Canadian Heritage Committee on March 4th, 2013

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

But that's the one that's gone.

[John Bales]

Yes. But what I'm referring to here are the programs that are being offered through the Canadian sport centres and Canadian sport institutes that are really trying to coordinate the input of both levels of government.

Marc, I don't know if you would like to comment on that.

[Marc Gélinas]

We certainly have an example in the province of Quebec, where at least $5 million a year goes into coaching bursaries. As I mentioned before, coaches of carded athletes get a $10,000 bursary each year and also a coaching salary contribution through the funding they provide to the provincial sport organizations. There are certainly ways to improve that system. There has been some discussion between Own the Podium and the Province of Quebec on January 22, looking at a variety of things that could be done to improve the situation in Canada.

I was talking to some other colleagues in the sport system about the idea of having some type of a bonus system for a coach who produces a carded athlete who then goes on to a national team. It would be obviously a financial incentive to the coach to produce these athletes and to not hold on to that athlete, which sometimes happens. Or a bonus system...for the athlete's medals in an Olympic Games or Paralympic Games. That hasn't happened nationwide yet.

In Quebec the system is a good idea. It's not perfect, but it's a step in the right direction.

I just want to comment on John Bales' comment. In the Canadian sport system, there is an acknowledgement that we are performing, at this time, at the Olympic level, at the Paralympic level, but there's a huge gap, not just in coaching, but also in developing the talent of the next-generation athletes. That's probably another reason that we should invest in coaches for the next-generation athletes. That's where the big gap is. We don't have a population of 300 million, so we're not as big as the other countries. For those athletes who we find, who we develop, we'd better make sure that we enrich their pathway to the podium.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

Can I just stop you right there for a second?

In team sports, coaches do not advance through with any particular team. But in individual sports, like gymnastics and swimming, is it better for one coach to stay with that athlete up to the point of the podium in the Olympics? Or do you set stages, where that coach stays at that level where they're able to produce athletes to go up to the next level and the next coach?

[Marc Gélinas]

I don't know that there's a general answer to that question. I guess it depends on the sport and the situation.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

Thank you, Mr. Simms.

For the remainder of our time, which is five minutes, we have Mr. Brown.

[Gord Brown, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank our witnesses for being here today.

I, for one, am delighted that we're undertaking this study. There's a real wealth of expertise at the end of the table here. I know that Mr. Bales and I crossed paths in the canoe-kayak world over 30 years ago. I was just thinking about that.

It really is a stepped process, if we look at the recreational, the competitive, and then the high-performance athletes. Our study is trying to look at all three, and how we ultimately have athletes get to the point where they're part of the Own the Podium program.

Maybe we can hear a little bit about how we can get coaches to become certified at a higher level.

[John Bales]

I think we have the foundation of the system in place. What is missing at the higher level is the incentive of the career. It's very difficult to undertake the amount and the complexity of the training to become a professional coach when the career options are limited. It's really a question of having the incentive of coaches knowing that if they undertake this level of training there is a career path for them.

This is a big gap. That's why we keep coming back to the issue of how we can create a more stable number—both quantity and quality—of coaching jobs. Without that, it's very difficult to provide the incentive for people to take the training.

Through the Canadian sport institutes we have the National Coaching Institute diploma program, which is a high-level training program for high-performance coaches that would be comparable with what the Germans, the Dutch, and the French do. The quality of the education we're providing is comparable, but our challenge is to have the motivation and the incentives for people to take those programs and be able to then move into a coaching career.

[Gord Brown, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville, ON]

Mr. Hussey, do you have any thoughts on this?

[Wayne Hussey]

I agree that it's a tough one. I would just say to John—and this is why I liked the first comment—that I like the idea that we try to get the early entry coaches, so that it's not so painful on them financially and time-wise. I know there are some things they have to learn, but they can learn them, if they're going to continue up the ladder, or learn more as they go up the ladder. I think that's important.

