Harte and Gilkes begin A Licence coaching course

The Barbados Football Association (BFA) has selected local coaches Renaldo Gilkes and Mario Harte to further their coaching education by pursuing the on-going TTFA Regional A Licence Coaching Course in Trinidad and Tobago at the University of Trinidad and Tobago Campus and the Ato Boldon Stadium.

Gilkes and Harte are currently in the twin-island republic for the start of the course which will be held during this week and involves practical and field sessions. The pair will be under the guidance of leading Brazilian A Licence instructor Geraldo Delamore, Trinidad & Tobago Football Association (TTFA) technical director Anton Corneal and Tony McCallum.

The Concacaf “A” Licence course aligns with the BFA as it continues to take major steps towards enhancing coaching in Barbados which will benefit the development of players, especially for the national teams.

BFA technical director Emmerson Boyce said: “A part of our plans for 2022 was to make sure that we get our coaches up to speed and get more coaches qualified. It is fantastic that Mario and Renaldo are now pursuing their “A” licence. Both of these coaches are well known in Barbados and have good reputations and along with head of coaching education Kent Hall, we thought these two candidates were the best ones to go forward for the licence.”

“At the end of 2023, we will have four Concacaf “A” licence coaches on the island. They are both talented, Mario is the coach of the women’s national team and Renaldo has been doing a good job for a while with Kickstart and the Barbados Under-14 football team. It was ideal for us to pick these two as the BFA is trying to improve the standard of coaching in Barbados,” Boyce added.

Gilkes noted: “I’m thankful for every opportunity to improve as a coach and I believe this particular experience will challenge me appropriately to take my abilities a step further, in an effort not only to improve myself but all of the players I have the honour of interacting with.

“I intend to network and learn as much as I can from my regional colleagues. I want to thank the BFA for trusting me and Mario in their selection and we will represent the country proudly.” (BFA)