11:44 a.m., Sept. 28, 2009----Another week of the International Coaching Enrichment Certification Program (ICECP) at the University of Delaware has been completed, and the coaches had their hands full. Recent training saw the continuation of the educational curriculum, the presentation of each participant's ICECP project and preparations as participants got ready to head to their respective apprenticeship sites.

The University of Delaware is working in cooperation with the U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee's Olympic Solidarity department to offer this, the second edition of ICECP held on campus.

On Sept. 19, the ICECP was honored during the University of Delaware football game against Delaware State University. The coaches were invited to the field during halftime and were recognized by the crowd for their participation in the program.

The next day, the coaches took some time to relax after a busy first week. They enjoyed their break from the rigors of the program by going out and doing some shopping at different stores in Newark.

Monday, they jumped right back into the mix. The coaches attended 13 class sessions with presentations by 10 different guest lecturers. The sessions included classroom-based presentations on coaching education, sport management and athlete development and hands-on learning experiences in sport medicine and emergency response.

Topics in the second week included facility management, grassroots sport development, taping and bracing, CPR, long-term athlete development, sport administration, training theory and competition preparation and management.

Milos Tomic, the men's national skiing team head coach in Serbia, said he appreciates the caliber of presenters at ICECP. “The lessons are great and the professors and coaches are very knowledgeable,” Tomic said. “The most important thing for me has been the great relationships between participants and teachers. They are open to discussion, not just here to make presentations.”

New experts were on hand to present during the program's second week. UD men's soccer head coach Ian Hennessey joined the program to present on the stages of athlete development.

He was followed and supplemented by Richard Way, the architect of “Canadian Sport for Life,” who spent three hours leading a discussion on long-term athlete development.

“The presentation on long-term athlete development blew my mind,” said Ian Weithers, the judo national team coach in Barbados. “It's the way of the future.”

Jim Kaden, manager of the University of Delaware Ice Arenas and outdoor pool, spoke to the participants about facility management. His presentation included event planning, preparing a facility for a competition and risk management.

Tina Martin, Delaware women's basketball head coach, and Patrick Castagno, Tatnall School cross country, indoor and outdoor track coach, led an interactive discussion on the image of the coach.

They ran an intensive question and answer period and addressed issues such as dealing with athletes' emotions, running practices and coaching styles.

Yu-Chiao Hsu, a national archery team coach in Chinese Taipei, found the interaction with Martin and Castagno the most interesting session of the week. She said that their experience in coaching helped create some good discussion.

Some of last week's presenters returned as well. Matthew Robinson, associate professor of sport management and director of the University's sport management program, gave several presentations on sport management topics and led an ethics and philosophy discussion. Thomas Kaminski, professor of health, nutrition and exercise sciences, alongside UD head athletic trainer John Smith, ran a session on taping and bracing athletes and sport injury management.

Kaminski also led a session on CPR and emergency response.

The practical sessions done by Kaminski were the most helpful week two topics for Rasha Ghoneim, the national rowing team coach in Egypt. She said it was her first time learning about taping, bracing, CPR and first aid.

Igor Paskoski, the judo senior national team head coach in Macedonia, said he has learned much from all the speakers. “I have learned many new things, and was reminded of some things I learned before,” Paskoski said. “There is a lot of teamwork and sharing of ideas.”

When they weren't in class sessions, the coaches had plenty to work on. As a part of the program, they are required to do a personal project with the objective of benefiting their respective sport or sport in general in their country.

On Sept. 23-24, each coach presented their project topics. They discussed the problem in their sport structure, the mission of their project, the analysis of their situation and the intended outcomes after implementing their programs.

Most of the projects involve developing coaching education programs, long-term athlete development, talent identification programs or elite training programs.

Projects include the development of a national swimming coaching education program in Malta, by Isabelle Zarb, and the development of a year-long training program to prepare elite judo athletes for high-level competition, by Paskoski.

“All the participant presentations were great. Everyone did a really great job,” Paskoski said.

The coaches will continue to develop their projects throughout the course of the program. When they return home at the end of October, they will begin implementing them. In May, they will reunite at the IOC headquarters to present their results.

Saturday, Sept. 26, was the last day the coaches were together in Delaware. They will finish this portion of the program on a high note, as they will take a day trip to Washington, D.C., to tour the Capitol and visit the White House.

Starting Sunday, participants began departing for their apprenticeship sites. Sites include North Baltimore Aquatic Club for swimming, Penn State University for track and field, North Miami Judo Training Center, Northern Michigan University for boxing and Philadelphia-area Division I basketball programs.

The last two weeks provided the participants of ICECP with a wealth of new information. And not just from the class sessions and expert presentation.

“The most important thing has been the interaction with my peers,” Weithers said. “After each lecture, we had group discussions about what was happening in each others' countries related to that topic.”

Weithers said the group took time to share ideas and documents after many of the sessions.

Tomic agreed, saying, “The relationship between the participants is great. It has given us new ideas for future work.”

The mission of the International Coaching Enrichment Certificate Program is to provide national level coaches and those responsible for the development of the sport national coaching structures in developing countries with a practical program orientated towards developing proficiency in the technical, theoretical, conceptual, managerial and ethical aspects of coaching at all levels of competition.

Article by Matthew Volpe