A new initiative to strengthen grassroots cricket development across Barbados kicked off this month at the Wildey Gymnasium, bringing together nearly 30 aspiring community cricket coaches for an intensive two-week certification workshop. Hosted through a collaborative partnership between the Ministry of Sports and Community Empowerment, the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA), and the National Sports Council – which collectively cover all program costs – the training session will run from May 18 to May 29, equipping participants with both technical and soft skills critical for community-focused coaching.
In his opening address to the cohort, Sports and Community Empowerment Minister Charles Griffith laid out a clear vision for the program, emphasizing that community coaches carry far more responsibility than just teaching cricket techniques: they are positioned to be transformative forces in the lives of young people across the island. Griffith urged attendees to center empathy in their coaching practice, noting that many participants in community sports programs face unforeseen personal or financial hardship off the pitch. “Don’t shout at your charges because you don’t know if someone just left home and came to this programme without eating or what difficulties they experienced prior to coming here,” he told the group.
Beyond emotional intelligence, Griffith encouraged coaches to commit to continuous professional growth, urging them to adopt international best coaching practices to maintain high standards, regardless of whether they go on to coach locally, regionally, or globally. He stressed that excellence in coaching must always go hand in hand with connection to the communities and young people they serve, reminding the cohort that the program will be updated and expanded over time to remain aligned with evolving community needs.
A core priority of the initiative, Griffith noted, is unlocking untapped cricket talent across Barbados’ neighborhoods. Instead of waiting for aspiring athletes to seek out coaching opportunities, the minister urged coaches to take a proactive approach to talent identification, starting with primary and secondary schools as key access points for young people. He also emphasized that talent scouting and programming must be fully inclusive of all genders, noting that expanded community coaching is a key tool to drive positive life outcomes for both young men and young women across the country. “It must be unisex in terms of identifying talent for coaching, but do what you have to do at the community level to better Barbados,” Griffith added.
For participants who successfully complete the full two-week training, the workshop offers formal, recognized accreditation: coaches will earn both the Caribbean Coaching Certification and a specialized training certification from the National Sports Council. The curriculum covers core cricket technical skills, including batting, bowling, catching, fielding, and athlete performance evaluation. To round out the training, specialized sessions are led by external partners: the Barbados Red Cross delivers first aid training, while child safeguarding instruction is facilitated by Maressa Raghobar, a sport and exercise psychology trainee and member of the Chartered Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences.
The cricket coach workshop is just the first in a planned series of community coaching development programs from the Ministry of Sports and Community Empowerment. Similar initiatives focused on netball, football, basketball, and volleyball are already scheduled to launch in the near future, as the government works to build out a robust network of trained, community-focused coaches across multiple sports to support youth development across Barbados.