High Performance –Operations Manual

2017


Table of Contents

  1. High Performance Committee (duties and responsibilities) ………..3
  2. Target Dates...... 5
  3. Selection Criteria...... 8
  4. Points Table...... 9
  5. Athletes Handbook...... 10
  6. Coach Selection Criteria...... 10
  7. Coach Selection Committee...... 10
  8. Coach Selection Matrix...... 12
  9. Athlete Training plan protocols………………………………………13
  10. Injury notification (who do I tell when I am hurt) ....……………….. 14
  11. Exemptions – what do I need to do to receive an exemption…….14
  12. Athletes contracts………………………………………………………15
  13. Coaches contracts……………………………………………………..15
  14. Requirements for funding (who gets what)………………………….15
  15. Tournaments – Draw formats…………………………………………16

Some of the acronyms contained in this document.

AHP/SD – Administrator High Performance/Sport Director

AAP - Athlete Assistance Program

CCES – Canadian Centre for Ethical Sport

ED – Executive Director

HP(C) – High Performance (Committee)

NTC – National Training Centre or National Training Coach

RC – Racquetball Canada

SC – Sport Canada

YTP and YPI - Yearly Training Plan and Yearly Planning Instrument

High Performance Committee (this is from RC P & P manual)

(a)Objective

The objectives of the High Performance committee are to raise the performance of Canadian racquetball players in international competition; to assist Canadian racquetball players to reach their maximum potential in international competitions, and to raise the caliber of national and provincial level competition in Canada.

(b)Composition

The High Performance Committee will be comprised of:

National Teams Athletes rep or one alternate

Coaches’ rep or one alternate.

VP High Performance

Administrator of High Performance/Sport Development will be an ex-officio member

(c)Term

Members are asked to serve for two (2) years with no limit on number of consecutive terms allowed.

(d)Responsibilities

(i)To report to Racquetball Canada Board of Directors, Executive Committee, and general membership by way of minutes of meetings held bi-monthly or more frequently as needed. To provide an overall direction on the implementation of national team programs. (including, recommendation for appointment, supervision and evaluation of traveling coaches)

(ii)To recommend policy and guidelines for all areas of the national teams program and to assist in the writing of and updating of these policies and guidelines

(iii)Educate Canadian racquetball players regarding the scope and importance of the national team program.

(iv)Keep accurate and detailed records of all work and proceedings.

(v)To establish a yearly work plan and budget, with measurable goals, for approval by the Board of Directors.

Specific responsibilities:

Coach member –

  • To attend all HPC meetings; in the event attendance is not possible ensure that the alternate coach is available and current on the topics to be addressed.
  • To act as the voice of the National Team Coaches, to communicate their opinions as a collective to High Performance.
  • To share documentation produced by HPC with the National Team Coaches and solicit feedback from them in a timely manner
  • To distribute minutes and materials from all HPC meetings to the coachesonce the minutes have been approved by HPC.
  • To prepare the annual NTC Coach Honorarium Claim form providing copies to all coaches before Nationals each year.
  • Prepare NTC final payout spread sheet – this should be submitted to theAdministrator of High Performance/Sport Development byJune 15th at the latest.

All Members.

  • To confirm the points tables prepared by the AHP/SD prior to being posted to the web after each event.
  • To provide a list of National Elite Team and National Development Team members, based on the selection criteria by June 1st of each year
  • To assist in the updating of all High Performance materials, policies, and documents, or assisting in the creation of new materials as needed.

Athlete member –

  • To attend all HPC meetings; in the event attendance is not possible ensure that the alternate athlete is available and current on the topics to be addressed
  • To act as the voice of all National Team athletes and to communicate their opinions as a collective to the HPC.
  • To share all documentation produced by HPC with all athletes and solicit feedback from the athletes in a timely manner
  • To distribute the minutes and materials from all HPC meetings to the athletes once the minutes have been approved by HPC.

Target Dates:

Throughout the year there are several dates of importance for High Performance. These include the posting of data to the web site and also submissions to Sport Canada.

