With ice rinks around the country opening up for the new season, the first of a 3M Canada-sponsored series of new booklets – the first ones are on hockey and ringette – for just beginning sports coaches are available from Canadian Tire stores.
The sport-specific booklets – baseball, softball and soccer material will be available next year – cost $7 each.
They provide first-time coaches with practical information on communicating with young athletes and their parents; planning safe and enjoyable practices; and teaching skills.
Donna Fairbrother, a spokeswoman for 3M Canada, says the booklets are just one part of the company’s involvement with sports.
Fairbrother says 3M Canada is the ‘most significant’ sponsor of the Coaching Association of Canada.
400,000 coaches
She declines to say how much 3M Canada gives to the cac.
According to the cac, there are about 400,000 active coaches in Canada, each with an average of 10 athletes.
The association says in many high participation team sports, parents are the main source of new coaching recruits, many with little or no previous experience.
Fairbrother says the booklets will be available to the public for as long as they are wanted.
She says they are being promoted on tsn, the cable sports network, and were developed in conjunction with the cac.
She says that as well as being available through Canadian Tire stores, the booklets are also available through federal, provincial or territorial governments and sport organizations.
According to Fairbrother, for English Canada, 15,000 hockey booklets have been printed, with a further 7,500 printed for French Canada.
For ringette, 5,000 booklets have been printed in English, and another 2,500 in French.
