Responsible Coaching

Overview:

The Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) has developed The Responsible Coaching Movement (RCM). It is a call to action for sport organizations, parents, and coaches to enact responsible coaching across Canada – on and off the field.

What Field Hockey Canada (FHC) strives for is that field hockey coaches and administrators across Canada, at all levels, will inform themselves of this movement and submit their pledge. Clubs, and organizations should all submit a pledge in support of this movement.

>>TAKE THE PLEDGE NOW<<

There are three main steps that are the foundation to the Responsible Coach Movement.

Three Steps to Responsible Coaching. These steps will help participants and coaches benefit fully from sport participation in a safe, healthy, and fun environment. This methodology is a call to action for coaches and sports organizations to learn and apply consistent best practices in coaching.

Rule of Two
1. Ensures open and observable interactions to protect participant and coach alike.

Background Screening
- Background screening ensures that coaches meet the important requirements to coach athletes. Screening tools include comprehensive job postings, criminal record checks, interviews, and reference checks. Coaches can complete their criminal record check screening with their local police department or with specific third-party companies as required by their provincial organization or club.

Ethics Training
1. Prepares coaches to respond ethically and with confidence in challenging situations.

SAFE SPORT

For more information on Field Hockey Canada’s commitment to the principles of Safe Sport please visit our Safe Sport pages, including coaching standards, education and details about our safe sport officer.

TAKE THE PLEDGE NOW: Our sport organization pledges to align our practices with Phase 1 of the Responsible Coaching Movement (RCM) and is committed to ensuring that our athletes and coaches are protected. When you are ready to pledge your support of this movement, please go to this link: RCM Pledge.

The RCM is a multi-phase movement that affects all sport organizations and coaches across Canada. It stems from extensive and ongoing consultation with the sport community in Canada that showed us some of the systemic issues in sport, the role various parties play, and strategies for addressing these issues.

The Coaching Association of Canada and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport support the Canadian sporting community in improving practices that ensure the health, safety and well-being of all participants.

Keeping Sport Fair, Fun, and Safe

Responsible coaching allows you to support your participants’ right to a safe, positive environment. Here are some ways to protect your athletes and yourself both on and off the field of play:

Engage in Safe Sport Training(this link takes you to the free course that is required for all coach education training)
Ensure your organization has taken the RCM Pledge. (this is where you record your pledge)
Support your organization having key policies, like a Travel Policy and a Code of Conduct, and see that these are current and enforced.
Ensure that all coaches and volunteers are appropriately screened.
Encourage coaches and volunteers to take the Commit To Kids, Respect in Sport, and NCCP Make Ethical Decisions
Ask yourself, ‘What are some ways that I, as a coach, can support the Rule of Two?’

Take Three Steps to Responsible Coaching

The Three Steps to Responsible Coaching help participants and coaches benefit fully from sport participation in a safe, healthy, and fun environment. This methodology is a call to action for coaches and sports organizations to learn and apply consistent best practices in coaching.

Protect Your Participants

With your participants, identify situations that may make them vulnerable and discuss ways to deal with them. For example:

When identifying your coaching team, consider the demographics of your participants.
When travel is necessary, avoid situations where there is only one coach or volunteer with a single minor participant. If this is not possible, then ensure that the coach or volunteer has been appropriately screened (link to screening matrix), the athlete is comfortable with the individual, and that you have parental consent. As soon as possible when arriving at the destination, and during the event, find a “buddy” coach or volunteer to associate with during the event and when away from the venue.
Identify situations during practice and competition that may put you or your participants in a vulnerable situation and consider ways to avoid or alter the environment.
Encourage parents to appropriately support their children’s involvement.
Allow training environments to be open to observation by parents.
Ensure an open and observable environment for all interactions between adults and participants.
Avoid private or one-on-one situations except in an emergency. Leave the office door open or have the conversation in a visible but removed part of the facility.

Responsible Coaching Resources

To help you on your RCM journey, we’ve developed a detailed implementation toolkit that includes resources, templates and useful links. We update it regularly with new information and tools.

Ethics training prepares coaches to effectively handle situations that arise from ethical dilemmas or even legal challenges that concern individuals, teams, and their sports organizations. Please visit our Responsible Coaching Movement resources below (documents provided by the Coaching Association of Canada):