WALTER Boyd, the former Jamaica striker and France 1998 World Cup veteran is now an Advanced Level One football coach.

The ‘Black Pearl’, as Boyd is popularly known, was among a number of former fellow national representatives and current Premier League coaches who either graduated or participated in the seven courses held across the island in 2014 as part of the JMMB/JFF/UTech Coaching School certification in Advanced Levels One and Two.

The total number doing the courses is 177, the largest number, to date, to have participated in a calendar year since the school’s interception in 2009.

Among those participants graduating with Advanced Level Two certificates are Kadeesh Fishley, who was successful in passing both levels, referee Karl Tyrell, former national player Andre Virtue, referee Keble Williams, Rivoli United coach Calvert Fiztgerald, former national goalkeeper Loxley Reid, and coach Ansel Lee.

Four Advanced Level I courses were held during 2014, the first of which was held at the JFF Technical Centre in Mona, the second was held at the Gray’s Inn Sports Club in St Mary, the third was held at STETHS in St Elizabeth, while the final course was conducted at JFF Technical Centre.

Three Advanced Level II courses were also held. The first was held at the JFF Technical Centre from April 22 to May 1, the second was conducted at Wespow Park in Montego Bay May 5-14 and the third section of the course was conducted at the Technical Centre, August 4-14.

Seventy-one people registered for these courses that included practical and classroom sessions divided into two modules: Coaching Science and Technical Development.

The Advanced Level II courses were led by experienced FIFA instructor Rodrigo Kenton from Costa Rica. Kenton is no stranger to JFF’s coaching education programme as he has conducted seven of the 11 Advanced Level Two courses held since 2010.

The course was delivered over a 10-day period with Kenton delivering the Technical sessions assisted by director of football, Vin Blaine, and national youth co-ordinator, Wendell Downswell, with various other instructors from UTech providing the elements of the sciences.

What was instructive and showed a growing interest in individuals wanting to become better certified is that 106 people from various levels of the sporting spectrum registered.

According to a report delivered at the graduation ceremony at the Blue Mountain Suite at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston on Tuesday, the Advanced Level one courses were divided into two modules: Technical Football Preparation and Basic Coaching Sciences. The coaches were exposed to various topics that included Biomechanics, Anatomy and Physiology, Communication, Sports Psychology, Sport Nutrition, Planning and Preparing a Training Session, Coaching Methods and Styles, Technique Development, Laws of the game, Goalkeeping and Systems of Play.

During the graduation ceremony, 85 coaches from Cohorts 15, 16 and 17 received certificates; 79 were awarded certificates of achievement and six certificates of participation. The certificate of achievement indicates that the recipients have successfully pass both modules of the course, while a certificate of participation shows that recipients have passed only one module of the course.

Handing out certificates were Ambassador Burchell Whiteman, acting president University of Technology; Patricia Sutherland, chairman, Joan Duncan Foundation; JFF President Captain Horace Burrell and senior national coach, Winfried Schaefer.

— Hurbun Williams