Coach and Sport Development

2023 Coach Involvement

National Coaching Certification Program Courses were delivered

Coach certifications

Coaches completed NCCP training

A female coach supports a young girl climbing a rope in a gym

53% of parents who have children enrolled in gymnastics view self-confidence and self-esteem as the top benefits to gain from sport” (Leger, 2024)

55% of parents associate gymnastics with physical fitness, discipline and concentration” (Leger, 2024)

National Coaching Certification Program

The National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) provides safe, inclusive and standardized education to coaches and coach developers across 65 sports, including gymnastics. The Coaches Association of Canada (CAC) manages and delivers NCCP training through its partner network of 65 National Sport Organizations and Provincial/Territorial Sport Organizations, including GymCan.

Gymnastics NCCP training is currently offered in Active Start Gymnastics, Acrobatic Gymnastics, Gymnastics for All (Recreational Gymnastics), Men’s Artistic Gymnastics, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Trampoline Gymnastics, and Women’s Artistic Gymnastics.

Working with CAC and the P/T Sport Organizations, GymCan works to develop, implement, and deliver effective and economical educational training and certification programs that conform to Long Term Development (LTD) principles.

NCCP training develops in coaches key outcomes that help guide their participants through the many challenges and opportunities of the sport experience. These outcomes also form the basis of their evaluations by NCCP Coach Evaluators as they progress through their coaching pathways.

NCCP Outcomes

Make Ethical Decisions
Analyze Performance
Provide Support to Athletes in Training
Design a Sport Program
Plan a Practice
Manage a Sport Program
Support the Competitive Experience

GymCan NCCP Technical Documents Learn More About the NCCP

CAnGym

The CanGym Active Start Program is multi-disciplinary, designed to introduce children aged 0 to 6 to the seven Fundamental Movement Patterns (FMPs). The program is adaptable, ensuring that all participants can experience the joy of gymnastics, regardless of available equipment.

The CanGym Program takes an inclusive and developmental approach, empowering participants to build physical competence and confidence that will support a lifetime of healthy, active living. This is more than just a skills program—CanGym is flexible and dynamic, allowing clubs and coaches to tailor it to the unique needs of their members and participants. The program considers key factors such as coach certification, equipment availability, facility space, and individual interests, ensuring it’s adaptable to a wide range of environments.

CanGym covers all physical literacy stages—Active Start, Fundamentals, and Learn to Train—and serves as a valuable resource for the First Involvement stage, welcoming new participants into gymnastics programs.

To learn more about Sport for Life’s Long-Term Development, visit Sport for Life.

Fun, Fitness, Fundamentals • Fun, Fitness, Fundamentals • Fun, Fitness, Fundamentals

Resources

Sport For Life

Sport for Life educates and informs sector leaders to enable them to deliver quality sport and physical literacy programming.

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CanGym

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The Locker (CAC)

The Coaching Association of Canada’s central location to easily access, manage, and maintain your coach training and records.

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Move Your Body

Gymnastics Canada, Athletics Canada and Swimming Canada have collaborated to produce a unique resource for physical literacy programs with a series of 20 lesson plans.

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Long Term Development Model

This document sets out a framework for LTDM in gymnastics that also reinforces Gymnastics Canada’s stated vision, mission and goals.

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The FIG Academy Programme

The FIG Academy Programme was established in 2002 with the goal to provide a standardised, competency-based coach education system for the development of gymnastics worldwide.

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