We need more top netball coaches - Campbell

International umpire Sylvester Campbell believes there is a need for more top-level local persons fit to coach the national team and is imploring Netball Jamaica to increase the pace at which they are turning out international-level tacticians.

The senior Sunshine Girls have been without a coach for more than two months and most of the handful of local qualified coaches (those holding a Jamaica Award, which is the highest qualification locally) are either unavailable or have expressed no interest in the position. This has left the team in a coaching dilemma since late last year.

But Campbell, who also sits on the international testing panel of the International Netball Federation, says the answer to problem is to improve the number of accomplished top-level local coaches.

HIGH NUMBERS IMPORTANT

"In any system it is good to have a lot, more to choose from, so it's good to have more. The cadre [of top level coaches] needs to be bigger, enough for you to pick, choose and refuse from. So it's important to keep the numbers high so we don't get in the position we are currently (with national team) in where there are only a handful, when we could have more," Campbell commented.

"A league like BEL (Berger Elite League) was played at a high standard, and you need coaches in it that can coach at a very high level. Coaches you can see and pick because they are performing at the highest level," he added.

Currently, only Oberon Pitteron-Nattie, Connie Francis, Minneth Reynolds, Annette Daley and Maureen Hall hold a Jamaica Award, while Tracey-Ann Griffiths, Conrad Parkes and Marvette Anderson are now completing theirs.

GREATER URGENCY NEEDED

Coaches obtain these badges through the University of Technology's coaching courses, which starts at Level One and move up to the Jamaica Award, from which coaches can move on to the international level. But Campbell says there needs to be greater urgency in training top-class local coaches.

"There is a UTech advanced course. But the Level One starts in a few weeks, and from there, you move through the different levels. The Jamaica Award takes you to the next level of going international and coaching at that level. It's not an easy course, because it's for top coaches, and the theoretical, scientific and psychological sides and the whole preparation of playing at that level is not as easy to grasp," noted Campbell.

"But Jamaica is doing what is best to get coaches up to that level, they just need to speed it up, although I think they are trying to do that. We need more coaches, as we are in a bad place now, because the ones that are qualified are just not interested [in coaching the national team] at this time," Campbell said.