It is a tough career. People have to have a love for the sport. I make more money now as an administrator than I ever did as a coach. That's not necessarily right, because I coached at the highest level. It's a career that has to become more of a priority, and not just at the top levels.

The coaches' association asked me to do a study when I was a national coach. The life of a national coach was three and a half years back then. That doesn't even get you through a quadrennial. There were so many things pulling at them, from family to wages to the amount of time and effort. Like many of you, we never knew what a calendar was: you had to play, you had to coach, and that was it.

There are so many challenges. As John said, it's not just for the high-level coaches; it has to be at every level. We have to address every level as we go up, not just the high level. In many ways, we are addressing the high-level coaches.

[Gord Brown, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville, ON]

Thank you.

Monsieur Gélinas.

[Marc Gélinas]

I'd certainly support John Bales' comments about the incentives. I would suggest looking also at alternate ways to address a coach's development and professional development needs. E-learning is one example, but I think we should seriously look at fast-tracking coaches and mentoring coaches along.

There has also been some pilot work on helping athletes transition from sport to coaching. What better group of people to select coaches from and to train than the group who have worked throughout their lives to become adept at their sport?

These are new ways. One thing we're finding out is that training coaches in a classical way is something, but those coaches are extremely busy, as my colleagues have mentioned; it's very tough to get them into a classroom. So more and more training has to be very specific to their needs. This is where we have to adapt, I think.

[Gord Brown, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville, ON]

I may be just about out of time, but Mr. Bales, you've made some specific recommendations, and I wish we had more time to delve into them. Is there anything else you'd like to add to the four recommendations you had up on the screen?

[John Bales]

I would only add that I think the foundation exists. There is a very strong foundation, with 67 different sports that have put a considerable effort into training and developing coaches. It really is a case of exploiting that foundation and ensuring that the resources are in place to enable them to deliver the programs.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

Thank you, Mr. Brown.

I want to thank our very distinguished and knowledgeable panel for your testimony. It was only an hour, but I think we were able to all take something away from your testimony.

We will now suspend for five minutes while we set up the next panel, appearing by video conference.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

We'll get started again.

Continuing our study on amateur coaching in Canada, today we have here with us Matt Showers, head coach for 10 years under the Lac St-Louis Swimming Association.

Welcome to you, Mr. Showers.

Appearing by way of video conference from Vancouver, British Columbia, again from the Beaconsfield Bluefins Swim Club, is Tim Comerford, competitive swim coach.

Welcome to you as well, Mr. Comerford.

Are you each going to be making opening remarks?

[Matt Showers, Head Coach for ten years and under, Lac St-Louis Swimming Association, Beaconsfield Bluefins Swim Club]

We are, as far as I know.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

Okay. Then we'll start with you here, Mr. Showers. You have 10 minutes for your opening remarks.

You don't have to take 10 minutes, though.

[Matt Showers]

I don't?

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

No.

[Matt Showers]

Can we start with Tim?

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

Sure.

[Matt Showers]

All right, there we go.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

All right. We'll hear from British Columbia, then.

[Tim Comerford, Competitive Swim Coach, Lac St-Louis Region Swimming Association, Beaconsfield Bluefins Swim Club]

Hi. Thanks for having me via video conference.

My name is Tim Comerford. I've been coaching with the Beaconsfield Bluefins for nine years now. I'm from the West Island of Montreal, and there we have an outdoor swimming association that really starts to develop coaches at a younger age. I started coaching at the age of 15 in the outdoor program, and then a couple of years later I started at the winter competitive level.

At the Bluefins, we are a family-run club, run by volunteer parents. Matt might know better, but I think we have about 100 to 150 swimmers, ranging from age eight and under to the open level of swimming. We compete in the regional league in Lac St-Louis, and many of our coaches have been there for a while, which is pretty rare in our area. Usually, coaches come in and come out, but we have a good community of coaches, families, and kids at the Bluefins. I think that's a really big part of our coach retention.

I by no means need 10 minutes. I don't know whether you have any questions, but that would be my opening remark.