CONTINUING its drive to improve the standard of local coaching, Netball Jamaica has certified 11 new Advance Level 1 coaches.

The cohort recently completed a six-week course which Netball Jamaica offered in collaboration with the University of Technology (UTech). In addition to the fundamentals of the game, the extensive curriculum covered areas such as kinesiology, first aid, training activities, rules and tactics.

With their Advanced Level 1 Certification, the newly qualified coaches are able to train teams competing for primary and secondary schools and also at the community or club level.

President of Netball Jamaica, Marva Bernard, said the development of local coaching is absolutely critical if Jamaica is to remain a world power in the sport.

“The countries that are on top in netball now have all developed sophisticated coaching programmes with various levels of accreditation which take into consideration every aspect of the game from training teams for community leagues to preparing athletes to compete at an elite level,” she explained.

“This is why Netball Jamaica is moving to structure and more closely regulate the training of coaches in Jamaica to ensure that all aspects of our programmes are aligned to international standards and that our players are receiving the best preparation possible at every level,” Bernard added.

The coaches were recognised at a graduation ceremony held at the UTech campus in Kingston. The current cohort is the second batch of local coaches to receive Level 1 certification as Netball Jamaica strives to meet its objective of having all local coaches officially certified through the UTech programme.

The association also has an agreement with the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) under which both organisations will collaborate to ensure that all coaches in the high school system receive level one training. The aim is to ensure that all high school coaches have level one certification by 2015.