Canadian Heritage committee  Yes.

Canadian Heritage committee  It depends on where you are.

Canadian Heritage committee  In competitive swimming, and I know that fairly well, someone who is starting out as a grassroots-type coach will make $15 an hour. Someone who is at the provincial level will make $60,000 to $75,000 a year. Someone who's at the international level will make somewhere between $100,000 and $150,000 a year.

Canadian Heritage committee  Instead of it being pedagogy or a biomechanics specialization or an exercise physiology specialization, it becomes a coaching specialization. You have a kinesiology degree or a physical education degree with a specialization in coaching.

Canadian Heritage committee  I think you have to persuade them. I won't win any favouritism medals here, but I think the Coaching Association of Canada wields way too much power. Their 24-hour or 36-hour weekend learn to coach program isn't enough. You don't learn how to teach kids. You don't learn what is necessary.

Canadian Heritage committee  I want to build on this a little bit. I think the big thing with the Saskatchewan background in hockey is ice time. They can go and hop on the rink and skate in a non-structured environment for hours and hours. If you go to a local rink at shinny time, when the kids can go play and there's no score being mentioned, the kids will do things with that puck that they would never do in a game, because it doesn't matter.

Canadian Heritage committee  I think financially it will become more difficult to a certain point. If you use the model of having that professional, whether it be at the young ages, at the grassroots level, being a mentor and helping along parents who are volunteers.... The big issue is just that: we aren't teaching our kids how to be just generally active.

Canadian Heritage committee  I like the mentor approach, the one coach who basically runs it and has assistant coaches. Even at the Airdrie Minor Hockey Association level I've tried to push for the coaches to get together with a group of atom players and sit down and talk about the skills they've taught and which skill development workouts or drills they've used have worked and which haven't.

Canadian Heritage committee  First, I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to be here. I've been a coach of many sports in Canada over the last 30 years. I started out coaching 30 years ago in competitive swimming, and then as my life evolved, I went into triathlon, running, some cycling, and as my kids have grown older, some lacrosse and some hockey.