The first meeting of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association’s Education Sub Committee of the Technical Committee took place on Thursday.
The members of this sub-committee who were involved in the meeting included FIFA instructor Anton Corneal, TTFA Technical Director Dion La Foucade, Dr Marissa Nimrod who is the Chair of the TTFA Medical Committee and Vice President of the Trinidad and Tobago Medical Association; Sherlan Cabralis, UWI Sports Management Lecturer and Director UWI/FIFA/CIES Sports Management Programm; and David Benjamin, Director of Civilian Conservation Corps/and Military led Academic Training Programme ( MILAT ). The meeting was chaired by Technical Committee chairman Keith Look Loy.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss a curriculum, courses and schedules for TTFA’s training and development academy which will deliver courses in four main areas – coaching, physical preparation, medicine and sports science, administration and management.
These courses will fall under FIFA, CONCACAF, TTFA or other external agencies and the sub-committee will develop a panel of instructors for each area.
Additionally, the TTFA will pursue MOUs with external agencies to enable delivery of the local courses.
TTFA President William Wallace, commenting on this latest initiative, stated, “This is another one of the committees set up with an aim towards holistic development of the various areas within the organisation that are responsible for running our football.
“In fact, it is about more than just football. It deals with Identifying guiding principles and “best practices”. Though there is no single “best model”, there are proven methods and best practices that increase the chances of success.”
Look Loy echoed similar sentiments saying “This is an historic initiative. Never before have we seen anything like this in local football. The intention is to ensure that we expand the range of courses we offer, streamline their delivery and make their availability predictable to potential participants throughout the country. This will ensure we improve the quality of the local game, from grassroots to elite.”
Corneal who is now a FIFA lecturer on Administration as well as Technical development, endorsed the initiative, telling TTFA Media. “The TTFA has targeted the right stakeholders to form this committee. They would now plan design and implement various courses for Administrators, Management personnel, Medical staff, Physical Trainers and Coaches. Hopefully most of these programs would be implemented this year.”