The B Licence is the highest coaching qualification offered by the Oceania Football Confederation at present, with ten candidates successfully completing the first cycle held over 2012/13.
This time around participants from Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Samoa gathered in Suva, Fiji for the course, under the tutelage of instructors Didier Chambaron, OFC Head of Education, and OFC Consultant Giovani Fernandes.
Chambaron said each participant was assessed and given immediate feedback by the instructors to help them improve their training plans and delivery.
“This is a good opportunity for me to see coaches in their environment and to see how the players react to different formats of technical advance practices — small-sided games or phase of play,” Chambaron said.
“All of the coaches need to practice, they have to improve their delivery so that their players can perform well and understand the message faster.”
The coaches will now go back to their associations where they will send monthly reports on their progress before they will be assessed in action within the next 12 months by one of the instructors.
Fiji Football Association acting technical director Ravinesh Kumar says the B License coaching course, which was attended by seven local Fiji coaches, would take them to the next level and broaden their coaching knowledge.
Kumar said the coaches have benefited from this high profile course and will learn more aspects of football in theory and practical session.
Fiji U-20 assistant coach Shalen Lal was one the seven participants and says he was proud to be part of the course as it has enhanced his coaching skills.
“This course has broadened my knowledge more on the technical aspects of the game and I am keen to learn as much as I can,” Lal said.
Rewa coach Marika Rodu says the course has helped him become better acquainted with the coaching side of the game.
“The 16-day course has really geared us coaches up and given us a lot of in-depth insights into football especially in terms of the leadership aspects of our roles as coaches. We have really gone deep into how to manage individual players and their long term development.”
Fiji FA CEO Bob Kumar said the association was very proud to host the event, especially with seven local coaches taking part in it.
“If this course was taken somewhere else we couldn’t have sent this many candidates,” said Kumar
Coaches such as Rewa’s Marika Rodu, Nadi’s Kamal Swamy, Billy Hussein from Taveuni along with national assistant mentors Shalen Lal and Iosefo Vosaboto, Lami coach Riyaz Ali were part of the course.
Two B Licence certified coaches are currently based in Fiji, Ravinesh Kumar and Imdad Ali. The third Fiji coach who passed in 2013 is Usenio Logavou who has since migrated to the USA.
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