Jamaican football is positioning for sustainable, long-term growth through a strategic focus on expanding its domestic pool of qualified coach educators, according to top leadership at the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF).
Last week, the JFF teamed up with Concacaf, the regional governing body for football in North and Central America and the Caribbean, to wrap up a new “Train the Trainer” coach educators workshop. The hands-on program was hosted at the Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence, located at The UWI Mona Bowl in St Andrew, and led by a panel of football and education experts: JFF Director of Football Andrew Peart, FIFA Caribbean technical consultant Lenny Lake, Ballaz Academy founder Andre Virtue, and Concacaf Head of Education Andre Waugh.
The workshop gathered a cohort of accomplished local coaches from across the island, including Keon Broderick, the lead coach behind Excelsior High School’s recent Manning Cup title win. Trainees joined the program with the goal of joining Jamaica’s existing network of coach educators, supporting the delivery of the national football association’s C and D-level coaching certification courses.
In an interview with the Jamaica Observer, Peart emphasized that growing the number of qualified coach educators stands as a top strategic priority for the JFF. He was quick to note, however, that elite coaching experience alone does not make an effective coach educator. “A good coach educator is one who, of course, has credibility in the game as a coach, has knowledge of the game, has those characteristics that would facilitate that respect from others and one who understands adult learning principles,” Peart explained.
Unlike youth coaching, working with aspiring coaches requires a specialized approach to adult learning, Peart added. Trainee coaches bring years of existing on-field experience and clear professional goals to their coursework, so educators must foster a collaborative, supportive learning environment that helps adult learners build on their existing knowledge rather than starting from scratch.
Peart argued that expanding the coach educator ecosystem will create ripple benefits across every level of Jamaican football. “Over time, this sector will need coach educators, coach educator developers, coach developers, coach mentors; so you’ll need that broad framework, which supports the entire ecosystem,” he said. “Because in having more coaches now you’re going to need more mentors, more educators to deliver courses, but more mentors, more developers. So it will be an ecosystem that has different target groups supporting the whole football.”
Paul Alexander, Director of Football at Ballaz Academy and a workshop participant, reported that the program left him far better prepared to take on his new role as a coach educator. For years, Alexander has focused on grassroots youth coaching, but the training gave him new insights into specialized adult learning frameworks, including how to apply concepts like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to build more effective learning environments for trainee coaches.
“I think it’s very important because if we can now help facilitate an environment that allow student coaches to take ownership of their learning and really come to an understanding of how to become a better coach and we produce better coaches out of that, I think the players on the pitch are the ones who are going to be developed and we’ll see the fruits of it down the road,” Alexander said.
The workshop is part of a two-year national push by the JFF to upgrade the qualifications of domestic football coaches across the country. Rudolph Speid, current head coach of Jamaica’s senior men’s national team, the Reggae Boyz, and chairman of the JFF Technical Committee, outlined the progress the association has already made: by 2026, Jamaica boasts more than 400 C-licensed coaches (up from zero in 2017), 1,500 D-licensed coaches, 200 B-licensed coaches, 60 A-licensed coaches, and four coaches currently completing their top-tier professional coaching licenses.