The National Olympic Academy (NOA) of Barbados is introducing the Coaches Community of Learning (CCOL), with the first event on November 13, 2023. The goal of CCOL is to provide local coaches with an opportunity to share experiences and learn from each other.
The event will be held at the Barbados Olympic Centre under the theme ‘Creating a Barbadian Model for Identifying Athletic Potential’. This session will be presented by Ramon Armstrong, a recent graduate of the International Coaching Enrichment Certificate Program (ICECP). Armstrong, who is a physical education teacher at the Coleridge and Parry School and a track and field coach, will share his ICECP project with other coaches across various sporting disciplines. The two-hour session commences at 6 p.m.
The ICECP is a high-level coaching education course offered by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) in partnership with Olympic Solidarity and the University of Delaware. This programme is designed to equip coaches at the national level, as well as those responsible for developing coaching structures in their countries, with practical skills in a variety of areas, including athlete development and ethical aspects of coaching. The programme covers all levels of competition and multiple sports to ensure a comprehensive training experience.
Armstrong has vast experience as a coach, having served as head coach for the Barbados teams which competed at the CARIFTA Games in The Bahamas and at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary this year. Coach Armstrong’s vision is that his project will be adopted and used as a blueprint to help grow sports nationwide. In commenting on the programme, he remarked, “ICECP has been life-altering and empowering. It provided me with the opportunity to develop proficiency in sports science, talent identification, coaching education and management, athlete development, safe sport principles and grassroots sports development, and I am happy to share some of that information with my colleagues in sport”.
Meanwhile, Vaneisha Cadogan, Director of the NOA, said the Academy is pleased to provide an avenue for local coaches to have a meaningful learning experience in a collegial atmosphere. “We look forward to having an interactive and thought-provoking session next Monday. Coach Armstrong is eager to share the cutting-edge knowledge he has acquired with his colleagues, and we expect that his presentation will be well received by the coaches.”
Coaches who are interested in participating are encouraged to register on or before Friday, November 10, 2023, at https://forms.gle/xZNDrsVWtxBw4aa96.
