Welcome Coaches & Managers to the 2014-2015 Season of Special Olympics London - "Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt"

Welcome Coaches & Managers
    to the 2014-2015 Season of
      Special Olympics London
“Let me win, but if I cannot win,
 let me be brave in the attempt”

Agenda
   Goals of Special Olympics London
   Our athletes
   The management team
   Coaches’ corner
     Responsibilities
     Communications
     code of conduct
     safety
   Equipment management
   Injuries, emergency action plan
   Harassment and abuse
   Practices
   Competitions
   What’s in it for me, the volunteer?
   Open discussion

                                          2

Goals of Special Olympics London

         Our goal is to promote and develop the skills of
          our athletes through year-round sports training
          & competition
         The focus is on FUN and developing the skills in
          our athletes through many different sporting
          activities
         We work on the basis that the athlete is our
          focus. Balancing act between competition &
          social aspects. Not everyone seeks the golden
          moment!
         The coach supports the athletes
         This carries up to the local, provincial and
          national bodies

                                                      3

Sporting philosophy
 We offer 21 sport opportunities here in London
 Work towards well rounded athletes who have the
  opportunities to play in multiple sports
 Many athletes are in multiple sports which gives them an
  opportunity to develop other skills and expand their
  social network
 Competitions are key to challenge our athletes at their
  skill levels.   SOOL will continue to lead to host
  competitions to insure all of our athletes have increased
  opportunities to compete.

                                                          4

The Management Team
Your Executive
 All elected positions
 All volunteers
 Serve 2 year terms
 Elected at volunteer dinner
 Executive meetings – 3rd Tuesday monthly
 General membership meetings - 3rd Tuesday
  monthly 7:30 – 8:30
 Meetings are at Hutton House – Cherryhill Mall
    “Being a Special Olympics volunteer will likely see
    you make a change in someone’s life – probably
    your own “ - SO-Kentucky”
                                                          5

Your Executive
   Two co-chairs - Dave Nyhout & Rick Walker
   Treasurer – Bill Mills
   Volunteer Coordinator – Suzanne Walker
   Registrar – Nicole Van Lierop
   Sport Technical Coordinator – Ryan Harris
   Public Relations – Kris Nyhout
   Secretary – Katie Mills

                                                6

What’s it take to be a coach/manager
  in Special Olympics?
 We need the right stuff!!
 Time, patience and a desire
  to focus on developing the
  abilities our athletes have
  and less on their disabilities
 How many volunteers do           FUN!                Capacity
  you need on your team to                   Ability

  get your program up and
  running?                         Time     Desire     Patience

 Managing resources
                                                       Support
 Being part of a bigger team      Skills
                                            Safety
                                                             7

Intellectual Disabilities & other
Closely Related Developmental
Disabilities
 Autism                     Prader Willi
   Communication              Genetic issue
    difficulties.              Nutrition & constant
    Sometimes in their          hunger
    own world
                             Fragile X
 Cerebral Palsy               Genetic issue
   Depending on area          Coordination issues
    affected, can affect
    speech & motor skills    Fetal Alcohol
 Down Syndrome               Syndrome
   Genetic issue –            Brain development
    everyone is different    Unspecified
   Atlanto axial
                                                       8
    instability issue

What do I say, what do I do?
Can I as a coach, reach them?
 These athletes are part of our community just
  like you & me
 Everyone is the same
 Use repetition and review
 Establish routines & structure
 Reinforce acceptable behaviours
 If you can, adapt the game to the athlete
 Work towards the goal of having fun, building
  self esteem & self confidence

                                                  9

We are people just like you just
      here to have fun!

                               10

Coaches - responsibilities
      Special Olympics insurance
       programs are in place to protect
       every REGISTERED athlete, coach,
       assistant coach, manager, official
       and volunteer involved with Special
       Olympics sanctioned activities

      Coaches have a duty to insure that
       the safety of their athletes is job 1!
       This is called “risk management”
                                           11

Programs and Paperwork
               Proper registration
                of athletes &
                volunteers
               Insurance issues
               Code of Conduct –
                it’s a contract
               Communication info
                for both routine and
                urgent matters
               Incident & accident
                reports
                                   12

Documentation - Basics
   Athlete Profiles
   Volunteer/Emergency Contacts
   Phone/e-mail registry
   Attendance Register - training
     No shows – athletes on wait list
     Can be used for deciding who goes to provincial or
      national games
 Attendance Register – tournaments
     Documents # of times athletes have attended events
 Collection of monies
     Use receipt books
                                                       13

