http://respectgroupinc.com/ website for courses
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Emergency First Aid, CPR, and AED Training
When: TBD when enough interest (email mmcnally@sopei.com to be put on a contact list)
Deadline to register: September 1, 2021
Event Location: 40 Enman Crescent, Room 125 in Charlottetown, PE (Same building as SOPEI Office)
Minimum: 10
Max: 15
Cost: Free
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COACHING PEI RESOURCES and Courses
When: Ongoing
Upcoming NCCP Courses offered in PEI
Interested in becoming a vip coach? The vip program is designed to raise the bar for what it means to be a coach in PEI.
Coaches in the vip program will be leading the way in safe sport and providing environments that encourage positive growth and development in a sport setting.
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NCCP Upcoming Courses
When: Ongoing
Coaching Association of Canada Course Calender
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Special Olympics International (SOI) Resources
When: Ongoing - Online
SOI has a learning platform for coaches, volunteers, staff and athletes and are currently providing a number of courses, some for free. Coaches can explore the catalogue for courses on unified sports, health, Introduction to Intellectual Disabilities, and some sport specific content. Coaches will need to create a login to access material. Not Required but suggested resources for managing risk at program and competitions.
More Details: Visit SOI Resource website for courses
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SIRC Online Concussion Resources
When: Ongoing - Online
Not Required but suggested resources
Website: http://sirc.ca/resources/concussion
For more information, or to express interest in further training, email Matthew McNally
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CAC Suport Through Sport toolkit – NCCP Inspired Coaching Tips
When: Ongoing-Online
Not Required but suggested resources
Quick tips for coaches at all levels and abilities inspired by NCCP
More Details: CAC Support Through Sport Toolkit
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Canadian Parks and Recreation Association: HIGH FIVE Training
When: Ongoing - Online
Not Required but suggested resources
HIGH FIVE national is introducing a new virtual OnDemand training for sport coaches! Are you interested in leveling up your coaching? Or are you interested in coaching but not confident about your sport skills? Learn more about how to keep the game fun for your players while having a quality sport experience with HIGH FIVE Sport training. This training is eligible as professional development points within the National Coach Certification Program. This opportunity has been made possible through a partnership with Canadian Parks and Recreation Association. This effort supports the Government of Canada (Sport Canada) funding commitment to achieve gender equity in sport at every level by 2035.
More Details: CPRA info on the High Five Program
