St Catherine FA workshop to raise quality of coaches

The refresher course was held last Saturday at the GC Foster College of Physical Education and Sport where national head coach Theodore Whitmore and national director of football Wendell Downswell were the presenters.

The coaches were drawn from the major league and division one tiers, with the latter scheduled to start January 10, while the latter kicked off recently.

President of the St Catherine FA Elaine Walker-Brown, who was recently elected to the helm, said the initiative forms part of the FA’s thrust to raise the quality of its coaches.

The course content primarily focused on player’s strengths and weaknesses and the characteristics being sought for the national programme.

“We get them to understand their role as it relates to talent identification because it is not us at the national level that identify the talent,” Downswell outlined in an interview with Old Harbour News.

“That is why our intention is to ensure that they get the requisite knowledge to ensure that they are better able to identify these players and to develop them.

“Then we outlined some of the characteristics we expect from a defender, from an attacking midfielder, a number nine or a number 10 player… that we look for in a player from a national perspective.”

Since her election to the top post, the FA has started dialogue with GC Foster College, with a view of establishing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between both entities, where best practices in management, coaching and other programmes where looked at.

A synergy between the “FA and GC Foster can work closer together for the development of the sport” is a win-win for everybody, Walker-Brown told Old Harbour News.