In December 2020, the OVA announced several new features to the Coach Academy aimed to encourage collaboration, involvement and the dialogue among the community that would begin in the New Year. As of January 4, coaches can contribute to the Academy by posting their own content, such as drills, videos and general ideas to share with their peers. To become a contributor, a process must be followed before posts can be uploaded to the Academy:
- Prepare your first post
Collect the links to the resources you would like to share or prepare the documents you want to upload. Gather the information you need for your post to have a title, a short description and a thumbnail image. Choose which section of the Coach Academy your post should go. - Review posting process with OVA staff
Send your post to coachacademy@ontariovolleyball.org. Send all the information about your post including the title, description, and thumbnail image as well as any other links you may include in the post. An OVA staff member will be in touch with you to review the posting process and answer any questions you might have about the platform. Once this is done, we will activate the post function for your account in the Coach Academy.
After your post has been successfully reviewed, you can post as many times as you would like on the Coach Academy without having to go through the second step.
With the piece of content approved, here is a helpful guide to publish your posts on the Academy.
- Adding a resource
Log in to your profile at bettercoaches.com/ova.
Click the Editor green pen button in the top right corner.
Decide if your post is a resource or a drill. If you are posting a pdf file (i.e. practice plan), or a video related to virtual training (i.e.sport science, life skills, team building) then your post is considered a resource and you will need to click "Add a Resource" button.
If you are uploading a post that covers a drill you will need to click the "Add a Drill" button.
- New Post
Include the heading in the appropriate field.
Select Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced level. If unsure of where your content fits in, we recommend selecting all 3.
Tags - Tags can be used to enable other users to find your content easily. Check out the tags chart below to find out the proper tags you should use when posting a resource. Select the appropriate tags based on the content that you are sharing.
Select Myself under Post As and other will see that you have posted the content.
Expanding the More Details menu provides the author with a space for a description of the content.
Click Save & Next.
- Videos and external media
The video, photos, links and files tabs can be used to upload or link the resource that you would like to share. Videos, photos, links & files can be shared as stand-alone items or can be combined to create a resource with multiple items (i.e. a video explaining a volleyball drill can be uploaded alongside a drill design template that the coach can use and fill out after watching the video).
Use the tabs along the top to navigate back and forth between these menus and skip any that are not applicable.
- Publish
Once you have uploaded all links and files, navigate to the Publish tab.
Publish It Now? – Choose if you want to publish the resource now or schedule for later.
Publish to Groups – Leave this box selected for OVA Coach Academy Members.
Click Publish It.
Take a look at these graphics regarding contributing content on the Coach Academy.
Become an OVA Coach Academy Contributor
How to Post a Resource in the OVA Coach Academy
OVA Coach Academy Posting Standards & Guidelines
How do I access the Coach Academy?
All coaches who are registered as full members in the Membership Registration System (MRS) have free access to the OVA Coach Academy. If you would like to access the Academy’s resources and join the coaching community on this platform, please register through MRS. An invitation link will be provided once you have registered.
If you are having difficulty access the Academy and it’s resources, please contact OVA Operations Coordinator, Oklend Llakaj (ollakaj@ontariovolleyball.org)
The Coach Academy is possible thanks to the support of the Government of Canada and the Canadian Red Cross.
