The Need for More Competent Coaches
Vin Blaine

The development of our young players rest solely in the hands of our coaches, but the question is begging, do we have these coaches around? The newly elected administration of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has included youth development as part of its manifesto. This development process should focus on the deficiencies of our youth coaches and seek to bring them to an acceptable level of competence.

Too often we see coaches in charge of eight to twelve year olds, conducting training sessions better suited for an older age group. The fact that most of these youngsters cannot execute the drills, does not contribute much to their development. Training at the youth level should be age-specific, which would include understanding the physiology and psychology of the different age groups.

Coaches who are actively involved in youth coaching should endeavor to acquire as much information to improve their coaching skills. It is very important that our best coaches be assigned to our youth programmes. It stands to reason that teaching our youngsters proper technique, will eventually produce better players, but this will only happen if we have coaches who understand a more progressive and enlightened way of teaching the skills of the game.

Another area where coaches are falling down, is allowing young players to participate in 11v11 games. This does nothing for these players, as it does not afford them the amount of touches of the ball that is necessary for their development. These coaches would be better advised to engage their players in more 4v4 small-sided games, which would allow them to participate more.

At the youth level, coaches should focus less on winning and more on development. A solution and a way to encourage this, are to have tournaments that do not focus on winning a prize, but more for fun and enjoyment.

I have no doubt that the JFF in their development plan recognizes the need for more competent coaches at the youth level, and there is no better time than now to start the process. In so doing, our local coaches will be brought up to standard with coaches around the world.

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