Football coaches get boost

 Coaches from the five football clubs on Saipan received an advanced Christmas gifts in a form of effective teaching methods and principles from renowned Union of European Football Associations coach Gary White.

White conducted the three-hour clinic early this month with over 40 individuals (coaches and several players) attending the practical session at the Koblerville Elementary School pitch and the theoretical class at the same school.

“It was a short, but fruitful clinic. We learned a lot from the drills he conducted and managed to discover new approaches on coaching,” Tan Holdings U10 coach Miko Moran said.

White, the former British Virgin Islands and Bahamas national teams coach and now the technical director for the Washington Youth Soccer, introduced drills appropriate for players’ level of skills.

“We did warm-up drills and then made progress with various activities that should be used during training sessions to improve the players’ skills,” Moran added.

After the practical session, White and the coaches went to a classroom in Koblerville for the theoretical part of the clinic. Discussion at the classroom focused on the knowledge, attributes, skills, and experience of future and current coaches and those present at the clinic. White divided coaches/players in four groups and each was given time to share their thoughts about the topics on hand. Then at the end of the one-and-half hour session, participants agreed that communication and the coach’s knowledge about the game/sport are crucial in helping a player or team succeed.

“The discussion was very informative. Coach Gary was able to share ways to build a long-term player development program and showed us coaches how to react on certain situations during games and practices,” Paire U12 coach Patricia Coleman said.

“I am very impressed with the enthusiasm of the coaches. Their interest made my job very easy. I loved it when participants are very involved in discussions instead of staying in the background. They had intelligent questions,” said White, who entertained simple to difficult questions from the participants, such as how to correct repeated mistakes during games and practices and decide whether to coach your own sons/daughters or move them to another team.

“I hope coaches will come out of this clinic with renewed energy and enthusiasm. I hope they will continue their passion in coaching to help youth players in the CNMI,” White said.

White also thanked GFA for bringing him to Saipan for the first time and he wishes that Guam and the CNMI will continue their partnership in improving football in the region.

At the conclusion of the clinic, White, assisted by Guam Football Association technical director Cheri Stewart and NMIFA general secretary Ed Salas, handed out certificate of attendance to coaches.

“We, at GFA, are glad to share Mr. White’s expertise to CNMI coaches. We brought him in Guam to take our coaches’ skills to the next level and we wish the same thing to Saipan,” Stewart said.