Toby Creek Nordic Ski Club (TCNSC) is seeking a head coach to lead and oversee programming from the Learning to Train through to Learning to Compete phases of athlete development. Our head coach will share our passion for Nordic skiing and inspire, support, and provide leadership to all of our athletes, with a primary focus on coaching and developing our older teenage athletes. They will inspire and engage all athletes in a safe, fun, inclusive, and respectful environment. They will work collaboratively with the Skill Development Coordinator and the club’s Coaching Committee to assist in further developing our thriving Nordic community. This will involve effective communication with athletes, parents, and the club. Our head coach will be a leader and a motivated learner who can inspire our athletes in both personal and athletic development. They will ensure that opportunities are available for athletes with a range of levels of commitment from the dedicated recreational athlete to the ambitious high-performance athlete.
Toby Creek Nordic Ski Club utilizes top-level cross-country venues in the Kootenays, including Nipika Mountain Resort, Panorama Mountain Resort, and our picturesque local mountain lakes. Invermere is the home of the Whiteway, the world’s longest outdoor skating trail that also provides a cross country ski track around Lake Windermere. These facilities provide a variety of trails and conditions ideal for a variety of ski levels and skier development. Invermere is a welcoming community situated in the heart of the Columbia Valley, nestled in between the rugged Rocky Mountains and the slopes of the Purcell Mountains. It is a mecca for year-round recreational opportunities with world-class hiking and biking, two mountain ski resorts, fishing, boating, hot springs, lakes, and a variety of golf courses to explore and enjoy.
The TCNSC is a registered not-for-profit ski club with the goal of fostering Nordic skiing as an affordable, life-long winter activity. Toby Creek Nordic prioritizes fun, friends, trips, and swag. We are known for our incredible “Creeker” team spirit. With 500+ members, our club is a rapidly growing ski club and is entering an exciting period with our athletes achieving exceptional results in the province. The head coach will be an integral part of this progress, collaborating with members, volunteers, staff, and executive board.
TCNSC is looking for a coach who:
- is energetic, enthusiastic, and shares our passion for nordic skiing
- has recent experience coaching and working to inspire athletes
- has strong technical skills and/or understanding of cross-country skiing
- is a great team player and collaborator
- is committed to ongoing professional development (coaching, waxing, etc.), learning, and sharing their knowledge.
- communicates effectively with a variety of audiences
- is highly organized and experienced with financial budgeting and tracking
This is a part-time role with the majority of in-person coaching happening November to March.
Please send us your resume and in a cover letter, 1500 words maximum, tell us how you are suitable for this position and why you are passionate about becoming our head coach and becoming a ‘Creeker’. Please use clear and concrete examples of how you meet the certification standards, experience, knowledge and abilities criteria listed in the statement of qualifications. Salary will range from $23,000 to $27,500 depending on experience (covering the May to April period). Salary to attend Nationals would be additional.
This position is open for applications and will remain open until we find a suitable candidate. Submissions and questions should be sent to info@tobycreeknordic.ca.
STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS
This position requires a comprehensive technical and leadership skill set, which will be used to help grow TCNSC’s presence within our community and the interior region, and to continue to establish the club’s reputation of being a full-service Nordic ski club in Canada. The position will require travel, as well as working in the evenings and on weekends.
Occupational Certification:
- National Coaching Certification Program L2T trained (or similar training), with preference to certification and T2T or L2C, with a willingness to become trained and certified at higher coaching levels.
- Valid Standard First Aid
- Clean Criminal Record & Vulnerable Sector Screen
Experience:
- Previous Head Coaching or Assistant Coaching experience
- Athlete monitoring and training plan implementation would be an asset
- Providing wax and race support operations would be an asset
- Experience planning and executing training camps would also be an asset
- Working with a budget and tracking expenses
Knowledge and Abilities:
- Strong knowledge of cross-country skiing techniques
- Knowledge of waxing techniques
- Ability to communicate effectively using written documents and verbal communication with athletes, parents, volunteer coaches, and the nordic board
- Ability to work collaboratively and share knowledge with others
- Knowledge of MS Office Suite including MSWord, Excel, PowerPoint
Personal Suitability:
- Enjoys interacting with young athletes, parents, and volunteer coaches
- Personally connects with people
- Open to professional development and skill progression
RESPONSIBILITIES
Reporting to the Skill Development Coordinator and TCNSC Coaching Committee.