Planning and Budgeting
 Planning sessions       Competitions
   What are we doing       Relative importance
    this year?
                            are we going and/or
   # of athletes            hosting competitions?
   # of coaches            What are the $$ involved?
   Manager’s role          If we host tournaments –
      Attendance            who’s coming, first aid,
      Financial             food, medals vs. ribbons
      paperwork
                            Mini-budgets for going to
   Coaches’ roles           competitions?
      Head coach
                            Approvals required?
      Assistant coach
   Executive’s role
                                                  14

Coaches-communicators

 Must be skilled communicators
 Some athletes require more time and
  “hands on” to grasp the coach’s message
 Keep directions simple and clear
 Generally good eye contact
 Voices – loudness and tones that get the message
  across without inferring anger or frustration
 Make good use of hand signals and demonstrative
  skills to communicate what you want
 Encourage fair play, respect for the sport, respect
  for the athlete
 What to do when issues arise.
                                                        15

Code of Conduct

 It’s there for the athletes and volunteers with
  Special Olympics

 Special Olympics expects every parent,
  volunteer & staff member to take all
  reasonable steps to safeguard the welfare of its
  participants & protect them from any form of
  maltreatment while in their care

 Be clear on expectations both from an athlete
  and coaches point of view i.e. not everybody
  may win a medal
                                                    16

Code of Conduct (continued)
 Two-way street. Just
  as the athlete is
  safeguarded, so is the
  volunteer who expects
  to be treated with
  respect and dignity
  from the coaches and
  the athlete caregivers
 What do you do if there
  is a breach?
 Pros and cons of the
  “do nothing” approach.
                              17

Coaches and Safety
   Equipment check – becomes
    routine but is necessary

   Facilities check – gates, exits,
    other irregularities

   Where’s the first aid kit?

   Athlete’s health history sheets –
    are they near by?

   What to do if an injury or other
    incident occurs?

   Trust your common sense and
    intuition

                                        18

Equipment Management
 If you have equipment that is the property of
  Special Olympics, mark it as such or make
  arrangements to have it identified in such a
  way that we know who’s it is. i.e Special
  Olympics London
 Keep a register, where feasible
 Who’s got what?? Equipment, uniforms,
  maintenance…
 We have a locker facility at Midtown Storage
  situated at 277 Maitland Street

                                                  19

Coaches Training

 Standardized training
  for coaches to
  advance to provincial
  games & beyond
 Mandatory for all
  coaches who wish to
  advance
 Not every coach
  wishes to advance
  beyond the local
  community level
                          20

Coaches Training
Special Olympics Ontario   NCCP – National Coaching
Training Offered           Certification Program

 Orientation               Introduction to
 Information Sessions       Competition A (2 days)
 SOO Community              - mandatory
  Course (1 day) -          Includes planning a
  optional                   practice, nutrition &
 SOO Competition            making ethical
  Course (2 days) –          decisions
  mandatory for head        On-line course for
  coaches                    making ethical
                             decisions (mandatory)
                                                 21

Injury Situations
                     Common situation
                     Prevention – warm-
                      up & warm down
                     Weather??
                     First Aid kits – ice
                      packs most common
                      use
                     Have a plan in place
                      before it happens
                     Concussions??

                                         22

First Aid Training
 We want our volunteers      
  ready to be able to
  handle emergencies with
  up-to-date training
 When there is demand,
  we hold a training
  session in-house or go
  through the Canadian
  Red Cross
 We reimburse for costs
  for successful completion
  of emergency first aid
  training

                                  23

Coaches - Injury Situations
 Accidents can happen       Stop all participants –
 What does the coach         back to a safe, neutral
  do?                         area
 Who is in charge of the    Assess the situation –
  situation when an           what did you see, ask
  injury occurs?              referees for
 The coach is in charge      information
  until such time as         Determine the
  someone else in             necessities –
  authority takes over        consciousness –
                              trauma, bleeding,
                              movement of limbs
                                                    24

Coaches - Injury Situations (cont’d)

 If possible, have the athlete move
  him/herself off the playing surface.

