OFC, Auckland: English Coaching Instructor, Alan Gillett, has praised the attitude of the eighteen coaches attending the 2004 OFC Indigenous Senior Coaching License courses, being held at the OFC Academy in Auckland, New Zealand.

“The coaches have been excellent so far and gone way beyond my expectations,” said Gillett.

“Since the first course was held in Auckland last December, we have modified the way the content has been delivered which is more user-friendly and the response has been positive.”

The courses, organised by the Oceania Football Confederation with technical assistance provided by the Football Association (England), will be completed by this Friday, 25 June 2004.

Although the participants were initially broken into two groups – those sitting either the Level 1 or the Level 2 certificate – all coaches have been working together under a “buddying system” which has worked wonders, according to Mr Gillett.

According to Gillett, the coaches are thriving under the mentoring structure in place which sees those coaches that attended and passed last year’s course, working in pairs with the new participants and other coaches re-sitting level 1.

The emphasis is now more on communication and interaction with practical solutions used more to create a better understanding of coaching concepts, rather than relying almost entirely on a classroom setting. The participants have been following a set programme devised by Gillett which best suits their needs and the scenarios they are familiar with back in their home islands.

The first week focussed solely on the general principles of play, attacking/defending and a basic background of how and what to coach. This week the focus was more on team settings and team play which is relevant to the majority of the participants who are mostly involved in training or coaching their national teams back in their countries.

By the completion of the courses, Gillett hopes the participants will be armed with enough knowledge which will enable them to tutor junior coaching license courses in their own countries. The participants progressing on from Level 2 will have reached a level where they can tutor the first level of the Senior Coaching License that OFC plans to implement after its technical department is in place in the near future. Gillett is making his own recommendations for the OFC Senior Coaching Licenses, with input also coming from other technical experts.

Acting OFC General Secretary, Tai Nicholas, was praiseworthy of Gillett and the FA for their valuable assistance in the provision of technical assistance and resources which he believed will benefit the confederation in the long-term.

“We are greatly indebted to the FA and Alan and no doubt the participants will return home to pass on the knowledge they have attained to a new generation of coaches in the islands,” he said.