June 11, 2013 (Canmore, Alta.) – It is with great pleasure and high hopes that Cross Country Canada (CCC) announces the hiring of Michael Vieira as CCC’s Manager of Coaching Development (MCD).

The MCD position is aimed at increasing CCC’s capacity to meet the demands of the transition to the competency based National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP).  As such, the MCD will be responsible for providing assistance with the design of new NCCP materials and for managing the delivery of the NCCP and complementary coaching development initiatives.

“We were very pleased to receive an exceptional number of high quality applications for this position. Mike stood out as an ideal candidate given his vast coaching experience at all levels up to the National Development Centre (NDC), his strong educational background, his great work ethics and communication skills as well as a good knowledge of the NCCP system”, said Stéphane Barrette, CCC’s Director of Coaching and Athlete Development.

Before acting as an assistant coach with the Alberta World Cup Academy (Canmore NDC) over the last year, Mike was head coach of Nakkertok ski club and has been instrumental in developing the club into a leader in the country (current Club National Champion). Those successes would not have materialized without Mike’s strong commitment to assisting with the development of the club’s coaches throughout the years, developing along the way a very good understanding of athlete and coach development requirements.

“I am very excited to take on the role of Manager of Coaching Development with Cross Country Canada. I am looking forward to joining the CCC team and working with great people in an excellent organization. There is a great deal of work to be done to implement and bring online CCC’s new coaching programs and development opportunities, but I welcome the challenges and I am eager to help improve coaching in Canada” says an enthusiastic Mike Vieira.

Mike is currently finishing his mandate with the Alberta World Cup Academy and will begin in his new CCC position before the end of June.

All the CCC staff team wishes Mike a warm welcome!