Jessica Zelinka selected into national coaching internship program

Two-time Olympic heptathlete and current head cross-country and track and field coach at the University of Calgary Jessica Zelinka was one of three intern coaches selected into the Commonwealth Sport Canada’s (CSC) Women Coach Internship Program.

The program, which is funded by Sport Canada’s Support Program for Gender Equity and Safety in Sport, pairs intern coaches with mentors in the goal of preparing more women to assume high performance coaching roles. It added three new interns to its ranks on Tuesday, for a total of six. The interns are nominated by their respective national sport organizations and selected by the CSC high performance committee.

“As a new coach there is so much to learn in leadership… to support people in their roles so they can be at their best,” said Zelinka, a London, Ontario native. “This is a great opportunity for me.”

Zelinka first made waves in athletics as a standout multi-event athlete. She was the 2007 Pan American Games gold medallist, a two-time Commonwealth Games silver medallist, and the finished fourth in the heptathlon at the 2008 Beijing Games. She has since earned a Master’s degree in management innovation and entrepreneurship from the Queen’s Smith School of Business, and works as a performance consultant for athletes, professionals and veterans. She is now in her first year at the helm of Calgary’s cross-country and track and field programs.

Athletics Canada Coaching Education Manager John Lofranco, who was part of the team at Athletics Canada that nominated Zelinka, said the internship sounds like a tremendous growth opportunity.

"Athletics Canada values the experience and collective wisdom of our coaches,” said Lofranco. “We know that there is a ton of great informal mentoring going on, but we wanted to provide both structure and support to existing relationships, and to create opportunity for new ones to form, in particular among women coaches, who have been traditionally excluded from some of the more informal situations."

As part of the program, Zelinka will be paired with mentor Carmyn James, an NCCP master coach developer and technical manager of development for Athletics Alberta. James was an athletics coach for 12 years at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and 17 years at the University of Hawaii, and in 1995 became the first woman to be chosen as a head coach of a national athletics team. She and Zelinka have known each other since James tried to recruit Zelinka when she was a high schooler, and the pair have maintained a friendship ever since.

James said she is looking forward to working with the young coach, especially because she remembers being in Zelinka’s shoes.

“In 1988 I became the head coach of UBC… I know what it’s like to get into coaching from the ground level. Not just planning practices but also the administrative side of the sport. I think I have a lot of good things to share with her.”

James said the pair has already exchanged phone calls, and is looking forward to see her mentee grow as a coach.

“She’s got Olympic and international experience, and it’s always important to get more women involved in head coaching positions.”

Zelinka said she looks forward to join forces with James.

“Being paired with Carmyn is great because of her background,” she said. “She’s been right where I was.”

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