Coaches look to certification for personal and player development

[September 1, 2022 – Harmon, Guam] A total of 22 coaches are currently working toward earning the Guam Football Association “C” Coaching Diploma, the recognized certification for youth team coaches and the local pre-requisite for higher level international coaching licenses, organized in line with AFC “C” Diploma core competencies.

For course participant Jeff Mindo, the decision to take part in and complete the course was an easy one that fit with his coaching goals.

“I decided that it would be more legitimate – in terms of taking a coaching course – to become more knowledgeable and certified, especially since we are guiding youth players,” Mindo said. “It was highly important to me that I gain the knowledge to properly teach youth (for their development). The second reason for taking the course was for my family – I have a son who I love to train, and for him, it’s very important that I develop myself as a coach and to acquire the knowledge and training to give him the proper guidance.

“My other reason why I decided to take the course was to assist with community development. I gave this a lot of thought … as we get older, we’re always looking to see what we can do to give back to the community – some give back through charities or other forms of donations, but what I found encouraging personally was teaching children and giving them the tools they need to become better soccer players and individuals,” added Mindo, who is a volunteer youth coach with the Bank of Guam Strykers FC.

Course participant Pele Torres wants to continue a cycle of coaching that had previously helped him become a better player in his youth days.

“My inspiration for taking this course is my Dad (Honorable Robert J. Torres, Jr.) – he’s coached me throughout the years and I wanted to follow in his footsteps and coach my daughter as she begins her soccer journey,” said Pele Torres, who also is a coach for the FC Beercelona men’s team and an Assistant Coach for the Father Duenas Memorial School Friars boys soccer team. “A key takeaway from this course is that it’s important to understand the coaching process and how to apply that into a consistent program. I hope to learn the tools and techniques to be more effective in developing players for the modern game.

“What I’ve enjoyed most about this course so far is being surrounded by like-minded individuals who want to improve soccer on island,” Torres added.

The GFA “C” Coaching Diploma Course is structured into four parts, with the participants already completing the first two over two weekends in August at the GFA National Training Center with Coach Educator and GFA Assistant Technical Director Ross Awa. In the first two weekends, coaches engaged in classroom sessions with content experts, participated in sample training sessions and group work, and led training sessions based on objectives.

“So far, some key takeaways from the course would be understanding the preparation involved, while also considering flexibility,” said course participant Antonio Prieto. “A lot of times with youth soccer, we don’t know if we’ll have five players for the training session or 25 players, so preparation is key.

“I decided to take the course to become a better coach in general and also to make sure that when I am coaching, I utilize time efficiently and get the fundamentals correctly. I want to be the best coach I can be for the kids and help improve Guam soccer,” added Prieto, who currently is coaching a U8 team, and eventually a U10 team, with the ASC Trust Islanders.

The third part of the course entails building a coaching log and work experience, which includes not only hours spent coaching, but a series of planned team sessions and individual player assessments, among other documented activities to submit, over the next three months.

Anwah Jameson will be building his coaching log and applying concepts learned from the course as Coach of the Guam High School boys soccer team currently in season and also as a U12 coach with Wings FC.

“I decided to take this course to expand my coaching knowledge and to become a better mentor,” Jameson said. “What I’ve enjoyed most is all the information presented and learning the technical details that goes into coaching – if you are prepared as a coach, anything is possible.

“Overall, I want to become a better coach. Knowledge is a very powerful tool, and so far, this is one of the best courses I’ve had the chance to participate in,” added Jameson.

The fourth and final part of the course is set to take place in November. By the conclusion of the fourth part of the course, coaches will have completed the required minimum of 60 hours of course study. Coaches successful in attaining certification will be able to carry out C Diploma core competencies as listed in the AFC Coaching Convention Regulations. Competencies include knowing how to produce effective match analysis, knowing how to motivate youth and amateur players, knowing how to conduct lively structured interactive training sessions, knowing about various teaching methods related to age-specific stages of development, and knowing how to appraise players depending on level and age category, among many others.

“I decided to take the course because I recently stepped into a more prominent leadership role within my club and I wanted to make sure that I have the technical, structural, and organizational knowledge to lead my club and keep us in alignment with Guam football,” said Kelley Barnhart, President of 76/Circle K Dededo Soccer Club and coach of the club’s U15 Boys, Moms, and Men’s teams.

“I hope to achieve the ability to lead – not just the players I coach, but also the other coaches in the club and their players with a progressive and structured training program that can provide opportunities for players not only to try playing football (recreationally), but also for players who have the ambition to play for the National Teams or for collegiate programs.”

The 22 coaches taking part in the course are Noah Bamba, Kelley Barnhart, Walter Benavente, Jude Bischoff, Jeroen Bos, Thomas Castro, CJ Cayanan, Ariya Cruz, Hannah Cruz, Daniel Glasscock, Keleko Fejeran, Kiarra Hutcherson, Christian Kido, Anwah Jameson, Vance Manibusan, Jeff Mindo, Juan-Carlos Mungaray, Loyola Phillip, Antonio Prieto, Arisa Recella, Pele Torres, and Jireh Yobech.