Date / Item / Submitted from: / Submitted to:
5th of each month / Monthly training logs / Athletes / AHP/SD
10th of each month / Monthly training logs - Coaches / Coaches / AHP/SD
July 1 / Coaching Contracts / AHP/SD or Executive Director / All NTC coaches
July 1 / Athlete Contracts / AHP/SD or Executive Director / National Elite and National Development Athletes
July 1 / AAP Nomination Documents / AHP/SD or Executive Director / National Elite Athletes depending on numbers
July 1 / Yearly Training Plan template / AHP/SD or Executive Director / Coaches of all National Team athletes.
August 1st / Athlete Contract – Junior Team / AHP/SD or Executive Director / Athletes on Junior Team
August 1st
depending on when Easter falls (8 clear months / Selection Criteria for all teams and travel / HPC / Director HP and to all coaches, athletes and to webmaster for posting.
Date / Item / Submitted from: / Submitted to:
By August 31st / AAP Nomination Documents, YTP, Athlete Handbook, Selection Criteria, next year’s draft of AAP criteria / AHP/SD or Executive Director / Sport Canada with letter and index of materials.
August 31st / Book Meeting to AAP/Sport Canada for annual review / AHP/SD or Executive Director / AAP at Sport Canada
September 1st / Events Consultation Documents / AHP/SD / CCES
October 1st / Updated Points Table for posting on the web / HPC / Webmaster
November 31st / First Selection Tables / HPC / To all HP Athletes and to webmaster for posting
December 1st / AAP Criteria / AHP/SD or Executive Director / To webmaster for posting to Web.
December 31st / Prepare HP Budget / AHP/SD or Executive Director / To VP HP and HP committee for approval.
January 1st / Call for coaches – update coach selection criteria – post according to events / HPC in conjunction with AHP/SD and Executive Director / Webmaster for posting and to SIRC.
January 1st / Updated Points Table for posting on the web / HPC / to webmaster for posting.
Date / Item / Submitted from: / Submitted to:
January 15th / Selection of the Coach Selection Committee members for all upcoming International events. / AHP/SD or ED / Names to VP HP for approval.
February 1st / First meeting of Coach Selection Committee / AHP/SD or ED / VP High Performance
February 15th / Announcement of Travel Coaches for all upcoming International Events / AHP/SD or ED / Names to VP HP for approval.
February 15th / Announcement of Travel Team and posting of Second Selections Tables / AHP/SD or ED / Announcement to VP Marketing and Selection tables to all Athletes and Webmaster for posting.
February 15th / SFAF documentation – as required by Executive Director / AHP/SD with assistance from HPC / Executive Director of Racquetball Canada
March 15th / Per Diems and Honorariums sent out to attendees of Pan Am Championships / AHP/SD with approval of Director of HP / Executive Director and /or VP Finance
March 27th depending on where Easter falls in the year. / Team departs for Pan Am Championships Mar 15 to April 30 / Director of HP via ED or AHP/SD / Press release to VP Marketing and webmaster for posting.
April 30th / Junior Team Announced after Junior Nationals / Director of HP / VP Marketing and webmaster for posting
Date / Item / Submitted from: / Submitted to:
April 1st / Updated Points Table for posting on the web / HPC / Webmaster.
June 15th or before / Announcement of National Teams / Director of HP / Director of Marketing & webmaster for posting.

Selection Criteria for International Events

With the assistance of HPC the selection criteria should be reviewed annually at the first meeting after Nationals. In odd years, there will be one event – Pan Am Championships and in even years there are two events, Pan Am Championships and Elite World Championships. Pan Am Games occurs every 4 years (2015, 2019, 2023, 2027). World Games occur every 2 years. Criteria for making the travel team to attend these events should be reviewed annually to ensure that the prior year’s criteria still are in effect.

Selection Criteria review dates for discussion by HPC for each event.

