The Barbados Olympic Association Inc. (BOA) continued to achieve the goals set out in its strategic plan with the recent training of thirty coaches in Level 1 of the Canada-based National Coaching Certification Programme (NCCP).
The training was conducted over two weekends October 16 and 17 and October 25 and 26, 2020 at the Wildey Gymnasium, under the leadership of Instructor Wayne Parro of the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC). This is the latest training to be carried out through the collaborative efforts of the BOA and CAC, as the BOA seeks to take sports in Barbados to higher heights.
The coaches, drawn from twelve sporting disciplines, received training aimed at helping to improve the level of coaching on the island, with the ultimate goal of improving athletics in this country. Among the topics covered in the 20-hour programme were: Making Ethical Coaching Decisions; Planning a Practice; Designing a Basic Sport Programme and Leading Drug Free Sport. The Level 1 coaches were also mentored by a group of Level 3 trained coaches, who recently completed training sessions furthering their coaching skills in the area of Mentorship.
Chair of the Education Commission of the BOA Dave Farmer, said that this training is one aspect of an initiative being delivered that has been created to expand on the number of trained coaches in Barbados, as well as to widen the base of coaching skills and knowledge. Farmer added: “The BOA is looking to prepare another generation of coaches who will be engaged in coaching over the next four to six years to ensure that the next group of athletes have good preparation for competition”.
Aspiring Karate coach, Janelle Harewood who participated in the training course said it was an excellent course, “I recently retired from competition and was looking at getting into coaching and this course solidified that decision. The course is intense and you come away with actual tools that you can use as you teach and coach, including planning a practice from the warmups to the cool downs and the steps in between”.
The BOA is set to invest further in local coaches, with the Level 2 NCCP course, scheduled to run from November 21 and 22 and, December 5 and 6 from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm each day.
