Boys and girls in West Coast Demerara benefited from a lively morning of grassroots football courtesy of the Guyana Football Federation and the Ministry of Education on Saturday, March 18 as part of national efforts to build capacity for football coaching in schools.
Participants of the Region 3 grassroots session facilitated by the MoE and GFF
More than 70 children between the ages of eight and 11 from primary schools in the region took part in fun football drills, exercises and games with 22 trained school teacher-coaches at the National Track and Field Facility, Leonora, bringing a three-day coaching education course to a productive end.
The course, made possible with technical and equipment support from the GFF and facilitated by the Ministry of Education, was designed to further the development of teachers who took part in a GFF/CONCACAF Grassroots License course in December.
“This collaboration between the government and the Guyana Football Federation has been a fantastic opportunity to build football training capacity within schools and to encourage more boys and girls to play football around the country,” said GFF Technical Director Ian Greenwood.
Participants of the Region 3 grassroots session facilitated by the MoE and GFF
“It is part of our long-term plan to increase participation in football and raise standards in coaching from grassroots level all the way to the elite.”
The course at Leonora was designed by the GFF Technical Department, coordinated by National Track and Field Centre Coordinator Roy McArthur, and delivered by GFF Coach Education & Development Officer Lyndon France and GFF Youth Development Officer Bryan Joseph, with support from Nicholas Fraser of the Ministry of Education’s Allied Arts Unit.
“I’m extremely happy to see that we have 70-odd kids being fitted out with uniforms from CONCACAF, and they’re so excited about this programme,” said McArthur. “You can see them enthusiastic in terms of learning how to dribble, how to control the ball, how to throw a ball, how to pass a ball.”
