Youth Program Coaching

Providing children with a fun start to build their fundamentals for their cross-country skiing journey in a safe and professional manner is rewarding. You don’t need to be a great cross-country skier to start coaching with us! The club will help you develop your personal cross-country skiing skills.

Golden Nordic Ski Club coaches are required to meet the below expectations before they lead any youth sessions. Coaching is on a volunteer basis. Many parents will dedicate several years as a youth program coach while their children are in the programs. This helps ensure that the club can offer these valuable programs.

How to Become a Youth Program Coach with Golden Nordic

The coach’s training starts with obtaining the certification for coaching Bunnyrabbits (ages 3-5) regardless of what age you hope to coach. If you want to coach older skiers, you need to take additional courses for each level. See below for the specific requirements for each level. In addition, all coaches need to have:

  • a current, cleared criminal record check specific for coaching for the Golden Nordic Ski Club youth program

  • sign up for their coaching license with Nordiq Canada

  • be a current member of Golden Nordic Ski Club

  • be on Nordic ski equipment during their coaching sessions

Coaching Requirements

Bunnyrabbits (ages 3-5) - all online

  • 1. Set up a (free) National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) account and obtain your NCCP#.

  • 2. Required courses and modules - follow this order:

    • NCCP Coach Initiation in Sport (1 hour)

      • Found under Multi-sport tab.

      • $15 course fee to be reimbursed by the club after coaching for the season.

    • Intro To Community Coaching (ICC) (4-5 hours)

      • Found under Cross Country Skiing tab.

      • $52 course fee to be reimbursed by the club after coaching for the season.

    • Understanding the Rule of Two (20 minutes)

      • Found under Multi-sport.

      • Free module

    • Making Ethical Decisions (MED) Online Evaluation (45-60 minutes)

      • Found under Multi-sport.

      • Free module ONLY if you have taken the Introduction to Community Coaching (ICC). So, take the ICC FIRST.

    • SafeSport Training (90 minutes)

      • Found under Multi-sport.

  • 3. Sign up for your Nordiq Canada coaching license (free) and register each year (this covers your insurance).

  • 4. A current, cleared criminal record check specific for coaching for the Golden Nordic Ski Club youth program.

  • Minimum age is 14 years old.

Coaching Jackrabbits (ages 6-9)

You will need the Bunnyrabbits coaching requirements as well as:

  • Community Coaching (CC) on-snow course (16 hours)

  • be at least 14 years old

Coaching Track Attack (9-12)

You will need the Jackrabbits coaching requirements as well as:

  • Learning to Train (L2T) Dryland - in person

  • Learning to Train (L2T) On-Snow - in person

Benefits of Being a coach

There are ample rewards for coaching with the youth program. Seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces and witnessing their excitement as they discover the joys of gliding through the winter wonderland. Helping children improve their skiing techniques while gaining confidence. Having fun together, finding adventures on and off the trails. As a coach, you are at the heart of the youth programs where you will mentor, lead, and inspire. Whether you want to give back to the sport that gave you a lot in your lifetime or you are a new skier eager to help your child learn a new sport, there’s a role for you. The club invites all coaches to an early season coaches gathering where experienced coaches will share games, learning drills, and strategies to help create quality learning experiences for the youth. Also, coaches are invited to hone their personal cross-country skiing techniques in free coach improvement sessions.

Get in Touch!

We always welcome new coaches. Please reach out to see how to get started or for any other coaching related questions. programs@goldennordicclub.ca.