by Canoe Kayak Canada / Jillian Perrone
In 2019, Canoe Kayak Canada invited interested female coaching candidates to apply for a coach mentorship opportunity with CKC’s high performance coaches. The objective of this program was to support the advancement of women canoe kayak coaches. In addition this program also aimed to support the development of the selected coaches’ leadership and technical skills while working closely alongside National Team support staff.
Discover our candidates in this series of articles on Women In Coaching 2019 presented by Canoe Kayak Canada, in association with the Coaching Association of Canada.
Jillian Perrone was selected to work alongside Mark Granger to support athletes at the Next Gen National Team Daily Training Environment located in Melbourne, Florida. She also had the opportunity to observe Senior National Team Coaching staff in the training environment while receiving NCCP professional development points for participating in this program.
My name is Jillian Perrone and as of April of 2019 I transitioned from being a high-performance athlete and competing in Sprint Canoe to a coaching role within the sport. As a developing coach I want to be able to assist the upcoming generation experience what our sport has to offer. My long-term coaching goal for myself is to develop athletes to a Junior World potential level and coach at the Junior/U23 World Championships. My short-term coaching goal is to advance my technical and coaching knowledge by observing a multitude of coaching styles.
Canoe Kayak Canada: Why did you want to take part in the 2019 CKC Women in Coaching program?
Jillian Perrone: I knew through this Women in Coaching Program I would have an excellent opportunity to observe and interact with all four of the National Team coaches, both U21 coaches as well as the Para coach.
CKC: How will you benefit from this program?
JP: I believe over the span of the week that I was able to be a part of the program I learned a significant amount of both hard and soft skills in regard to coaching, ranging from technical elements and body position to reading the athletes and how they train.
CKC: What was your favourite moment during your participation in this program?
JP: I truly enjoyed the conversations I had while in motorboat and seeing our sport from a different perspective. Thank you to all of those who made this opportunity possible.
