2013 Coaches Conference

The Alberta Rowing Association in association with the Edmonton and University of Alberta Rowing Clubs are pleased to announce that it will host its fourth annual coaching conference on January 11 and 12, 2013 in Edmonton, Alberta. For the second consecutive year this years conference will feature a guest speaker from outside the sport of rowing, but widely recognised within Edmonton and football circles alike. This years guest speaker will be Kavis Reed – Head Coach of the Edmonton Eskimos. Kavis played for the Eskimos from 1995 to 1999. Following his playing career Kavis served in a variety of assistant coaching roles in the CFL before being signed on to become Head Coach the Edmonton Eskimos in 2010.

The Conference is open to all – athletes, coaches, officials and even parents who wish to not only gain insight into our sport but perhaps even see themselves sitting in the coach boat in the future. Coaches who are currently working towards their coaching certification (s) will not receive credit towards their professional development at this conference. However, we ensure all coaches that the material presented will be relevant so you can take new information and use it with the rowers that you are coaching.

The Conference will take place at the University of Alberta (Room TBD). The format is as follows:

Friday Evening 6:30pm – 7:00pm – Registration
Friday Evening 7:00pm – 9:00pm – Keynote Speaker Kavis Reed
Friday Evening Social – Location and Event – To be Determined

Day Two –January 12, 2013
8:30 – 9:30am – Coaching the Newbie
Coaching an athlete with no previous rowing experience is harder than it appears. Neala Macdonald will introduce concepts, drills and games that will assist in the development of an athlete who is newly introduced to the sport of rowing.

9:30 – 10:40am – Mental Training
Lisa Rogerson completed her doctoral degree in Sport Psychology in 2003. Since then Lisa has been consulting with athletes and coaches from a variety of sports from novice to Olympic levels of competition. Lisa is presently a mental skills coach with the Alberta Sport Development Centre .

10:40am to 11:00am – Coffee Break – All Groups

11:00am – 12:00pm – Strength Training
An informative session for coaches looking to gain insight on how to develop a proper strength training program. Kevin Jones and Chelsea Weiman will guide you through this session.

12:00pm –12:50pm Lunch – All

12:50-1:00pm – Erg Monitoring Program for 2012
Michael Simonson will review the ARA Erg Monitoring Program for 2013 and discuss the potential benefits it may have for not only your athletes but your program(s) as well.

1:00pm – 1:50pm –– Video Analysis / Drills
This workshop will focus on video analysis of rowers in the Train to Train stage (rowers in their 1st & 2nd year of rowing). In a group setting, the moderator will use video footage of rowers to examine common errors, causes of errors and present drills that can be utilized to correct these errors. This will be an interactive session with considerable involvement of the coaches.

1:50pm to 2:00pm – Short Break

2:00pm – 2:50pm – Competitive rowing: Perspectives from club and elite level programs in Europe.
Ole Tietz is a former member of the German National Rowing Team and is now a high ranking athlete here in Alberta. Ole will share race strategies and offer advise to coaches looking to provide athletes with the mental strategies needed to succeed on the day of the big race.

2:50pm – 3:10pm – Coffee Break

3:10 – 4:00pmCoxy Skills
Coxwains are an important aspect of any rowing program. However, learning to become a cox is often through trial and error. Ali Williams – a former coxwain with the Australian National Rowing Team will provide tips on how to develop coxies within our own rowing programs.

4:00pm to 4:15pm – Course Wrap Up

4:15pm – Adjourn

Registration forms for the conference will be available on ARA site by Friday January 13, 2012