2010 Program News

7 - 8 November 2010 recap

Papers shuffling, pens clicking, fingers pounding on the keyboards, sighs of frustration were the only noises one could hear throughout the two days. The ICECP tutors arrived the day before and were ready to lend a helping hand. Both days the individuals met with their tutors to work on and review their projects.

3 November 2010 Recap

The first presentation of the day was brought forth by Dr. Sean McCann. The focus was based on mental preparation between athletes and coaches. Mental toughness is an aspect that is overlooked in sport. As athletes, coaches and spectators we focus on just the athlete’s talent and ability alone. After the presentation everyone realized no athlete will reach their top potential if they are not mentally tough. Dr. Sean McCann explained that there have been plenty of athletes that have succeeded in world championships but not in the Olympics. He also brought up scenarios that tested the coaches on how they would respond if they witnessed their athlete having a mental breakdown fifteen minutes before competition. Dr. McCann’s presentation was an eye opener

Spotlight on Mr. Arilson Silva, National Swimming Coach from Brazil

The swimming coaches began their apprenticeship in Baltimore, Maryland and finished in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Arilson Silva, National Swimming coach for Brazil, described that at noon all three coaches had meetings with Coach Bowman and his staff to discuss practice. Practice started at 3:30 and finished around 7:30. He made it clear that the program was very organized and provided a professional environment for the swimmers.

2 November 2010, Recap

Another day has past but was not boring to say the least. The day consumed of four lectures. The presentations included material such as: tapering, overtraining: causes, recognition and prevention, using adaptation to guide training and international games/team prep. Two of the lectures focused on how important it is for a coach to not over train their athletes. A famous quote Dr. Randy Wilber stated was, “An athlete that is over trained .05% will do worse than an athlete at 50%.” He also stated that the 50% numeral is most likely inaccurate but shows that an athlete must be peaking at the right time of an event.

1 November 2010 Recap

Another month has gone by and a new one has begun. The ritual has stayed the same even though the ICECP participants are in a new location, Colorado Springs. The participants begin the morning with a healthy prepared breakfast followed by class lectures. After the morning lectures they have a two hour break period to eat and workout. The final two hours are dedicated to class lectures.
Dr. Joe Vigil presented two lectures on “Training Phases and Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand.” He explained that the training goal is to show continuous improvement to an athlete’s vVO2, lactate threshold and as well as their fractional utilization of each of these levels to the maturity of their career. The group was fortunate enough to have a presenter with the caliber of Dr. Joe Vigil.

31 October 2010 Recap

Today was Halloween and the ICECP participants were in for a scare. The journey to Pikes Peak began at 10:30 in the morning. The United States Olympic Committee bus arrived outside the complex and gathered the twenty one coaches. Upon retrieving the tickets for the cog railroad the group made their way down the stairs to the café to gather their lunches. Everyone was allowed to board the cog at 11:40 am to prepare for the noon take off. On the way up the mountain the conductor constantly informed the members, riding the train, of facts about the mountain and all the sites they were going to see.

30 October 2010 Recap

Around 8:45 in the morning the ICECP participants gathered in the Gold Room to present to the rest of the group about their apprenticeship experiences. For the past week the individuals pondered about where their friends were located and what type of activities they were involved in. Each group put together a five to eight minute power point presentation that covered a general synopsis of their apprenticeship experiences. They provided facts about the university, what practices were like on a daily basis and likes and dislikes.

29 October 2010 Recap

Today marked the first full day of the crew’s experience in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Scott Blackmun began the morning with an introduction welcoming the participants to the USOC and the Olympic Training Center Complex. After the introduction Glen Werner Roseboom guided the group around the entire complex. He presented the history of the complex and showed every building possible that was available to view. It was amazing to view the facilities (pool, shooting range, judo mats, gymnastic area etc). Glen explained that the purpose of building the facility was to catch up in the Olympics. Other countries had surpassed the United States in Olympic competition and the United States had enough.

Spotlight on Mr. Bob Hunter, Baskeyball Coach, El Salvador

For the duration of the apprenticeship the basketball coaches would sit in on and observe each of the men’s basketball practices at their universities. While on the sidelines and/or on the bleachers the coaches would take notes on how the practices were run, how the coaches interacted with the players and different plays they could use for back home.

