Support your coaches. Strengthen your club.
Sports coaching - host organisation
Te Mahi Ako – Sport Coaching (Level 3)
Facilitated cohort 2026
Upskill your beginner-level coaches with a nationally recognised qualification — supported directly by your club.
Te Mahi Ako delivers work-based, practical learning that helps coaches grow their confidence, improve athlete experiences, and strengthen the coaching culture in your club.
Your coaches learn while actively coaching, and your club plays a key role in supporting their success.
(NZQF Ref: 3228, Level 3, 40 credits, 8 months).
Places are limited - enrolments close Wednesday 15 April 2026.
Enrol now – Tono ināianei
To enrol a coach, two documents are required. These are simple and take only a few minutes. So, download, fill-in and return to becca.jacka@temahiako.org.nz. For more information, see below.
Volunteer Relationship Agreement
Workplace Relationship Agreement
Why clubs should encourage their coaches to enrol:
Build confident, capable coaches
Your coaches will learn athlete-centred, inclusive coaching and solidify the foundations of good practice - planning, delivering, reviewing and ensuring safe sessions. This lifts the standard of coaching throughout your club.
Improve the experience for your athletes and whānau
Great coaches help players at any level stay engaged, positive, and supported. This programme strengthens the culture and wellbeing of your whole club community.
Professional recognition for your volunteers
Coaches earn the New Zealand Certificate in Sport Coaching (Level 3), nationally recognised on the NZ Qualifications Framework.
Low cost, low disruption:
- Free for New Zealand and Australian citizens/residents aged 16years+
- Flexible learning: about 1 hour/week spent completing course questions or planning/completing practical work (self-directed), in addition to online sessions and on-the-job learning with their team
- Supportive online sessions throughout the course (60min sessions) - no travel, minimal disruption
- All learning happens with their own team
- Any sporting code: from football to figure-skating.
What your club needs to provide
Te Mahi Ako works in partnership with your club to support your coaches. This simply means ensuring your coach has:
- A team (or at least 3 participants/athletes) to coach and access to facilities/equipment
- A safe, supportive environment for their learning. Ideally also access to a mentor or coach from within your club to ask questions or observe
- Someone who can act as a verifier for practical evidence if needed
- Internet/device access for online facilitated sessions and to capture video evidence.
The two agreements your club will sign
Te Mahi Ako delivers programmes in a workplace learning model. To enrol a coach, two documents are required. These are simple, digital, and take only a few minutes:
-
Volunteer Relationship Agreement
(or Workplace Relationship Agreement if your coach is a paid employee)
This outlines how your club and Te Mahi Ako will support any coaches through work-based learning.
It covers:
- Your commitment to providing a supportive environment
- Health and safety expectations
- Adherence to the Pastoral Care Code and basic regulatory requirements.
This agreement covers all of your learners and protects your club, the coach, and Te Mahi Ako by making expectations clear and shared.
Download the forms, fill-in and return to becca.jacka@temahiako.org.nz
-
Learner Agreement (signed digitally)
Once the coach submits their online enrolment form, it becomes the Learner Agreement. This agreement is signed by someone from your club such as a manager, coordinator, coach or committee member, and Te Mahi Ako.
Who is eligible?
Coaches must:
- Be 16+
- NZ citizen or resident or Australian citizen
- Coach 3 or more athletes in any code
- Coach under a recognised club or organisation (school teams only eligible if under a club/trust)
- Have internet and a device with camera/mic, plus a phone for filming sessions.
Why this partnership matters
By supporting your coaches to complete this qualification, your club:
- Builds a stronger, safer, more inclusive environment
- Develops a pipeline of skilled coaches
- Strengthens community trust and wellbeing
- Shows commitment to coach development and good practice.
Te Mahi Ako has delivered work-based learning across Aotearoa for decades, supporting thousands of workplaces and volunteers in active recreation and sport. This programme aligns with that kaupapa and helps grow capability from the ground up.
Key dates (2026 cohort)
- Your coaches must be fully enrolled by: Wednesday 15 April. Get enrolments in ASAP – it can take time to get all forms signed and processed
- Induction: Week of 27 April
- Live sessions begin: Week of 4 May
- Final submissions due: 15 December.
Encourage your coaches to enrol and help them take the next step:
Enrol now – Tono ināianei
For more information, contact Becca Jacka:
Email: becca.jacka@temahiako.org.nz
Phone: 0508 475 455