Coach NB Women to Watch Grant Program

Coach NB is dedicated to decreasing barriers that may result in impact women in their ability to reach their full coaching education goals. The Coach NB Women to Watch Grant Program is a key initiative that will provide financial assistance to women coaches looking to advance in their coaching pathway.

Grants will be awarded to women coaches in the Province of New Brunswick to assist them in further developing the skills necessary to attain a higher level of coaching or increased level of coaching experience. The grant aims at helping to offset cost associated with their coach development (i.e., course/event fees, travel, childcare…).

The grants applications will be accessed bi-annually with a maximum of $1500 being disbursed per fiscal year (max $500/recipient).  The grant will remain open throughout the year closing on March 15th  until the start of the next fiscal (April 1st).

Deadline March 15th, 2024.

Meet our 2022-2023 Grant Recipients

Alexandra Levesque: Judo

Alexandra Levesque is a Judo coach with over
7 years of coaching experience. She has a black
belt in judo and has competed in several national tournaments. She is a dedicated coach, focused on teaching and sharing the fundamentals of Judo and helping female athletes become the best that they can be. Her mission is to empower women and girls to be their best selves, to confidently pursue their dreams, and to become the best judo athletes they can be. She strongly believes that Judo is a powerful tool to help women become stronger, wiser, and more confident. 

Alexandra’s passion to help athletes reach their full potential resulted in the foundation of the “Fight Like a Woman” program at Tani Koi Judo in 2022. This program focuses on creating a safe and supportive environment that helps them thrive and continue to reach their full potential. In addition to her years of experience coaching Judo, Alexandra is also a certified yoga teacher and has been teaching for 2 years. 

With her experience and passion, she is committed to inspiring females to be the best they can be and helping them reach their potential. To do so she will be using the Women to Watch Grant to pursue the NCCP Judo Competition Development Coach certification as well as women’s specific training like ”Les particularités des filles en entraînement” offered by Égale Action.

Madlynn Palmer: Swimming

Madlynn is an NCCP certified level 1 swim Coach who has coached at a variety of levels from pre-competitive age groups to USports swimming. She is currently an Assistant Coach with the University of New Brunswick REDS, coaching alongside Head Coach and mentor, Marta Belsh. 

Madlynn’s passion for coaching swimming stems from her own experience as an elite level swimmer. Madlynn swam as a member of the University of Waterloo Warriors swim team for five consecutive years. In her final two years she was challenged with an adverse health circumstance which became a major driving force behind her why and giving back to the sport of swimming where she continues to share her love and passion for the sport with the athletes she gets to work with.

Madlynn holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Recreation & Leisure studies from the University of Waterloo and in 2022, she completed a Masters of Education in Educational Leadership, where her studies focused on behavioral skills achieved through sport in post-secondary student-athletes. Madlynn believes in the power of resilience through adversity and hopes to inspire her athletes to challenge themselves through their unique endeavors. 

Madlynn intends to continue her coaching education through the Swimming Canada NCCP coaching pathway and seeks to develop a robust skill set through these learning opportunities. Advancing her knowledge and expertise will lend directly to her current role at UNB. She will be using her Women to Watch Grant to obtain the Swimming Canada NCCP Level 201.

Nat Young: Wheelchair Basketball

Nat Young is a current graduate student and an avid volunteer with Parasport NB. After enjoying a 4 year career in wheelchair basketball, which included a season as a member of the Team NB Canada Games squad in 2015, she began her transition into coaching the sport she loves. Nat credits her time spent volunteering with Parasport NB as the reason she uncovered her interest in coaching. With the help of the wheelchair basketball community, she has been involved in various capacities including teaching beginners programs as well as coaching at National Championships.

As a Women to Watch Grant recipient, Natalie was able to attend a women’s national wheelchair basketball tournament which took place this past April in Montreal, QC. During her time in Montreal, Natalie was able to gain valuable, hands-on experience during training camp sessions. Throughout that experience, she was able to learn from elite wheelchair basketball coaches, learning new drills and more advanced coaching techniques in the process. In addition to the unique, hands-on learning environment, Young shared that it was incredibly impactful to be involved in an all-women’s environment.

Natalie’s long-term goal is to continue her coaching certification in wheelchair basketball and aspires to be a member of the 2027 Canada Games coaching staff.

Yzabelle Ouellette: Judo

At just 23 years old, Yzabelle Ouellette has already been coaching Judo for the past 5 years. She recently received her level 3 coaching certification in  Judo and has been a second dan black belt since she was 20 years old,  receiving several national titles in the process. From her own experience as an athlete who struggled to realize her talent early on, she has dedicated herself to helping athletes develop their self-confidence. She believes that every athlete has the potential to succeed as long as they have belief in themselves. Through the sport of judo she has helped countless athletes grow into respectful, mentally and physically strong athletes. 

As a Women to Watch Grant recipient Yzabelle plans to follow her athletes to several competitions across Canada in order to help them achieve their dreams. Her long term goal includes becoming the head coach for New Brunswick’s women’s judo team for the 2027 Canada Games. With the Woman to Watch grant, she will be able to continue taking NCCP courses in order to continue her own coaching education and continue traveling in order to support her athletes on their athletic journeys. 

 

Grant Application Process: 

Please complete and email the following to our Women in Coaching Project Manager:

    • Application Form
    • Letter of Support from one of the following;
      • Local Sport Organization
      • Provincial Sport Organization
      • National Sport Organization
    • NCCP Transcript

**Applications with support letters from Provincial or National level Sport Organizations may be given priority. Coach NB may make contact with your Provincial Sport Organization, upon reception of your application.

Amount of Support

    • Up to $500 is available through this grant program
    • Coaches are only eligible to apply for and receive one grant within a fiscal year (April – March)

Grant Deadline

    • Applications will be accepted throughout the year, with the final acceptance being March 15th for each fiscal year.

Follow up Procedures

Within 60 days of the completion of the activity the grant recipient must submit a written follow up report to the Women in Coaching Project Manager. The report must contain the following information:

    • Details of the activity you participated in (when, where, who, etc.)
    • How this experience contributed to the learning objectives you outlined in your original application. Any successes, challenges, and recommendations should also be included.
    • An article that could be included in a Coach NB newsletter or the Coach NB Women to Watch Grant Program webpage.
    • A financial report detailing all expenditures relevant to your participation in the event.

Promotion of Women to Watch Grant Program

As a recipient of a Women to Watch Grant, you may be asked to supply a photo and a detailed report of your learning activities for publication or promotion purposes or to speak to other female coaches about your experience.

Forward your application to the Coach NB Team via Email: madeline@coachnb.ca

**All application material is to be submitted as a PDF document**

For further information contact us at Coach NB.