The International Canoe Federation (ICF), in partnership with the Hungarian University of Physical Education in Budapest, has accepted five Americans into their Level 3 Expert Coach Course for the 2020 class. The program promotes and develops excellence in coaching canoe-kayak sprint sport and provides coaches with a systematic way to improve their knowledge, skills, and competencies in theoretical, technical, and practical aspects of coaching and leadership. The highest level of the ICF coach program, the four-month course includes modules on exercise physiology, training theory and methodology, sport injuries, sport psychology, sport management, sport pedagogy, skills and motor development, sport technique, conditioning, observation and competition analysis, and teaching and coaching skills – all taught by university professors and ICF experts. The course begins in September and is completed in December.
With Covid-19 restrictions, the normal one-month in-person program in Budapest, followed by 3 months of distance learning, has been altered to an online format. The ACA’s General Manager of High-Performance Programs, Rok Sribar emphasized, “this gives Americans an exciting opportunity to earn their Level 3 certification in a way that works within their normal coaching schedule.”
The accepted American participants are National Team Coaches, Zsolt Szadovszki and Dan Henderson, San Diego Head Coach Chris Barlow, and Gig Harbor coaches, Aaron Huston and Alyson Morse.