Nodley Wright, Freelance Writer
( left - right )WALTERS ,HALLIMAN and HUNT
THREE OF the country's top youth coaches have returned from a coaching course in the Netherlands equipped with the equivalent of a UEFA B Licence, flooded with new ideas and bursting with excitement ahead of the upcoming schoolboy football season.
The trio - Patrick "Jackie" Walters, Leebert Halliman and David Hunt - were part of a group of 20 coaches from Europe, Africa, North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean who participated in the course put on by the Royal Netherland Football Association in conjunction with FIFA.
It focused on match analysis and match-related training and involved the coaches analysing matches in the World Under-20 championships from the quarter-final stage, making presentations on their observations and implementing a programme to correct the mistakes observed.
The course was held at the Dutch Academy in Zeist under the instruction of top coaches Wim Koevermans, Ruud Dokter and Job Dragtsma.
FULL OF PRAISE
Each of the trio of Walters, Halliman and Hunt were full of praise for the course.
"One of the major things that I learnt on this course was that each country should have a philosophy, a vision and one system of play. There was also the importance of the culture to that system of play," said Halliman, a former national youth coach who last year led Excelsior to their second Manning Cup title in two years.
"I figure that when we (Jamaica) employ a coach we should ensure that he understands our culture, vision and system. I do not feel we have done that," added Halliman, who said it was the best course he has ever done.
"We need to have a technical committee that understand football at the highest level. Even when (Rene) Simoes was here we had none," he continued, before asking the question who was here to assess Simoes.
What impressed Walters the most is the Dutch's view of football and how it is taught under their system.
"We learnt that there are three main moments in a football game. The first moment involves the possession of the ball by one team, say team A. The second moment is when the opponents are in possession while the third moment involves the transition from team A to the opponents and back to team A," Walters explained.
Their emphasis on structure also impressed Walters and he believes he is better for his exposure to this new thinking.
"I will benefit in that they are very structured in how they approach things. They are very precise in terms of roles and responsibility on the field - forward, midfield and defence. If one person neglects his task, then he or she has failed," added the man who guided Glenmuir to the schoolboy triple crown last season.
TEACHING DIFFERENT LEVELS
The Dutch, according to Hunt, use the game as the starting and the ending point of their football philosophy and break down their instruction of youngsters into levels based on how children of different ages learn.
"They group children in ages from 6-9, 9-12, 12-15 and 15-18. After 18, they say you are a professional player," explained Hunt, under whose guidance all three of Calabar's football teams advanced to the finals in their respective competitions last year.
"They use different material to teach each age group but they do not change the structure," added Hunt, who said a lot of what he learnt enhanced a previous English FA Course.
Hunt, who rated the course highly, said that "it validates some of my beliefs and how I approach coaching."
