In his opening remarks, BOA President Steve Stoute explained the purpose of hosting these kinds of clinics was to raise the standard of local coaching to ultimately create a better sporting infrastructure in Barbados. “Barbados needs to remain competitive on the international sports scene. By hosting sessions like these, and with the assistance of our Canadian Coaching Association partners, we hope to better equip our coaches to train our athletes so we can stay at the forefront of the international sporting community,” he said.
The clinic was overseen by the leadership of two experienced international instructors from the Coaching Association of Canada – Mr Neale Gillespie and Ms Laura Watson, who both work in the Canadian national sports system.
Mr Gillespie and Ms Watson both thanked the BOA and said the Coaching Association of Canada was excited to continue the long-standing partnership between Canada and Barbados. “We’ve had nothing but phenomenal feedback every time we’ve come over, and we really enjoy working with the Barbadian coaches. We can see there is a genuine dedication to improving the standard of sport here in Barbados – your commitment is outstanding,” they said.
Director of the National Olympic Academy Dave Farmer says the BOA is remaining focused on providing local coaches with a higher level of education in the field of Sports Sciences in order to improve our sporting performance in the international arena. “Realistically, we know that our athletes are only as good as our coaches. We recognise that by investing in our coaches now, it will translate to better performance results and reap significant benefits for the future of sport in Barbados”, he said.
The three day clinic involved both practical and theoretical participation, and included topics such as:
- basic mental skills for athletes
- managing conflict
- designing a sports program
- leading drug-free sport.
Caption 1: Participants of National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) Level 2 Certification clinic held 10–12 June 2016.
Caption 2: Participants hard at work at the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) Level 2 Certification clinic over the weekend held at BOA Headquarters in Wildey.
