CWI Coach Education Programme seeks to develop world class players

Feb 07, 2020 Sports

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By Zaheer Mohamed

With the aim of improving coaching at all levels throughout the Caribbean, so as to produce world class cricketers who will be consistently successful at the international level, Cricket West Indies (CWI) new Coach Education Manager, Chris Brabazon and Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams held their first interactive session with coaches at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, yesterday.

The session was designed to gain feedback from the regional pathway coaches in relation to the challenges they face in executing their duties and to understand how CWI can render assistance to the coaches so they can work together within the new Coach Education Programme.
Speaking with Kaieteur Sport following the session, Brabazon who has worked full time for 15 years with the Western Australian Cricket Association said he was pleased with the programme. He added that the coaches are passionate about the game and they are willing to play their role in helping to develop world class players.
“The session was really good, it comes on the back of the forum we held in Antigua last week for the franchise coaches. I think the level of passion was good, it is great to see that people are so open to sharing what’s working really well and present some of the opportunities that we can expand on and help them to play a vital role for cricket in the West Indies.
I am satisfied with some of the ideas that were presented. In our effort to produce world class players, everyone is really committed to joining in and play their part. We want to have a really sustainable success for the West Indies team,” he posited.

Brabazon stated that the some of the challenges around the Caribbean may be slightly different, but remains positive that the coaches can work together. “Generally speaking it is about finding a common ground. What are the big issues and as a national body how we can help it without over promising. This engagement is to find out from the coaches how we can help them play their role rather than developing a system that may not be applicable for everyone. The feeling that they want to contribute to something bigger is really exciting,” he said.
The new Coach Education Manager stated that he is very lucky to be part of this journey. “To have past players and legends of West Indies cricket being able to share really valuable inserts is going to help me in my role. To have access to these players is really fantastic and I am looking forward to repay the favour being granted to me.”
Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams indicated that he is happy with the turn out: “We have quite a few Guyanese coaches who are involved in the coaching pathway and they came here willing to share their experiences, and when we multiply this with the rest of the Caribbean we are hoping to have a strong level of information that we can use to develop a coaching education platform that can be helpful throughout the region. Also, it is leaving with them a message of alignment that we want to have all our regional coaches functioning off the same page.”
Adams noted that there are a number of challenges faced by coaches. “There are challenges that are being faced by coaches throughout the region like facilities and equipment, I have no doubt that as we go around the Caribbean we will encounter a few more, but we have to work together to see how best we can assist in these areas,” the former West Indies Captain pointed out.
“The fact of the matter is to get a message to our top players at the junior level we have to work with our coaches so we have to meet with them at a point where they can function because there is no sense asking for an objective to be met when people don’t have the tools to meet those objectives. We have taken it very seriously, we have asked for feedback because we want to see where we can help in these areas.”
He added that facilities are a region wide issue for both players and coaches. “We appreciate that it is a priority because everywhere we go we get some of the same responses. Once we collect this information we have to see what action can be taken going forward and work together with the territorial boards to help in these areas, we cannot ignore it because it is affecting coaches.”
Adams said that it is really exciting to see the coaches have the passion and love for the game and players and the willingness to stick it out to keep improving. “This means we have the raw material which is the main ingredients for success in terms of coaching pathway. We have the potential for creating a climate where we can really develop world class players,” he stated.
The duo will also visit the other territories in the Caribbean for similar engagements.

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