Introduction

Though some participants may have experienced an Activator course as their introduction to Triathlon, the Level 1 coaching course, for most coaches, will be the entry level course. It introduces coaches to the key skills and knowledge to take their first steps into coaching.
The course is designed to provide candidates with the principles and practices of safe and ethical coaching of triathlon sessions to youth, junior and adult recreational participant groups, using the activities provided through this course programme, equipping coaches with the necessary skills and resources to start coaching straight away.
At Level 1 the focus is on three key aspects:

• WHAT to coach (knowledge and skills);
• HOW to coach these concepts to best enable athletes to develop;
• WHO is being coached, understanding the athlete to enable better coaching to take place.

Approach

All World Triathlon courses are facilitated to maximize candidate involvement in a high-quality learning environment. This will be achieved via group activities, discussions, personal reflections but most importantly the opportunity to practice or “have a go at Coaching” as well as taught elements in the real life or virtual classroom by an approved World Triathlon Coach Facilitator.
The general format of World Triathlon coach education courses involves introducing ‘bite-size’ topics of facilitated information, followed by an activity (group task or practical coaching) that allows coaches to apply the information in a coaching-relevant situation. This is an important bridge between theoretical and applied understanding of coaching practice. The Facilitator becomes a guide who integrates the knowledge and experience of the coaches with the course content.

Delivery

The Level 1 course is available in multiple formats:

• face-to-face delivery, where key classroom and practical sessions are condensed in 5 consecutive and intensive contact days, but there is also an extensive pre-course and post-course work required in the form of self-study;
• fully online delivery, where all Facilitator interaction is spread over 6 weeks and similar preparation and post-course work is required, than in the previous case;
• blended delivery according to needs and opportunities of the host NF, where there are some contact days, but online interaction is also key.

In all delivery formats we expect candidates to prepare on their own (using the World Triathlon Education & Knowledge HUB) in order to be allowed into face-to-face contact days or online Facilitator Interaction. Not meeting this criteria might result in the exclusion of the candidate.

Course structure and time requirements

Regardless of the delivery style, participants have various types of activities to plan for:

• Theoretical part is mainly presented on the World Triathlon Education & Knowledge HUB, our e-learning platform. Please note that theory is not discussed in its entirety during classroom sessions, therefore participants of face-to-face or blended courses are also required to get familiar with all the content there, and they must also complete all the various tasks and quizzes. We expect candidates to reach a certain percentage before they are allowed to take part in classroom or online Faciltiator Interaction. This is to ensure that they are on the same level and understanding of basic concepts.
• Facilitator Interaction is of key importance as it provides opportunities for discussions, checking of understanding, clarification and individual advice. Our Facilitators are also assessing course participants throughout all sessions, wether these are in-person or online.
• Practical part is where coach candidates can get hands-on experience and also learn from the session deliveries of their Facilitators and peers. Obviously this is difficult to interpret online, but we have a mechanism embedded within the assessment part for this.
• Assessment is multi-faceted, as successful course completion requires the following:
  • All course reading, tasks and assignments must be completed and accepted by deadline.
  • Candidates need to provide proof of their capabilities to deliver sessions either in-person (face-to-face and blended deliveries) or by submitting recorded session videos (blended and fully online deliveries).
  • Coaches also need to go through 1-2-1 discussions with their Facilitators for evaluation, feedback, and advice - again in all delivery cases.

The course flow, time requirements and key criteria with deadlines is detailed in the following diagram for face-to-face and fully online deliveries. In case of a blended course, the flow will be adjusted according to needs and opportunities of the hosting NF somewhere between the presented two options.

In order to successfully complete our Level 1 Coaching course candidates must be ready to allocate around 60 hours in total over the following periods:

• in case of face-to-face delivery:
  • 4 weeks pre-course online learning, activities, tasks,
  • 5 consecutive and intensive contact days,
  • 2 weeks post-course assignments;

• in case of fully online delivery:

  • 2 weeks pre-course preparation,
  • 6 weeks on-course work with interaction,
  • 3 weeks post-course assignments.

Deadlines, course requirements and schedules of the courses are not negotiable, therefore we ask all applicants to carefully consider before applying. In order to facilitate this we aim to post schedules in advance.
We accept nominations from our member National Federations (unless posted otherwise), so please contact your NF for their endorsement!