 DO NOT ATTEMPT TO MOVE AN
  INJURED athlete

 If the athlete is unconscious, follow
  Emergency Action Plan (EAP)

                                          25

Concussions
It’s an injury to the brain
 Various degrees of             Feel tired, sick to your
  severity of concussions         stomach
 Usually result of a hit to     Confusion
  the head but could be a        Player is removed from
  whip-lash effect                playing area.
 Many of these                  Do not leave athlete
  concussions – athlete did       alone.
  not see it coming              Body and brain needs rest
 Watch for headaches,            from sport & exercise
  dizziness, bright lights       Medical intervention is
  hurt to see, ringing in the     always recommended
  ears
                                                        26

Coaches - Injury Situations (cont’d)

 Don’t forget to fill out accident or
  incident forms – they are on line on the
  London website under “Resources”.
  These are important for insurance and
  liability purposes

 Follow-up on incident

                                             27

Abuse
 Special Olympics expects every parent, volunteer &
  staff member to take all reasonable steps to
  safeguard the welfare of its participants & protect
  them from any form of maltreatment
 Abuse is any form of physical, emotional and/or
  sexual mistreatment or lack of care which causes
  physical injury or emotional damage to a person.
 Common characteristic of all forms of abuse against
  people is an abuse of power or authority
 Types of abuse – emotional, physical, neglect,
  sexual
 For children – it is required to be reported to
  police

                                                    28

Harassment
 Is defined as conduct, gesture or comments which are
  insulting, intimidating, humiliating, hurtful, malicious,
  degrading or otherwise offensive

 Range in degrees of severity

 What steps should be taken to stop harassment?

 Buck stops at Special Olympics

 Keep Special Olympics London informed – we want to
  see if there is an issue in other sports

                                                         29

Practices
 Write out your practice
  plan & follow it. Very
  helpful for last minute
  replacements
 Try to keep everyone
  active
 Cover those areas that
  need work and try
  working on a few new
  simple skills
 Keep the drills short
 If you can, demonstrate
  the skill – or give an
  athlete a try at showing
  others how to do the drill

                               30

Practices – Tips for
         Teaching
 Arrange athletes in         Allow athletes to
  semi-circle in front of      work at individual
  you                          paces
 Position athletes so        Assistants &
  that there are no
  distractions behind          helpers are there
  you                          to help – don’t be
 Make eye contact             afraid to ask to
                               participate
 Before you start drills,
  make sure that they         Keep everybody
  understand what to do        involved
                                               31

Practices - Communicating

                            32

Competitions – The process
 Some athletes are in Special Olympics for
  the competitive aspect
 Some athletes are in Special Olympics for
  the recreational aspect
 Same with coaches/volunteers
 Competitions enable athletes to test their
  training against other like athletes
 This brings us to the qualifiers, to the
  provincials, nationals and worlds

                                               33

Competitions – who runs these?

 Mostly run by volunteers, coaches,
  managers…..
 Generally most costly part of program for
  transportation
 Regional Coaches meeting – find out who is
  doing what for the season
   Prevents overlap of other competitions
    elsewhere in same or other sports
 Everyone has budgets – watch your $$
 Keep Sport Tech informed and know your
  costs – he/she can help

                                             34

Sport Awards – Most Dedicated Player
Selected by coaches
 Enjoys playing the     Has participated in
  sport & positive        sport for a minimum
  attitude                of 2 years
 Encourages fellow      Demonstrates good
  athletes                sportsmanship when
 Respect for coaches     representing our
 Consistently puts       community at
  forward good effort     various sports
  in the sport

                                            35

Other Useful Tidbits
 Insurance
 Registration
     Volunteers
     New Players
   Transportation request procedures
   Competitions
   Expense forms
   Keep track of your income and expenses

                                             36

Transportation
Different needs for different groups
 Group size & composition  48 Seat school buses
   of groups                 with Murphy Bus
    Athletes
    Coaches
                             Lines
    Caregivers             Costs vary widely
    Extras ??
                            2 estimates
 Cars
 Vans
 Shuttle buses
   24 seater – Voyageur
   21-47 – Cherrey Bus
    Lines

What’s in it for volunteers…
 Develop the abilities and
  develop physical and
  intellectual potential in our
  athletes
 Build confidence and self
  esteem in athletes which is
  good for everybody
 Camaraderie
 Developing life skills
 Mentorship
 Contributions to the
  community at large

                                  38

Remember to have fun !!

                          39

Where to Get More Information

      Special Olympics London
       Executive
      www.osolondon.com
      www.specialolympicsontario.com

                           September 2013   40

The End

     Congratulations – you
        made it – give
      yourselves a hand !!   41