Year / Pan Am Championships / Pan Am Games / World Championships / World Games / Junior Worlds
2015 / October 2014 / Sept 2014 / No racquetball in World Games / January 2015
2016 / September 2015 / December 2015 / January 2016
2017 / October 2016 / December 2016 / January 2017
2018 / September 2017 / December 2017 / January 2018
2019 / October 2018 / Sept 2018 / December 2018 / January 2019
2020 / October 2019 / December 2019 / January 2020
2021 / October 2020 / December 2020 / January 2021
2022 / October 2021 / December 2021 / January 2022
2023 / October 2022 / December 2022 / January 2023
2024 / October 2023 / December 2023 / January 2024

The National Teams selection criterion will be modified at the same time, if needed.

In odd years the selection criteria for National Elite Team will be athletes who are carded and meet the balance of maintenance criteria will be selected to the Elite Team first, then the balance of the team will be selected based on their Singles and Doubles finish for the three selection events ending with Nationals.

The criteria will be posted to the Racquetball Canada web site and also emailed to each High Performance athlete and coach that is on the national teams

Points Table

The points table will be posted on the Racquetball Canada Web site at least 30 days in advance of the next Selection event showing the current standing of all athletes. The points that are given for the top 12 placements are contained in the Selection Criteria document.

Points are awarded at the three National Team events as listed in the Athlete Contract.

Athlete Handbook

The handbook will be available on the Racquetball Canada web site and will be updated annually or as changes are made to the policies of the High-Performance program. It will have information for all athletes on:

•who are the Board of Directors with Racquetball Canada

•summary of the High-Performance program, who is the High-Performance Committee and their alternates

•list of agencies that the athletes should be aware of

•selection Criteria including points, criteria for events and teams

•Athlete Assistance Program

•travel and expense policies of Racquetball Canada

•policies that athletes need to be aware of (anti doping, team behavior etc.), media information

•and the process to receive the funding if they are on the national team.

Coach Selection Criteria

The criteria on which the travel team coaches are selected will be posted 6 to 10 months in advance of an event. The criteria will include a standard of coaching certification as well as requesting an outline of a plan for the event that they are applying for.

Coaches will be selected based on the points achieved within the selection matrix, and this will occur at least 6 months prior to the event. This will allow the successful candidates to be in place and to work with their fellow coach (es) and also be one of the communication links with the athletes.

Coach Selection Committee

The selection committee should be in place prior to the submission deadline of the coach selection posting and will consist of 3 to 5 members with the Director of HP being one of the members and Administrator of High Performance/Sport Development sitting as an ex-officio member.

Qualifications:

  1. When available a former National Team Athlete, will be asked to be part of the selection committee.
  2. Individuals with knowledge of High Performance coaching.

3.Individuals with knowledge of high performance.

4.All members must have necessary expertise to determine the optimum coaching staff for Racquetball Canada’s National travel teams andcanconclude the right match for a team.

Names of the coach selection committee will remain confidential and not shared with applicants or other members of Racquetball Canada.

Coaching Selection Criteria (Summary)
Please rate the coaching candidates on each of the 9 criteria.
Ratings are 1-9 for criteria one, two and three; 1-6 for criteria four, five and six; 1-3 for criteria seven, eight and nine.
Higher numbers = better on that criterion. So 1 is always the lowest rating with 9, 6 or 3 the highest rating depending on the criterion.
Applicant:

Criteria / Rating Range / Rating Assigned
  1. Team Management (Leadership, organization, communication)
/ 1-9
  1. Game Preparation
/ 1-9
  1. Technical/Tactical knowledge
/ 1-9
  1. Ability to coach athletes other than their own athletes
/ 1-6
  1. NCCP coaching level
/ 1-6
  1. Number of athletes applicant has on the team
/ 1-6
  1. Knowledge of International rules and procedures
/ 1-3
  1. General sport knowledge (education, sport science & medicine)
/ 1-3
  1. Bilingual
/ 1-3
Total: / 54 (Max)

Racquetball Canada Protocol for Annual Training Plans (YPI, YTP)

Annual Training Plans for all HP athletes

  1. This protocol will affect National Team players, Development Team Players, Junior National Team players.
  2. Annual plans will be developed in conjunction with the Athlete and their National Team Coach.
  3. The annual plans will be submitted to the Administrator of High Performance /Sport Development for initial review.
  4. After the initial review the annual plans will then be submitted to the Director of High Performance and Executive Director for final approval. Annual plans which are not approved by the Director of High Performance will not be submitted for AAP consideration.
  5. Annual Plan development will commence the first week of August and submitted by August 31st each year to the National Office.

