News

New generation of coaches being created in The Gambia

Aspiring cricket coaches in The Gambia were recently able to undertake a five-day Level 1 qualification, as part of a free online course run by the Africa Cricket Association. Of 88 candidates from 19 African member countries who attended, the five who participated from the tiny West African nation all engaged with their instructors on Zoom from the Independence Stadium Board Room in Bakau.

When John Gabriel Gomez, the President of The Gambia Cricket Association, was speaking about the initiative he described that this was the first coaching course that was run by the Africa Cricket Association (ACA). Previously within The Gambia coach education had been run by the ICC, but the switch to ACA qualifications, with the assistance of Cricket South Africa could mean that there could be a new sense of coaching autonomy in Africa.

When speaking about how the instruction was being delivered over Zoom, Gomes described that during each day of the course lesson notes were discussed with coaching manuals being sent to the five participants. The course culminates with an exam which is to take place on 24th July 2020 to secure their Level 1 ACA certificates.   

Once successful in attaining their qualifications, the coaches will then progress to the higher levels of education, Gomes also said. There appears to be real intent being shown by the Association to develop coaches with the aim of these leaders, in turn, being able to aid in the development of young cricketers. 

Out of the five participants, there is one female and Gomes highlighted his hopes that by having a female coach this could help inspire the next generation of female cricketers in her region and in in the country as a whole. 

In order to continue to develop, any nation needs a committed and skilled set of coaches to work alongside young players. There is hope that by completing a coaching qualification, whether it is an ICC or ACA qualification, that there are more coaches in The Gambia to do exactly that.

It can be said that The Gambia’ cricketing journey could be set for an exciting period of youth development and it will be intriguing to see how the country develops over time. 

Future course being run by the ACA have been announced as being Umpires Course, Administration Course, and Level 2 Coaching Course.

Keep up with news and events happening in the emerging game through our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Looking for audio content on the emerging game? Add the Emerging Cricket Podcast to your favourites on AppleSpotify and Podbean.

Want extra Emerging Cricket content? Contribute to the Emerging Cricket Patreon cause from as little as $2 a month. Sign up here!

Isaac Lockett

Isaac has an undergraduate degree in sports psychology with a passion for the development of cricket into a completely global sport. He is furthering his academic study through the completion of a Masters degree in Sports Business Management and Policy which aims to further understand sporting globalisation.

Recent Posts

Australian Government and Cricket Australia invest in future of Pacific Cricket

The Australian Government and Cricket Australia (CA) have joined together to support high-performance cricket across…

2 days ago

USA Cricket terminate World Cup coach Stuart Law

USA Cricket have dismissed head coach Stuart Law on Friday.  The termination comes in spite…

4 weeks ago

Kathryn Bryce makes WBBL return with Hurricanes

Scotland Women's captain Kathryn Bryce has signed on for the Hobart Hurricanes for this season's…

1 month ago

Dream realised as Scorchers sign Suwandewi for WBBL10

Indonesia all-rounder Ni Made Putri Suwandewi will share a dressing room with recent T20 World…

1 month ago

‘We Want to Make Cricket a Mainstream German Sport’ – Deutscher Cricket Bund VP

“Across continental Europe, except for Netherlands and maybe Serbia and Corfu, it’s the same thing.…

1 month ago

Netherlands welcome county foursome for Oman series

The Netherlands will be reinforced by the availability of four county-contracted players when they travel…

1 month ago