Course aims to equip coaches with necessary tools

Fuad Esack

Developing coaching skills in aspiring coaches from across the city was the focus of the Safa CAF D Licence course, which concluded at Rocklands sportsfield over the weekend.

Club, school and community coaches including those from Strandfontein AFC, Bayhill United, Juventus, Beacon Spurs, Rock-A-Fellas and others, were among those who attended.

Held over three consecutive weekends, the entry-level course aims to equip coaches with the knowledge and skill to deliver training sessions that are age-appropriate and to keep up with the modern trends of the game, said Ayyoob Gester, one of the facilitators appointed by Safa.

He said the aim is to ensure that the quality of football as well as the quality of coaching, lies within the hands of coaches at all levels.

“It’s important for coaches to know the role of the coach/educator, how to plan a training session and deliver a training session,” Gester said.

“⁠Our coaches need more of these types of accredited coaching courses, hopefully they will go back to their clubs and implement what they have learnt,” he said.

Michelle De Wet, technical and coaching HOD at Mitchell's Plain LFA, said the course was open to anyone, but limited to 30 candidates at a time.

"The students were eager to learn and sacrificed many things in order to attend the course," she said. "Some are coaches of soccer teams and they could not coach their teams over these three weekends, others are high profile soccer players that could not play their games, and others had to sacrifice work, church and other responsibilities in order to complete the course." 

Strandfontein AFC under-12 manager, Jihan Emaandien, the only woman on the course, said it has deepened her understanding of grassroots football and youth development and reinforced ethical conduct and child protection as vital aspects of coaching. 

“The course emphasised age-appropriate, holistic training and highlighted the importance of creating a safe, inclusive and engaging environment for young players,” she said.

“I learned to plan purposeful sessions using the “What – How – Why” approach and developed a greater appreciation for the coach’s role as a facilitator of learning,” she said.

“Overall, it strengthened my skills, built my confidence on the field and reaffirmed my commitment to developing young talent with empathy and professionalism, " she said.

Juven Rittles, a founder of community sports development organisation, Unchain The Plain, said the course was presented in a fun and practical manner, giving insight into setting up a training exercise, understanding technical terminology and movement on and off the ball.

"There was great camaraderie among coaches from different LFAs/regions, knowledge shared and access to a wealth of information,” he said.

"It’s important to equip grassroots coaches with the tools that allow them to have a better understanding of the game and to transfer that acquired knowledge to our children, preparing them for life on and off the pitch,” he said.