by ICP Level 2 Instructor & ICP Indonesia Country Representative Tom Sugiarto
The ICP level 1 certification program is by far one of the most grueling and condensed program to raise the level of teaching on inline skates. The participants benefit a lot that when they pass, their skating skills, teaching skills and grasp around the theory of beginner inline skating is so polished that students of a level 1 certified instructor get to enjoy a fantastic experience on inline skates.
Unfortunately because of this level of standard, passing the ICP level 1 certification program first time. Is a long shot. Having been one of these certified instructors I had hands on experience when I tried to share the ICP concept to my fellow country men and women. In my early attempts to train instructors for my own school I found that many of the candidates were not ready and would have certainly fail because of two issues:
- Many participants from the other islands had no clue as to what made up a "skate class." There was no culture of skate schools as a reference. There were only clubs and provincial teams that were only used to a "Gung ho train 'til you die" attitude with no recreational development of the sport in mind.
- Novice skaters were only expected to learn by practice when visiting their local sports store to buy skates.
Over the years, I discovered that if the certification program only served to "certify" then there would be slim hope to get ICP up and running as a viable programin Indonesia. I decided to try something different. Taking a look at the ICP Level 1 manual I divided it into two parts. One part discussing heavily on the teaching side of ICP and the other part discussing the the technical aspects of teaching beginner inline skating. Scores were added to the certificate and the need for a "passing grade" eliminated. The event in turn serves more as a training opportunity then a certification.
The result: The ICP 1A and 1B Prep Program. The target in the end is to use these prepatory programs as stepping stones to certify more international instructors. So that certification, standardization and teaching quality, becomes a topic of discussion and not just a far to reach concept. These program firmly put into place a step by step progression where the fear of failing can be managed by training and mentoring.
The weekend of 20-21st of April 2019 we conducted another prep program in Jakarta, Indonesia. A total of 13 participants from Bintaro, BSD Depok and neighboring island Kalimantan joined the program. The programs-1a & 1b are run simultaneously on two days similar to the Level 1 program format but without the friday night presentation. All participants reported having a great time and enthusiasm for the material and the experience was very exciting to see.
Between 2010-2014, before having the 1a and 1b Level 1 program in place, only instructors were able to successfully prepare for and pace the full International ICP Level 1 program. However, with the success of the recent prep program and the one scheduled later this summer 31 August & 1 September, we are on track to prepare a record number of candidates in time for the full
International ICP Level 1 scheduled for Jakarta, Indonesia October 2019.
If ICP has a low passing rate in your country. Doing a 1a and 1b program might be the solution for you. The hardest part is developing a culture of learning and professionalism around instruction. Once that is established it becomes the norm and when that happens the sport will blossom.
