National Coaching Institute

The National Coaching Institute Calgary was established in 1994 as a joint program of the Coaching Association of Canada and the Canadian Sport Centre Calgary. There are currently seven NCI’s across Canada, each associated with a Canadian Sport Centre.

The mission of the NCI Calgary is to develop world class coaches who are capable of preparing athletes for podium performances in sport, and for life outside of sport. The NCI fosters and develops excellence in coaching by providing the knowledge and skills for high performance coaches through a two-year diploma program resulting in Level Four Certification. The program is competency-based, integrating classroom study with a coaching practicum under the leadership of a Master Coach in your sport.

NCI Advanced Coaching Diploma

The National Coaching Institute Advanced Coaching Diploma is the pinnacle of a coaches’ education in the National Coaching Certification Program. NCI coaches are recognized as being among the most qualified coaches and leaders of athletes and sport programs provincially, nationally and internationally.

The Diploma consists of four core themes; Coaching Leadership, Coaching Effectiveness, Performance Planning, and Training and Competition Readiness. Each theme requires coaches to complete a series of modules comprised of several 3 hour units of in-classroom sessions, seminars, workshops or labs. Coaches will be evaluated in each module based on their ability to demonstrate competency coaching developing athletes. Coaches enrolled in the diploma program will work with a designated master and/or mentor coach who will support them in their completion of program requirements. The diploma program requires a mid-point and final assessment by a panel of content specialists. The Diploma is one step towards the certification in the Competition-Development Advanced Gradation context. To complete his/her certification, the coach must contact his/her NSO to apply for the sport-specific evaluation.

NCI Advanced Diploma Curriculum.pdf

Target Coaches

The Advanced Coaching Diploma Program offered by the NCIs predominantly targets coaches working with Training to Train and Training to Compete athletes, which may include:

• Canada Games and provincial team head coaches
• Personal coaches of pre-carded, provincially carded, and developmental carded athletes
• Club coaches of highly ranked clubs and self-made/entrepreneurial coaches
• Post-secondary coaches (CIS, NCAA, CCAA)
• NSO-identified coaches with potential to develop into coaches of high performance athletes
• National Training Centre coaches and assistant coaches

The Diploma Program

The NCI Advanced Coaching Diploma provides flexibility for the active coach with a busy schedule. The diploma is available in a two year, part-time program, but may be obtained in more or less time depending on the NCI; various delivery schedules are available. The diagram below outlines the usual structure of the diploma. For more information please go to the NCI website in your region. A list of units can be accessed at www.coach.ca. Each unit is 3 hours in duration of formalized contact time and does not include coach mentoring or active coaching.

Entry Pre-requisites

The document below outlines the possible entry requisites for coaches wishing to achieve an NCI Advanced Coaching Diploma. Please contact Jason Sjostrom, Director of the National Coaching Institute Calgary at 403.220.8197 or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information on enrolling.

NCI Entry Criteria.pdf

Cost

The full cost of the diploma is $3000.00 and $13000.00 for international students. Tuition is paid in two installments but may vary from NCI. A number of Grants and Bursaries may be available depending on NCI location.

For more information please visit the NCI_Brochure.pdf

To apply to the NCI please fill out the NCI_Application_En.pdf