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Friday, June 10, 2005
This is the third part of a one-on-one interview done with head coach Wendell Downswell by Mosiah Marshall.
| MM: What about the academy, what age groups you think will be there? WD: Somewhere between 12 and 15. To a lesser extent, the U-17s will be there. MM: Are you a part of that set up? WD: Well, as the head coach, yes, I definitely will be part of it in terms of the whole technical development. Now they are in the process of working out the logistics as it relates to acquiring the necessary paperwork, etc. So, hopefully, the president will make a grand announcement as it relates to that. As soon as the part regarding the technical matters is in place then we can start to… MM: Are you looking to having the players/students for an extended time…because a lot of people are not certain what form it's going to take. You hear people saying it is like a camp for the Reggae Boyz when they are in training. Or if you are preparing for an U-20 tournament, the players will be there for 3 weeks. Or it could take the place of a normal high school for some students. WD: Yes, and that is the simple reason why we got close to Munro, and other institutions like that, St. Elizabeth Technical High School and other schools in the surrounding area where we could place these youngsters and have them over an extended period of time, because the educational aspect for them is crucial, it's very important to their development. So we don't want to rob them of that opportunity. So if we should take these youngsters over an extended period of time, we at the Federation must ensure that the educational aspect of the players is taken care of in a satisfactory manner. MM: You must be happy with the location. WD: Yes, yes. We figure it's the ideal location. (laughter) MM: What do you consider the highlights of your playing days? WD: Well, one season I was voted the most outstanding player in Jamaica. And I won the player of the Week award for four consecutive weeks. I don't believe that has ever been done. But at the national level we probably used to play 2 games a year. It's nothing like these days, the kind of experience and organization. There was an abundance of talent. I am certain that if we had a structure like this, especially in the 70's, we would have gone to the World Cup on a number of occasions. MM: What about in your coaching career, what's your high point? WD: Other than the Premier League the Digicel Cup would be high point. MM: You won the Premier League with Reno? WD: Yes, on about 3 occasions. And also the Federation Cup, etc. Locally, the daCosta Cup with STETHS and the Olivier Shield. So, I have tasted success at different levels. Plus I have done a number of international courses from time to time, part of the whole development as a coach. The sky is the limit. You have to try and gain knowledge as much as possible. That will give me the kind of confidence that I will need and the level of authority you will display. MM: What's your highest - I don't know if it can be categorized in that way - level of coaching, in certificates or whatever? WD: Well, I have gotten a diploma in an international coaching course in Paraguay. I did a 6-month course in Germany where I got a diploma. I am a graduate of the GC Foster College of Sport. So those along with other courses that I have done… MM: That German course, describe it. WD: Six months… MM: Six straight months? WD: Six straight months. MM: In the German language? WD: No! Well, not strictly, but you are expected to do a little German. If you are spending 6 months in a country you'd have to do that. They are very meticulous in terms of their approach. You know the Germans. Time was very very important, and the grading system that they had. They believe that in order to pass you had to have at least 85% of knowledge. No 50% or 75%. So therefore it was a challenging one. There was one guy there who was the coach of the Ghana team that finished third in the Olympics. He was my roommate. MM: How did you do that course? Was it out of your own pocket? WD: No, it was through the Federation and my club. MM: Finally, are we ready to have a local coach bring us to the next World Cup? WD: Yes, we are! My dream and my aspiration is to do that. Once you get involved you try to achieve the ultimate. What I do during my tenure is to try and create a very positive impact in terms of the whole development of the players, coaches and the whole structural development of the clubs themselves. The academy will be coming on stream soon. So, we are looking at the quality of the players, we have seen some rapid improvement, despite the fact that we were derailed from the World Cup campaign. Full credit to the JFF for their vision and foresight, especially for putting a lot of emphasis on the younger players and the local players. We are going to need that solid foundation for 2010 and beyond that. When you look at it, the present crop of U-15 players along with the U-20 that we have just finished working with and which will form the U-23 and the present crop of U-17, then you see we have a good pool of players. We just need to put the necessary things in place, the machinery in place, for these players to fulfill their potential, to make the program more progressive. MM: I must ask you this though - how does the women's program fit into all this? WD: Well, we just started some camps with them. We've major plans for them. They are an integral part of the whole process. We don't want them to feel inferior so we definitely will be looking at them. We are now in the process of identifying a squad, very early again, some 15, 16 and 17 year olds. So we can start the whole process of development from there, rather than waiting on when a competition gets close. We don't want to spread our wings to wide just now. We want to concentrate on the U-17s and the U-20s now and see how well we can develop those players so that those players can make the transition, rather than going to the U-23 and there is nothing of substance there. MM: In my view a lot of countries haven't really worked with their female players and it would be good if we could jump start the whole process. Take the USA, why they are so good is that 20 years ago… WD: Their organization. MM: Yes, they have the organization and all that but they got a jump start over everybody. Some Americans still believe that soccer is a woman's sport. So now the Germanys and the Brazils are catching up. We are a little late with respect to some countries, but we can be ahead of others. WD: Yes, I think women's football can create an impact more readily. The president and the rest of the federation will definitely embark on putting together a comprehensive program. They will be an integral part of the academy too. We won't work in isolation. MM: Well, Wendell, thank you very much. WD: Yeah, man. So, this goes on the website? MM: Yeah. It will be very much appreciated because I think you were very forthcoming with your answers. And don't mind my rough questions. (laughter) WD: No, no! I understand the whole thing. You have to do that because you have your critics out there. You can't get away from that. MM: Okay, So, all the best in the Gold Cup competition. WD: Thank you. |