Congratulations to Emma Seaborn for achieving her Advanced Coaching Diploma!

There is a lot that goes into coaching a sport. It’s a practice that not only requires durable skills in leadership and cooperation; it also benefits from the coach’s athletic experience in their sport of interest. That’s what makes Greenwood teacher Emma Seaborn’s recent achievement so outstanding. After a short sabbatical, Emma is once again teaching and coaching at Greenwood – this time as a certified coach under the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP). 

The NCCP is a program under the Coaching Association of Ontario that helps coaches develop their own skills and improve their performance in coaching athletes. The program requires plenty of time and work, with coaches taking various courses and being evaluated by a head coach or evaluator from the NCCP. 

Emma herself is already an accomplished athlete, having played for various competitive ultimate frisbee teams and even playing on Canada’s national team, with her national team winning gold at last year’s Beach Ultimate World Championships. Emma also had the opportunity to serve as Ultimate Canada’s Head Coach for the U20 Women’s National Team. With such an extensive background in the sport and leading teams, Emma was looking to take her coaching career to the next level. 

“I wanted to be in the best shape that I could to help coach and support the team going into our World Championship competition this past summer,” said Emma. “The work definitely paid off, as my team finished with a silver medal, the highest finish for a Canadian Women’s team in a decade!”

Emma’s certification speaks to her time coaching skiing and ultimate frisbee at Greenwood as well. Having spent an ample amount of time swimming, skiing and playing ultimate in high school, giving back to the sporting communities that helped carry her passion came naturally. To Emma, achieving her diploma was another way to grow her existing skillset and to perform as the best coach possible for students at Greenwood.

“I love that Greenwood’s teams have a range of athletes, some with quite a bit of experience in their sport and some who are quite new,” Emma recounted. “I really like that I get the opportunity to work with all those types of athletes and to help students who are newer to a sport learn more about it.”

Emma also mentioned how rewarding it is to see students she coached continue a sport after high school, reminding her of her own experiences with sports. When asked to give words of encouragement to students pursuing athletics, Emma remarked on the importance of trying a new sport.

“That’s how I got into ultimate frisbee!” she said. “Take all the opportunities you can to get outside, play with a team and learn new skills; these experiences often shape your values and help you learn a lot about yourself!”

 

Congratulations again, Emma!