Travel Day, 28 October 2010, Everyone is headed to the OTC

One of the most anticipated days of the six week span has finally come and gone. Each coach, in the Philadelphia area, packed their bags to prepare for an early morning the following day. Around five o’clock in the morning the coaches, located in Philadelphia and Wayne Pennsylvania, awoke to load their luggage in a van that arrived at the two hotels. The participants from Wayne, Pennsylvania traveled fifteen minutes to the Crowne Plaza hotel to pick up the four remaining basketball coaches. Around six thirty in the morning the eight individuals arrived at the Philadelphia International Airport. At nine thirty the airplane left the runway towards Chicago.

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware - Recap

It is day two at the beach and the coaches are thrilled to venture to the Rehoboth outlets. After an eight o’clock breakfast the coaches returned to their rooms to get dresses and prepare for a long day at the local shops. The coaches went to various stores including Under Armour, Nike Reebok, Walmart etc. Quickly the shopping carts piled up with different items. Julian, Wickey and Alfusainey enjoyed their first experience at Walmart. They enjoyed it so much that they asked to go back a second time before the venture back to the hotel. At seven o’clock the participants met outside the hotel to meet before the trip to the board walk. The coaches were able to spend their last night at the beach while also finding a place to eat dinner.

Day # 12, 14 October 2010

The morning began in room 213 located in Trabant. University of Delaware’s professor and ice arena manger, Jim Kaden, presented on facility and event management. Professor Kaden explained to the group what aspects an individual needs to cover to properly run an event and have a proper structure for a running facility. Along with this material professor Kaden explained the problems and aspects a coordinator could run into and how to deal with them. He also explained that it is very important to carry a notepad, blackberry or tape recorder to keep notes on a daily basis.

Day # 11, 13 October 2010

The morning began with another panel conducted by Dr. Matthew Robinson.  Today’s panel included four different student athletes from three different sports (women’s basketball, men’s track and women’s swimming).  This was the first opportunity for most of the coaches to interact with collegiate athletes.  The athletes were able to explain what aspects they like and dislike about a coach and their personal experiences as an athlete.  Sidi Bowedi Darma, Indonesian Head athletics (specializing in throws) Coach, stated, “I loved the way Matthew Robinson conducted the interview.  I felt as if I knew the athletes before they even answered a question.”

Certificate of Partnership between U.S. and Macedonian Olympic Committee

Zoran Mirkovic (taekwondo) is the next coach who Macedonian Olympic Committee sent to the training and education in the United States, in cooperation with the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC). Македонскиот олимписки комитет е еден од ретките олимписки комитети во светот, ако не и единствен, кој трета година по ред испраќа тренери на усовршување во Олимпискиот центар во Колорадо Спрингс (САД) и на Спортскиот Универзитет во Делавер. Macedonian Olympic Committee is one of the few Olympic committees around the world, if not unique, that third year in a row, sending coaches on the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs (USA) and Sports University of Delaware. Оваа година, оваа привилегија ја имаат само 22 тренери од целиот свет кои заедно со нашиот Зоран Мирковиќ беа избрани во конкуренција од над 100 аплицирани тренери од целиот свет. This year, the privilege to have only 22 coaches from around the world with our Zoran Mirkovic were selected in a competition of over 100 coaches applied worldwide. Програмата започна на 3 октомври 2010 година, а ќе заврши со последниот модул заклучно со 3 мај 2011 година, во седиштето на ИОК во Лозана, Швајцарија. The program began on October 3, 2010, and will end with the last module as of May 3, 2011, at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Day # 10 12 October 2010

The group met in Trabant, a student center, for a panel interview.  Men’s Head Swimming Coach, John Hayman, and Women’s Head Lacrosse Coach, Kateri Linville, questioned by Dr. Matthew Robinson.  The coaches reflected on their philosophy, the importance and responsibilities of their job, game approach and how they interact with their athletes.  Afterwards the ICECP participants were able to direct questions towards the panel.  This was a great opportunity to interact with collegiate level coaches.

FYE students, international coaches come together

First Year Experience (FYE) students at the University of Delaware had the chance to interact with coaches from 21 different countries as part of the opening reception for the International Coaching Enrichment Certificate Program (ICECP) Oct. 3 and shared a meal and attended the UD women's volleyball match on Oct. 8.

Day # 9 11 October 2010

The day began with an opening presentation on training theory for the track and field athlete.  The presenter, Jim Fischer, made it clear that the material that he was presenting was not just for track and field athletes.  Throughout Fischer’s presentation he covered topics discussing what training theory is, five components of training, principles periodization, five variables of interval training and biomotor abilities.  With the material presented the participants can pick up on how to properly train and design workouts for their athletes.

