Dear Editor,
Jamaica entered the football arena about 50 years ago and, to date, has failed to strategically develop a style of play for the national team.
This island is blessed with its own unique culture and specific environment as well as its own "football identity". This identity, however, has not been brought to the forefront. This issue may seek to be resolved if a national football vision is created. Needless to say, this process will not be easy and will take time. The results may not even be positive while the process of transforming our football activity takes effect, but the important thing is to remain focused.
There are many stakeholders who need to be critically involved in the process. These include, but are not limited to, the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), the Premier League clubs, coaches, and players.
The JFF will need to coordinate activities to facilitate standardised academic football programmes. Such programmes will ensure that talented players emerge with the skill set needed to enhance the national and club teams. In addition to academic programmes, academies are also critical aspects. I propose that, in the interim, primary and secondary schools be used as academies. Additionally, the youth programme needs to be incorporated in training initiatives, thereby allowing young players to be trained in a particular style of play.
An important challenge which may be encountered when creating suitable football programmes is with the coaches and their varying styles of play. Different coaches utilise tools and tactics at play and they may not want to readily change their methods. It is imperative that the importance of developing a specific style of play be communicated to them. This challenge may however be overcome by the hosting of workshops with coaches and players. The next step would be to create standardised Training Models for different age group of players which will be implemented islandwide. Notably, in a sense the JFF has commenced such a model by way of establishing coaching schools. These schools ensure that only certified coaches manage a team. The JFF would again be required to intervene and make it mandatory for coaches to implement the agreed style of play.
I want to reiterate that the results may not be positive at first, but with time and appropriate implementation, the nation's football will excel because we have tremendous talent here.
Karume Huie
coachhuie@hotmail.com
Creating Jamaica's national football identity
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Jamaica entered the football arena about 50 years ago and, to date, has failed to strategically develop a style of play for the national team.
This island is blessed with its own unique culture and specific environment as well as its own "football identity". This identity, however, has not been brought to the forefront. This issue may seek to be resolved if a national football vision is created. Needless to say, this process will not be easy and will take time. The results may not even be positive while the process of transforming our football activity takes effect, but the important thing is to remain focused.
There are many stakeholders who need to be critically involved in the process. These include, but are not limited to, the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), the Premier League clubs, coaches, and players.
The JFF will need to coordinate activities to facilitate standardised academic football programmes. Such programmes will ensure that talented players emerge with the skill set needed to enhance the national and club teams. In addition to academic programmes, academies are also critical aspects. I propose that, in the interim, primary and secondary schools be used as academies. Additionally, the youth programme needs to be incorporated in training initiatives, thereby allowing young players to be trained in a particular style of play.
An important challenge which may be encountered when creating suitable football programmes is with the coaches and their varying styles of play. Different coaches utilise tools and tactics at play and they may not want to readily change their methods. It is imperative that the importance of developing a specific style of play be communicated to them. This challenge may however be overcome by the hosting of workshops with coaches and players. The next step would be to create standardised Training Models for different age group of players which will be implemented islandwide. Notably, in a sense the JFF has commenced such a model by way of establishing coaching schools. These schools ensure that only certified coaches manage a team. The JFF would again be required to intervene and make it mandatory for coaches to implement the agreed style of play.
I want to reiterate that the results may not be positive at first, but with time and appropriate implementation, the nation's football will excel because we have tremendous talent here.
Karume Huie
coachhuie@hotmail.com
Creating Jamaica's national football identity
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