Four Guyanese coaches participated and successfully completed Phase One and Two of the WICB/ECB Level Three Coaching Course which was held in Barbados from May to June, 2016. Phase One was conducted over the period 1st May to 8th May, 2016 and Phase Two over the period 31st May to 4th June, 2016.

The Level Three Course is the highest certifying Coaching Program to be conducted in the Caribbean under the auspices of the West Indies Cricket Board. The Guyanese Coaches who attended the program were Guyana Jaguars’ Head Coach – Esuan Crandon, Assistant Coach – Rayon Griffith, National Under-15 Coach – Julian Moore and the Territorial Development Officer – Colin Stuart.

Coaches Crandon and Griffith have been the two coaches at the helm over the past two years when Guyana Jaguars have won back to back PCL Regional 4-Day Tournament Titles, while Moore has been the coach of the winning Under-15 teams over the past two years, whereas, Stuart has jurisdiction over the National Coaching Programs.

The two phases of the Coaching Course was conducted by the England Cricket Board (ECB). The first section of the Course capture relevant information regarding advance concepts on batting, spin bowling and fielding, skill acquisition, coaching philosophy inclusive of an examination of the Myers-Briggs Type indicators (MBTI), tactical analysis and decision making. The second section of phase one examined suspect bowling actions, its identification, recommended procedures and remediation processes.

The Territorial development Officer, Colin Stuart, said he feels that the course is a worthwhile one, since it provided some new concepts which can be used to carefully identify the natural abilities of players upon which addition and suitable information may be filters to the players to ensure their growth.

Phase Two of the Course explored principles surrounding biomechanics, wicket keeping training and match approaches, essential elements of pace bowling, psychological profiling of players and three (3) assessment activities which targeted Individual Coaching, Group coaching and Player assessment, analysis and remediation.

The successful completion of the two phases which has a substantial weigh on the overall Course, means that Guyana will now be equipped with four WICB/ECB Level Three Coaches.

Stuart said that he felt that the Course was particularly valuable to all participants across the region. He further, said, that in short, the course placed emphasis on the importance of individuality, the incorporation of technical and tactical approaches to coaching, the relevance of psychology in cricket – inclusive the psychological profiling of players, the importance of building structural relations among team members so as to ensure productivity, effectively assessing suspect bowling actions, discussing possible alternatives or solutions and exploring a variety of drills suited for remediation of bowlers. the necessity of correct observation, analysis, record keeping, the effective transfer of player information throughout the coaching chain, and of course, the essential need of upholding established WICB/ECB standards and procedures.

Anand Sanasie, Secretary of the GCB, commented that this Level Three Programme is another phase in the overall plan of the GCB to set up a robust coaching structure across the country. He posited that in another year’s time the goal is to have 30 Level Two coaches and 100 Level One Coaches across the country. He further stated that from next year the intention is to have only Level Two and higher Coaches being appointed to representative national teams at all levels with the senior squad being coached by two Level Three coaches.