Specific responsibilities include:
RESPONSIBILITIES
Reporting to the Skill Development Coordinator and TCNSC Coaching Committee.
Specific responsibilities include:
Core Responsibility 1 – Coaching:
- Coach 3x/week from November 1 to March 25.
- Work to inspire our athletes.
- Delivering coaching sessions that are appropriate for the athletes being coached, including providing technical instruction, training opportunities, etc. in an inclusive, safe, and fun way.
- Provide technical feedback to each athlete that is appropriate to their needs.
- Attend 7 weekend out-of-town races.
- Attend Nationals if we have multiple athletes attending.
- Support athletes at races with leadership, advice, pre-skiing of the course, direction to parents and other volunteers, and wax support.
- Lead two dryland camps and one on-snow camp.
- Organize supplementary training (e.g. strength & conditioning).
- Organize regular dryland training with volunteer coaches.
- Create a generic yearly training plan (spreadsheet).
- Create individualized yearly training plans for the oldest athletes (age 14+).
- Monitor training via Training Peaks and athlete interviews and adapt individual training programs as athlete needs require.
- Conduct interviews with JDP athletes ~3x/yr on goals and training.
- Conduct or organize fitness testing (e.g. timed 3km).
- Mentor volunteer coaches by offering 3 on-snow learning sessions/season.
- Identify additional fun activities and people to lead those.
- Liaise with the SDP coordinator to schedule practices.
- Organize opportunities to interact with high performance athletes, coaches and others .
- Ensure that SWAG needs are met.
- Take the lead in a year-end awards ceremony.
- Ensure there is a well stocked first aid kit at the venue.
- Maintain a clean criminal record.
- Maintain current First Aid/CPR.
Core Responsibility 2 – Administration:
- Develop an annual plan for the program (camps, training, races, and special events).
- Schedule coaching clinics as needed and act as the local liaison for CCBC and the facilitator.
- Organize, budget for, and confirm registration of athletes in additional activities, including races.
- Communicate information about race licenses and ensure that parents of the racers that need them are aware of the need.
- Be responsible for mild, prompt and consistent minor discipline of athletes in keeping with the club code of conduct and support any larger disciplinary procedures.
- Generate and maintain a list of emergency contacts for all athletes in the program for distribution to other coaches.
- Generate and maintain an emergency action plan for each of our training venues.
Core Responsibility 3 – Logistics and event coordination:
- Develop a recommended race schedule for varying levels of commitment to racing.
- Provide information to parents and athletes attending races about registration, possible accommodation, team meeting schedule, and equipment and waxing logistics.
Core Responsibility 4 – Financial budgeting and tracking
- Develop a budget for the coaching and associated expenses of the program including camps and races and present this to the board for approval.
- Track these expenses through the season and use this tracking to inform budgeting for expenses in the following year. Submit these for reimbursement monthly.
- Working with the treasurer, update the board if expenses will diverge significantly from the original estimates, defined as 10% for any single line item or 5% in aggregate.
- Estimate revenue and expenses to set prices for any program add-ons (e.g. strength and conditioning).
Core Responsibility 5 – Communication and collaboration
- Periodically attend board meetings to update the board on the program and program direction and attend the club AGM
- Work to develop a rapport with athletes, parents, and others.
- Organize and deliver parent meetings 3x/year.
- Meet with older JDP athletes and their parents individually to cover their YTP, goals, and training.
- Liaise with training venues for upcoming training.
- Share accomplishments with the TCNSC Communications Director monthly throughout the season.
- Communicate with athletes and families about schedules and upcoming events.
- Be the primary point of contact with CCBC and Nordiq Canada specifically with respect to athletes and training.
- Nominate athletes to provincial teams and support the local needs of athletes on provincial teams (e.g. local testing, meetings with provincial coaches, etc.).
- Develop and maintain relationships with other clubs, provincial bodies, and other stakeholders in the sport.
- Support regional, provincial or inter-provincial collaboration initiatives.
- Support the direction and policies of the board.
- Be familiar with and follow the club’s Code of Conduct and support the development of a Safe Sport culture.
Core Responsibility 6 – Commitment to Continuing Professional Development
- Develop a personal learning plan for the year, including a budget, that outlines opportunities to improve their knowledge on technique, coaching, training and adaptation, and/or waxing.
- Conduct controlled wax testing to develop a plan for non-fluoro waxing within the budget constraints of the club.
- Be aware of and support adherence to wax regulations.
- Identify or create opportunities to share knowledge among coaches or other club members.
