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High-quality coaches could give swimming oxygen boost
BY HOWARD WALKER Observer senior reporter walkerh@jamaicaobserver.com
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
THE lack of enough certified swimming coaches, proper facilities, funding, and migration have stymied the progress of the aquatic sport in all disciplines, resulting in Jamaica playing catch-up in the region.
That was the conclusion of Amateur Swimming Association of Jamaica (ASAJ) executives — President Martin Lyn, Vice-President Allan Roy Marsh and former national head coach Jacqueline 'Jackie' Walter — who were guests of the Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange.
According to them, swimming is the only other sport outside of track and field that has had many Olympic finalists from a Jamaica perspective, and in order to get to the top in the Caribbean at least, the need for properly certified coaches were highlighted as the key to success.
"For us, it is essential that GC Foster opens their pool not just for the use of the pool facility, but we are going to have people coming out as swimming teachers, swimming coaches who will go all around the island, who are trained in the profession, so obviously our swimming will improve if that happens," noted Walter.
"There is a curriculum written already and they have started with their third-year students, but the problem there is that you have to teach them to swim first before you can teach them how to coach. I know they have expanded their programme and they now have two years of swimming," she added.
Walter noted that in the aftermath of a glorious Boyz and Girls Championships where 30 records were broken the debate rages on as to the reason why the levels of performances were so high, and she thinks it has something to do with improved coaching skills.
"One of the comments after Boys and Girls Champs the other day was why so many records were broken, it is because of the fact that GC Foster produces coaches different of levels the results are improving," she noted, who herself represented the island in the pool.
Currently, there are approximately 30 FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation or International Swimming Federation) level one-certified coaches in Jamaica, a number that the ASAJ thinks is inadequate.
"We survive on the clubs and we have 15 clubs and in each club we would like to have at least five or six coaches," said Lyn.
With the CARIFTA Swimming and Water Polo Championship set to be hosted in Jamaica between March 29 and April 3, Jamaica are currently lagging behind Trinidad and Tobago and the French-speaking islands of Guadeloupe and French Guiana that are feeder territories for France, hence the financial support from one of the world's top countries in the pool.
"The French are ahead of us because their level of coaching are above ours. They get funding by France and they are actually a feeder for the French national team. So France are making sure they have coaches of a high level down there. Trinidad are ahead of us and I am not saying that if you don't have a degree you are not good, but 90 per cent of their coaches are educated," Walter revealed.
Lyn interjected: "Trinidad does not lack funding for their aquatic programme. If the Trinidad national coach says he is sending three teams to Australia, the minister of sport simple says what time you want to leave."
"We cant just sit at home and say gee, why are these countries ahead of us. What we need to understand is that these countries have zero problem with funding," added the ASAJ boss.
"We have the genesis of the ability of athletes to go the full level up to the Olympics. Alia Atkinson, we need to understand how she has achieved, where she has achieved primarily with personal funding, parent funding and friend funding.
"This must not go unnoticed. That elite level of athlete cannot work and at the same time train. In terms of our Olympic potential, we have them from very young... we currently have several athletes with proper training who could easily make the Olympics," Lyn ended.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport...#ixzz2OexZMOrf
BY HOWARD WALKER Observer senior reporter walkerh@jamaicaobserver.com
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
THE lack of enough certified swimming coaches, proper facilities, funding, and migration have stymied the progress of the aquatic sport in all disciplines, resulting in Jamaica playing catch-up in the region.
That was the conclusion of Amateur Swimming Association of Jamaica (ASAJ) executives — President Martin Lyn, Vice-President Allan Roy Marsh and former national head coach Jacqueline 'Jackie' Walter — who were guests of the Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange.
According to them, swimming is the only other sport outside of track and field that has had many Olympic finalists from a Jamaica perspective, and in order to get to the top in the Caribbean at least, the need for properly certified coaches were highlighted as the key to success.
"For us, it is essential that GC Foster opens their pool not just for the use of the pool facility, but we are going to have people coming out as swimming teachers, swimming coaches who will go all around the island, who are trained in the profession, so obviously our swimming will improve if that happens," noted Walter.
"There is a curriculum written already and they have started with their third-year students, but the problem there is that you have to teach them to swim first before you can teach them how to coach. I know they have expanded their programme and they now have two years of swimming," she added.
Walter noted that in the aftermath of a glorious Boyz and Girls Championships where 30 records were broken the debate rages on as to the reason why the levels of performances were so high, and she thinks it has something to do with improved coaching skills.
"One of the comments after Boys and Girls Champs the other day was why so many records were broken, it is because of the fact that GC Foster produces coaches different of levels the results are improving," she noted, who herself represented the island in the pool.
Currently, there are approximately 30 FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation or International Swimming Federation) level one-certified coaches in Jamaica, a number that the ASAJ thinks is inadequate.
"We survive on the clubs and we have 15 clubs and in each club we would like to have at least five or six coaches," said Lyn.
With the CARIFTA Swimming and Water Polo Championship set to be hosted in Jamaica between March 29 and April 3, Jamaica are currently lagging behind Trinidad and Tobago and the French-speaking islands of Guadeloupe and French Guiana that are feeder territories for France, hence the financial support from one of the world's top countries in the pool.
"The French are ahead of us because their level of coaching are above ours. They get funding by France and they are actually a feeder for the French national team. So France are making sure they have coaches of a high level down there. Trinidad are ahead of us and I am not saying that if you don't have a degree you are not good, but 90 per cent of their coaches are educated," Walter revealed.
Lyn interjected: "Trinidad does not lack funding for their aquatic programme. If the Trinidad national coach says he is sending three teams to Australia, the minister of sport simple says what time you want to leave."
"We cant just sit at home and say gee, why are these countries ahead of us. What we need to understand is that these countries have zero problem with funding," added the ASAJ boss.
"We have the genesis of the ability of athletes to go the full level up to the Olympics. Alia Atkinson, we need to understand how she has achieved, where she has achieved primarily with personal funding, parent funding and friend funding.
"This must not go unnoticed. That elite level of athlete cannot work and at the same time train. In terms of our Olympic potential, we have them from very young... we currently have several athletes with proper training who could easily make the Olympics," Lyn ended.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport...#ixzz2OexZMOrf
