Youth Soccer Coaches Earn Skill Acquisition Certificate

Youth Soccer Coaches Earn Skill Acquisition Certificate

[October 2, 2018 – Harmon, Guam] – Close to a couple dozen coaches earned the Guam Football Association Skill Acquisition Coaching Certificate following the conclusion of the second course offered this year Sunday morning.

“Everyone involved in football should take a coaching course – especially those working directly with players at the grassroots level,” said Dominic Gadia, GFA Coach Education Development Officer and Instructor of the course. “I would like to thank and recognize all coaches who earned their GFA Skill Acquisition Coaching Certificate this past weekend – they’ve all taken the first step to help raise the standards of football in Guam. Our club and school coaches play a pivotal role in player development and truly, the successful growth of our game from both a participation and technical point of view depends greatly on the training the players receive at grassroots level.

“The GFA technical staff has analyzed the performances of our national teams in recent competitions and we have identified that our players are technically inferior when compared to the world standard. Our coaching programs are crucial to addressing this issue, as coaches working with players in the skill acquisition phase (U9-U12) must be able to provide the environments and the training to develop technically better players.

At this moment, the lack of quality in this phase of player development is preventing players from reaching their full potential, domestically and internationally,” Gadia added.

Coaches earning the GFA Skill Acquisition Coaching Certificate Sunday are Morgan McKenna, Sho Meyar, Matthew Iseke, Mark Iseke, Ryan Quitugua, Yae Kawauchi, James Lee, Kyle Halehale, Kiana Invencion, Kenneth Dixon, Junard Cruz, Franshay Shippey, Richelle Ragadio, Zerlene Cruz, Aaron Perez, Christian Kido, and Noah Bamba.

Once the GFA Skill Acquisition Coaching Certificate is earned, coaches will next need to complete requirements for the GFA Game Training Coaching Certificate in order to earn a GFA “D” Coaching License.

The GFA Game Training Coaching Course will be held on weekends beginning this month. Registration for the course is still open online at http://guamfa.com/education/coaches/courses/ in the section under GFA “D” License courses.

Coaches with a GFA “D” Coaching License are then eligible to register for the AFC “C” Coaching Certificate course. The AFC “C” License is recognized globally and is the first step in coaching at the national level.

The next AFC “C” License course in Guam will be held in November this year. Registration for the course is ongoing through Oct. 11, and those interested are urged to register early. Unlike other countries in Asia, GFA is offering the AFC “C” License course free-of-charge for local coaches. Coaches who hold a GFA “D” Coaching License, as well as those who have the GFA Skill Acquisition Coaching Certificate and are enrolled in the GFA Game Training Coaching course this month, are eligible to sign up for the upcoming AFC “C” License.

For more information on courses offered, visit the official GFA Web site at http://guamfa.com/education/coaches/courses/ or E-mail [email protected]

Coaches who completed the GFA Skill Acquisition Coaching Course Sunday at the Guam Football Association National Training Center pose for a group photo after receiving their certificates. In the photo from left to right are Junard Cruz, Kenneth Dixon, Sho Meyar, Matthew Iseke, Mark Iseke, Noah Bamba, Yae Kawauch, Morgan McKenna (behind Kawauchi), Ryan Quitugua, Richelle Ragadio, James Lee, Kiana Invencion, Christian Kido (behind Invencion), Aaron Perez, Zerlene Cruz, Franshay Shippey, and Kyle Halehale. The GFA Skill Acquisition Coaching Certificate is the first of two credentials required to earn the GFA “D” Coaching License.