Training plans to include but not limited to:

  1. Athletes’ and National Team Coach name
  2. Goals for the upcoming season
  3. Periods
  4. Phases
  5. Mesocycles
  6. Microcycles
  7. Testing (initial and periodic testing throughout the year)
  8. Strength
  9. Endurance
  10. Speed
  11. Flexibility
  12. Nutrition
  13. Technical Skills
  14. Training
  15. Mental Skills
  16. Volume and Intensity
  17. Training Hours

Development Team members and Junior National Team members’ Yearly Training Plans will align with the appropriate stages of LTAD when applicable.

Monitoring of Annual Plans

  1. All National Team athletes will submit a monthly training report on their progress providing adherence to the training plans submitted, and achievements of benchmarks to the Racquetball Canada Administrator of High Performance/Sport Development for review.
  2. Athletes/Coaches may be requested to supply further documentation if it is determined that the training plans are not being adhered to.
  3. Baseline testing should be undertaken in August of each year with follow up testing occurring quarterly, November, February and May (depending on event scheduling). Testing results will be submitted to Racquetball Canada to be held for submission to Sport Canada at their request only.
  4. Administrator of High Performance/Sport Development will request videos of matches and will watch online matches that are being streamed live during International Events. The Administrator of High Performance/Sport Development will also request from time to time video footage of the athlete training.

Annual Review with Athletes

  1. Review the goals and objectives with each athlete and coach, did they reach their goals and what assistance can Racquetball Canada provide them for the upcoming year.
  2. Provide an annual review document to be completed by the athlete and their coach in May of each season.
  3. Document is to be submitted to the Administrator of High Performance /Sport Development of Racquetball Canada, who will send it to the Executive Director and the Director of High Performance for review.

Injury Notification – who do I tell when I am hurt?

National Team members who are injured and cannot attend one of the national selection tournaments should advise their coach, the Administrator of High Performance/Sport Development by providing the completed exemption form and provide a written note from a treating practioner as soon as possible or before 21 days’ post event to received injury points for any of the selection tournaments.

Request for Exemptions – what do I need to do.

For exemptions other than an injury, all pertinent information should be forwarded to the Administrator of High Performance/Sport Development as soon as possible or within 7 days of the start of an event. This may include medical confirmation in the event of illness or injury of a family member, copies of email communications with third parties that support the request for an exemption. The HPC may request from the individual other materials or ask questions and these must be provided or responded to within 3 days of the request or show that the requested materials are being sought and the delay is not due to the athlete.

Athlete Contracts

Athlete contracts will be signed and submitted to the National Office by August 15th annually, a copy of the signed document should also be forwarded electronically to the Administrator of High Performance/Sport Development. The athlete contracts will be reviewed bi-annually to ensure that they meet the needs of the association and that they reflect the current requirements of the association and or Sport Canada. If RC does not receive a signed athlete contract, then any support money that is payable will not be issued until the signed contract is received along with the team fees.

Junior National Team players will have a contract to sign, but will not be required to pay team fees to Racquetball Canada. They will be required to meet all other requirements to travel to Junior Worlds.

Coaches Contracts

NTC coaches’ contracts will be signed and submitted annually to the National Office by August 15th. NTC coaches’ contracts will be reviewed bi-annually for content and to ensure they meet the needs of the association. In the event RC does not receive a signed NTC coach’s contract then any support funding that is payable will not be issued until the signed contract is received. All coaches must be a member in good standing with Racquetball Canada.

Requirements for funding

Athletes must be a member in good standing with Racquetball Canada, have paid their annual team fees and have submitted their monthly training report to the Administrator of High Performance/Sport Development by the 5th of the month. The athletes coach must also provide the coaches monthly training report to the Administrator of High Performance/Sport Development by the 10th of each month for the athlete to receive their funding.