Toby Hodgson, Operations Manager from Cycling Western Australia has written to the club outining some details for people who may be interested in developing their/a coaching career.

Toby has provided us with an overview of the recently updated Coaching Pathway for cycling coaching in Australia. This will help people to decide what course/s they may need to complete in order to coach a chosen target group.

Cycling Australia conducts four levels of coach education for cycling coaches at all levels, across all disciplines and events. It also provides a mechanism by which coaches can progress along the coaching pathway, should they wish to, as displayed in the Coaching Pathway diagram.

The Cycling Australia coaching courses are delivered by Cycling Australia and AustCycle approved facilitators under the strict guidelines of the National Coach Accreditation Scheme (NCAS). All accredited cycling coaches are recognised as having met the standards under the NCAS, which are recognised by the Commonwealth and state/territory governments.

Changes to the Coaching Pathway in 2013

During 2013 a number of changes will take place to the Cycling Australia coaching pathway structure as indicated in the pathways flowchart here. These changes include the following:

1. Combining Cycleskill and AustCycle Coaching Courses: Previously two separate courses these will now be combined to form the AustCycle Skills Coach Course. Currently accredited CycleSkill coaches will be provided the opportunity to gain AustCycle Skills Coach qualifications through the review of an additional online resource providing further details on working in low traffic environments, an aspect not previously incorporated into the CycleSkill course.
2. Introduction of Road and Track Skills Coach and MTB Skills Coach courses: A new pre-requisite to the Level 1 Road and Track and Level 1 MTB courses, the Skills Coach course will be a one day course  targeting  new coaches looking to undertake club level coaching assisting riders to build their riding skills and develop basic racing skills.

Toby has provided a brief overview of the two entry level coaching courses that we will be offering in WA this year. More information on the upcoming course in March is also included below. Future course dates will be promoted through the Cycling WA eNewsletter and website once they are set.

NCAS Road and Track Skills Course

This course is discipline and event-specific to Road and Track cycling, designed and targeted for beginner coaches who assist club riders to build their riding skills and learn basic racing skills. The course addresses, discipline-specific planning and evaluation, bike set-up, cycling skill development and practical coaching. The course is a two day program combined with the AustCycle Skills Coaching Course and is delivered by the constituent state organisations of Cycling Australia. This 2 day course is the prerequisite for completing the Level 1 Road and Track Coach Course.

Day 1 – AustCycle Skills Coaching Course
Day 2 – Road and Track Skills Coaching Course

For details of NCAS Road and Track Skills Coaching Course, please download the information sheet.

NCAS AustCycle Skills Coach Course (the same as day 1 of Road and Track Skills Coach Course)

This course is specifically targeted at coaches who desire to assist novice riders in the areas of bicycle skills, road-worthiness, the correct choice and fitting of cycling equipment and optimising bicycle set-up. The course is one day in duration and is delivered by the constituent federations of Cycling Australia and AustCycle.

For details of NCAS AustCycle Skills Course, please download the information sheet.

AustCycle Skills Coach Course – Perth – 15th March 2013

This one day course allows participants (when accredited and registered with an AustCycle Provider) to teach Levels 1 (Beginner) and 2 (Intermediate) of the AustCycle education framework. Participants who complete this course have also completed Day 1 of the Road and Track Skills Coach Courses. Participants wanting to become and AustCycle Skills Coach OR who want to work towards completing their Road and Track Skills Coach accreditation should enrol in this course (Note: Day 2 of the Road and Track Skills Coach course will be held later this year in WA). Click here for more information and to reserve your place on this course.

Don’t hesitate to contact CyclingWA should you have any questions about the updated coaching pathway and which course is right for you.