2009 Program News
9/25/09: Week 2 Recap- ICECP Rolls on, Concludes Time at Delaware
Another week of ICECP is down and the coaches had their hands full. This week saw the continuation of the educational curriculum, the presentation of each participants’ ICECP project and the preparation for heading to each apprenticeship site.
On Saturday, the program was honored at the University of Delaware football game against Delaware State. The coaches were invited down on the field during halftime and were recognized by the crowd for their participation in ICECP. The next day, the coaches took some time to relax after a busy Week 1. They enjoyed their break from the rigors of the program by going out and doing some shopping at different stores in Newark.
Monday, they jumped right back into the mix. The coaches attended 13 class sessions from 10 different guest lecturers. The sessions included classroom-based presentations on coaching education, sport management and athlete development and hands-on learning experiences in sport medicine and emergency response.
Topics in Week 2 included facility management, grassroots sport development, taping and bracing, CPR, long-term athlete development, sport administration, training theory and competition preparation and management.
Milos Tomic, the men’s national skiing team head coach in Serbia, appreciates the caliber of presenters at ICECP.
“The lessons are great and the professors and coaches are very knowledgeable,” Tomic said. “The most important thing for me has been the great relationships between participants and teachers. They are open to discussion, not just here to make presentations.”
New experts were on hand to present in Week 2. Delaware men’s soccer coach Ian Hennessey joined the program to present on the stages of athlete development. Coach Hennessey was followed and supplemented by Richard Way, the architect of “Canadian Sport for Life.” Way spent three hours leading a discussion on long-term athlete development.
“The presentation on long-term athlete development blew my mind,” said Ian Weithers, the judo national team coach in Barbados. “It’s the way of the future.”
Jim Kaden, manager of the UDel Ice Arena and outdoor pool, spoke to the participants about facility management. His presentation included event planning, preparing a facility for a competition and risk management.
Tina Martin, Delaware women’s basketball coach, and Patrick Castagno, Tatnall School cross country, indoor and outdoor track coach, led an interactive discussion on the image of the coach. They ran an intensive question and answer period and addressed issues such as dealing with athletes’ emotions, running practices and coaching styles.
Yu-Chiao Hsu, a national archery team coach in Chinese Taipei, found the interaction with Martin and Castagno the most interesting session of the week. She said that their experience in coaching helped create some good discussion.
Some of last week’s presenters returned as well. Dr. Robinson gave several presentations on sport management topics and led an ethics and philosophy discussion. Dr. Kaminski, alongside UDel head athletic trainer John Smith, ran a session on taping and bracing athletes and sport injury management. Dr. Kaminski also led a session on CPR and emergency response.
The practical sessions done by Dr. Kaminski were the most helpful Week 2 topics for Rasha Ghoneim, the national rowing team coach in Egypt. She said it was her first time learning about taping, bracing, CPR and first aid.
Igor Paskoski, the judo senior national team head coach in Macedonia, has taken plenty from all the speakers.
“I have learned many new things, and was reminded of some things I learned before,” Paskoski said. “There is a lot of teamwork and sharing of ideas.”
When they weren’t in class sessions, the coaches had plenty to work on. As a part of the program, they are required to do a personal project with the objective of benefiting their respective sport or sport in general in their country.
On Wed. and Thurs., each coach presented their project topics. They discussed the problem in their sport structure, the mission of their project, the SWOT analysis of their situation and the intended outcomes after implementing their programs. Most of the projects involve developing coaching education programs, long-term athlete development, talent identification programs or elite training programs.
A complete list of 2009 projects can be found here.
“All the participant presentations were great. Everyone did a really great job,” Paskoski said.
The coaches will continue to develop their projects throughout the course of the program. When they return home at the end of Oct., they will begin implementing them. In May, they will reunite at the IOC headquarters to present their results.
Saturday represents the last day they will all be together in Delaware. They will finish this portion of the program on a high note, as they will take a day trip to Washington, D.C., to tour the capital and visit the White House.
Starting Sunday, participants will begin departing for their apprenticeship sites. A complete list of apprenticeship sites can be found here.
The last two weeks provided the participants of ICECP with a wealth of new information. And not just from the class sessions.
“The most important thing has been the interaction with my peers,” Weithers said. “After each lecture, we had group discussions about what was happening in each others’ countries related to that topic.”
Tomic agreed, saying, “The relationship between the participants is great. It has given us new ideas for future work.”
