Dear Editor – This is my comment on the above issue discussed in one of the soccer groups on Facebook.
I agree with the idea of empowering our local coaches to be National Coach in our National Teams.
However, my conviction is that any coach appointed needs to successfully complete the OFC B licence one year programme for the very reason that by completion of the accredited programme coaches would fully develop theoretical and practical experience of the modern game football philosophy model, coaching process, leadership, game understanding, player development.
Achieving football qualification should be clear and reflected in your team performance.
That is why it is important that local coaches must be coaching in a team participating in PFAs leagues, Academies & TSL.
In addition, we should not carried away with the notion that because a person is a former national soccer player he has the experience to coach a national team.
He may have the game experience but not the coaching experience (philosophy). On this note, I wish to commend former national players willingly taking up coaching education in the B licence programme.
Also a big thumps up to Moses Toata and Patrick Miniti who have completed B licence and Marlon Houkarawa, who I believe isin the final stage of the B licence programme.
In addition, to encourage our new local B licence coaches who just started in October last year to show commitment to fully complete the programme and competent before accepting any offer to take up national duties.
Otherwise, the usual bad practice in the past will resurface again.
Finally, as a candidate in the final stage of OFC B licence programme having started in October 2016, I want to leave following words to my fellow local coaches.
There is no short cut in football coaching and we need to work hard with our own teams & academies first for some time and to be patient in order to achieve success both in team & player development and performance, a practical reflection of the B licence.
Only then, we can experience development in the level of the game in the country.
Eddie Marahare
Honiara
