Fri | Mar 29, 2024

Twenty local coaches level up

Published:Monday | December 16, 2019 | 12:31 AM
Cricket West Indies (CWI) Cricket Education Manager Chris Barbazon (left) and Jamaica Cricket Association president Wilford ‘Billy’ Heaven have a quick chat in-between session, at the CWI Level Two coaching course at Sabina Park recently.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) Cricket Education Manager Chris Barbazon (left) and Jamaica Cricket Association president Wilford ‘Billy’ Heaven have a quick chat in-between session, at the CWI Level Two coaching course at Sabina Park recently.

Sabina Park was the venue for a Cricket West Indies (CWI) Level Two Coaching Course that catered to 20 Jamaicans who have completed foundation and Level One certification from December 12 to 16.

The course, which will be delivered across CWI’s territorial boards, was designed though a partnership with The University of the West Indies (UWI). It is delivered with the assistance of tutors from UWI and CWI’s recently appointed coaching education manager Chris Brabazon. The delivery at Sabina also incorporated the services of two CWI cricket specialists, Jamaicans Phillip Service and David Bernard Jr. Before execution in Jamaica, the course was delivered in Barbados, Guyana, and the Windward Islands.

CWI director and Jamaica Cricket Association president Wilford ‘Billy’ Heaven said, “This course is part of the CWI’s ‘cricket first’ strategy, which is aimed at improving the human capital which supports talent development at all levels. This ­coaching-education focus is done for foundation through to Level Three. We are building capacity in different areas so that we can develop quality players and winning teams.”

He added, “The cricket education Manager will add to the process a focus on the ­methodology used by the coaches. The pedagogy (method) of any subject is quite important. All our players don’t learn the same way, and that is being taken into consideration.”

BRIDGING THE GAP

Brabazon believes that coaching in the region is trending in the right direction, but he says there is a gap.

“Other countries are more advanced in terms of their accreditation systems already being in place,” he said. “Once the system is in place, then more workshops and seminars can be done to build more on what is learnt during a course. It allows for greater focus to be placed on getting coaches to the top levels over shorter periods than currently exist.

“I’m enthused by the positive attitude of the coaches. The next step is to take a look at all the Level Two coaches across the region and organise a Level Three course over the next eight to 12 months. Thereafter, we will seek to strengthen the various cohorts and better the franchise coaches and so on.”

UWI tutor Ryerson Bahgoo said, “Level Two [course] focuses on identifying a ­player’s strengths and weakness with the ­intention to reinforce and strengthen. The Level Two uses a more cooperative approach to coaching through observation and implicit learning using cricket drills. Coaches who have successfully completed the Level Two certification may coach in senior clubs and secondary schools which play competitive cricket.”