Ian Allen to upper level in cricket coaching

Senior Windward Islands cricket coach, Vincentian Ian Allen, has finally received his level three coaching certificate.{{more}}

This, after completing a five-day cricket coaching course in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 2012.

Conducted by Cricket Australia, the course was a high performance national coaching scheme and was both theoretical and practical and was mainly elite players focussed.

Allen, a former St Vincent and the Grenadines, Windwards and West Indies fast bowler, in explaining the procedure for certification, said: “Following our sessions in Florida, participants had to submit a series of practical coaching videos of themselves, as well as written report of their coaching activities in order to be certified.”

“It means a lot to me especially in this competitive avenue of coaching ,knowing that I will be more marketable and also the players whom I am involved with can have the opportunity to be exposed to the coaching that can assist them in their overall development,” Allen told SEARCHLIGHT.

Looking forward to stepping up his game, Allen proffered: “This certificate will allow me to coach at the highest level, because persons who would have done this course have been involved in some level of international set-up… My intention is to continue to elevate myself, while keeping myself up-to-date with the different approaches to the modern day way of coaching, which will help to assist players from the youth level up to elite players.”

A coach with the Neil Williams Academy, Allen projected: “I will continue to give my service to anyone – teams or individuals, once given the opportunity, working with St Vincent and the Grenadines and the Windwards islands players, both male and female and once given the opportunity to work with the Windward Islands senior team again, would be my first priority and see what happens next in the wider world.”

Allen, who has not been an integral part of the national set-up for many years, was drafted in on the coaching team in the preparation of the St Vincent and the Grenadines women’s team to the West Indies Cricket Board’s Super-50 tournament, which ended in Dominica last Wednesday.(RT)