A total of 12 participants drawn from various leagues, and clubs on the island recently completed the first part of the C Licence Certification Course organised by the St. Lucia Football Association Inc. [SLFA]. Members of the SLFA also participated in the course.
The course facilitated by recently certified B’License coaches; Ces Pod, Emmanuel Bellas, and Solomon Alexander concluded on February, 26 at the SLFA’s Inc. Head Quarters in La Clery.
Speaking on the outcome of the coaching session, Alexander noted that the course went quite well and is pleased by the level of discourse and interest demonstrated by the participants. From the onset, the participants were eager to learn, he said, and then got focused on the practical aspect.
“They have subsequently delved deeper into the theoretical aspect of the course looking at managing the environment, organisation, and managing a team,” declared Alexander.
The coaches will now be presented with the opportunity to return to their community and practice and implement what they have learnt during the theoretical aspect of the course.
Subsequently, the coaches will be provided with an opportunity to be assessed in order to determine whether they have met the desired expectations. If they have not met these they will be asked to return to the field to engage in further practices before they can be further assessed.
Two participating coaches gave their views on the Course. Seasoned coach Casim Millar, indicated that this current one is totally different from the coaching courses he has attended. According to him, most of those he has undertaken centered to a larger extent on tactical and match preparation.
However, this particular one deals more with an in-depth analysis of the game rather than just playing to obtain results.
Millar added that once one is better capable of analysing the game, the more forthcoming will be positive results. Thus, he is imploring everyone to pay more attention to game analysis for the overall development of the sport.
Ryan Desir acknowledged the importance of such a course, which he said was long overdue. He stated that there is a need to develop football broader nationally, and this course affords coaches the opportunity to develop their abilities.
“At the end of the day, we have had coaches island-wide who have their own way and style of imparting knowledge and with good intention,” said Desir. “However, if one wants to see football develop successfully island-wide, this C Licence Course is tailor-made to meet these objectives.”
He added: “Thus, it’s up to all of us coaches to go out there and successfully implement what has been administered.
“In this way, we will be achieving our desired goal in realizing our objectives.”