Two new online courses for coaches and Phys. Ed teachers across Canada now available!

School Sport Canada has launched two new online resources on its coach-education website – www.SchoolCoach.ca. Aimed at improving the landscape for coaches and Phys. Ed teachers across Canada, Safety Guidelines and the Legal Course for Coaches are just two of the newest online educational offerings available to coaches via the online learning management system; the former of which is available in both English and French.

With funding support from the Public Health Agency of Canada – Safety Guidelines is designed to engage teachers and teacher-coaches and inform them on techniques and best practices for preventing injuries resulting from participation in school sport or physical education. Based on the Safety Guidelines manuals and resources available in several provinces across the country, each unit is guided by a pair of onscreen hosts who present the material in a concise, easy-to-understand format. Both the English and French versions of the course are currently available for free for a limited time.

The Legal Course for Coaches is another new course available from SchoolCoach.ca. As the name suggests, it is designed to prepare the interscholastic teacher-coach and/or community sports coach to deal with a number of potential legal situations he or she may encounter. The course was authored by the Sport Law & Strategy Group (formerly Canadian Centre for Sport & Law) and also engages course hosts to make the resource more interactive. Recognizing that legislation can vary among different provinces or jurisdictions, content is broad enough to be applicable nation-wide, but directs the user to where he or she can access local provincial legislation.

Courses are hosted at www.SchoolCoach.ca; which also boasts a number of other quality online courses in addition to Safety Guidelines and the Legal Course. Fundamentals of Coaching, Teaching & Modeling Behaviour, Athletic Injury Management and Engaging Effectively with Parents all offer insights into different aspects of coaching at the interscholastic level. Further, there are two other free courses – Concussions in Sport: What You Need to Know and Be the Norm: Choose to be Tobacco Free – the latter of which targets students aiming to help them see through tobacco industry lies regarding tobacco products. For more information about any of the courses head to www.SchoolCoach.ca or contact michael@asaa.ca.