Day # 8 10 October 2010

The ICECP program has been up and running for one week.  The coaches have created new friends, attended numerous lectures, established various ideas for their projects and adapted to a new environment.  This process has been rough and rewarding for all of the participants.
Size Vardhan, Head Coach of South Africa’s Senior Women’s Team and Technical Director, explained that after his arrival he experienced a culture shock.  “Delaware is a much bigger campus than I expected.”  Size announced that the hospitality, facilities and program are tremendous.  When asked about what makes this program different he stated, “There are a lot of hitches in other programs.  The rating here is excellent.”  He made it clear that the program did a wonderful job choosing all of the course subjects.  “In just ten days my expectations have been far exceeded.  I am excited to see what else I learn.”

Day # 6 Recap 9 October 2010

The anticipation for the field trip to the nation’s capital has come to a close.  At 7:00 am the coaches boarded onto the bus to the travel to Washington D.C.  Around 9:00 pm the bus pulled next to the arrival and meeting spot, “The Castle”.  After a brief announcement from the vocal Steve Amster the group was set free to visit Washington D.C’s tourist attractions.

Day # 5 Recap 8 October 2010

Today was dedicated to the program’s guest speaker, Richard Way.  The entire day was broken into four lectures all presented by Richard Way himself.  Throughout the day he touched on three different topics:  long term athlete development, talent identification and field specialization.
For the entire day Richard Way questioned the coaches on how young an individual should begin training in particular sports.  He presented multiple tables recommending when an individual should begin learning the sport, developing and lastly learning techniques.  The coaches were split into groups according to their sport and were given the task to discus when as coaches they should begin teaching the rules and techniques, how many hours it takes a day to become a pro and when does an athlete become a pro in their individual sport.

Day # 4 Recap 7 October 2010

The day began with a presentation on sports psychology by University of Delaware’s winningest lacrosse coach, Bob Shillinglaw.  Coach Shillinglaw focused on a four step visualization process for mentally preparing for peak performance.  The four steps include: physical and mental relaxation, mental recall, affirmative self talk and mental rehearsal.  Coach Shillinglaw made it clear that an athlete should practice the visualization method at least three times each day.   An athlete will gradually start to become more aware of their sport environment practicing these steps.

Day # 3 Recap, 6 October 2010

After a long night of hard work and research the coaches made their way towards the ball room for a second day of classes.  Highly respected Julie Subach presented the first lecture of the morning.  The presenters focus was on proper nutrition for individuals and athletes.  Jeanie Subach introduced the MyPyramid website.  This program is capable of tracking the calorie intake an individual consumes and approximately how many calories burned.  She proclaimed that using this matter would be beneficial for tracking their athlete’s nutrition.  Julie expressed the various types of foods athletes should consume daily (must have a colorful plate of foods) as well as how to provide an injured athlete with the proper nutrition technique.

Day # 2 Recap 5 October 2010

The ICECP program began to take its course today.  The day consisted of four lectures starting at nine o’clock in the morning and lasted until five o’clock at night.


The morning began with Ian Weithers, a 2009 ICECP participant, presented his project to the new coaching participants.  The coaches were able to view what a final project should look like at the end of the program.  Ian made it well known that there will be struggles that come along with the project:  picking a title, wanting to do much in such a sort amount of time, etc.  When the presentation came to a close a question and answer session began.  Having a pier mentor to guide and pave the road ahead of them gave the coaches more confidence in their ability to master their individual project.

"Oh So Sweet"

Ian Weithers, a participant from last year’s ICECP program, was asked to return for the upcoming program as a peer mentor.  Ian also referred to as “Sweetness” established himself as a leader in the 2009 program by interacting and providing a helping hand with the other ICECP coaches.  Ian was not assigned to do the courageous acts but went out of his way to help individuals with their computers, presentations, understanding of the English language and providing a shoulder for one to lean on.

U.S. Olympic Committee Partners with University of Delaware, International Olympic Committee's Olympic Solidarity to Produce International Coaching Enrichment Certification Program

Colorado Springs, Colo. - The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), the University of Delaware (UD) and the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Olympic Solidarity department are pleased to partner for the third edition of the International Coaching Enrichment Certification Program (ICECP), welcoming 22 national coaches representing five continents, 22 countries and 10 sports. The program began at UD on Oct. 3, 2010, and will run until the final module concludes May 3, 2011, at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

USOC, UD continue partnership to train international coaches

The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), the University of Delaware (UD) and the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Olympic Solidarity department have announced that they will partner once again for the third edition of the International Coaching Enrichment Certification Program (ICECP), welcoming 21 national coaches representing five continents, 21 countries and 10 sports.