Former National Women’s Team player Dernelle Mascall has made up her mind that her future in football lies in coaching. She loves the game and she intends to maintain her involvement. She was sent by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association along with Desiree Sarjeant to the Concacaf Women’s D License course in Antigua and Barbuda last week.
Mascall who was part of the Women’s team during the 2015 Women’s World Cup qualifying campaign when this country narrowly missed out on qualification by way of a 1-0 defeat to Ecuador, shared her thoughts with us on the recent exercise with several other women coaches from the region.
“Women in the region came together to share their stories on the progress of women’s football in their country; obstacles as well as successes. Those in authority (ConcacafW) shed light on their battles (at the top) to have Concacaf both men and women to become the best footballing region in a global context,” Mascall told TTFA Media.
“All of us share similar stories where no battle is different than the other. Mentorship and empowerment is paramount to the women’s game as well as the importance of holistic development. Locally we will strive to return to Caribbean supremacy. Using the knowledge gained at this conference redirects this focus.
“We are all returning to our respective countries rejuvenated and better prepared to grow the women’s game locally and by doing so, the Caribbean competition is enhanced. Concacaf W now has more teams qualifying for World Cups and by extension Concacaf becomes the top footballing region of the world,” Mascall added.
About The Women’s Course
The 25 participating coaches from 12 of 41 Member Associations at the course in Antigua included one former player and one current female coach. Participants included representatives of English-speaking Member Associations from The Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Dominica, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands and hosts Antigua and Barbuda.
The coaching program coversed a wide range of topics in addition to the Concacaf D License curriculum, focused on safeguarding, empowerment, accountability, as well as specific characteristics for women coaching.
This revamped course featured five Concacaf coaching instructors who are active and experienced within the Member Associations, all holding advanced coaching licenses such as the USSF National A License and the UEFA Pro License.
These five Concacaf coaches include University of New Mexico Head Coach Heather Dyche, Former Canadian International Coach Carmelina Moscato, University of Washington Head Coach Lesle Gallimore, Former Canadian International Coach Candace Chapman, and Former Mexican International and University of Manitoba Head Coach Vanessa Martinez-Lagunas.
The plan by Concacaf is to create a comprehensive mentorship program with the collaboration of UEFA and grow the women’s game within the Concacaf region by forming a “pyramid-effect” of mentors and mentees between the five Concacaf coaching instructors and the 25 participants to help grow participation, while also inspiring the future generations of female coaches.
Dernelle Mascall talks about her experience as a Coach