Eight local swim coaches receive Level-Two certification

St Vincent and the Grenadines’ swimming is at a better place with the certification of eight coaches who were part of a five -day World Aquatics Level Two swim course, which also had participants from St Kitts and Nevis, Barbados and St Lucia.

That assessment has come from national head coach and head coach of the Black Sands Swim Squad, Kyle Dougan, as well as Rickydene Alexander, coach of the Blue Marlins Swim Club, who were part of the course.

“ We now have a better knowledge of how to execute a training session to create competitive swimmers,” Dougan said.

“ For me it was reassuring for doing the right things … For others it was showing the correct way from a practical and theoretical perspective of knowing how to deliver a coaching programme.”

He believes the course could not have come at a more opportune time when the sport is in its ascendancy.

“We have been improving every single year and during my involvement for the past ten years, St Vincent and the Grenadines’ swimming continues to rise … We are on the correct trajectory for success”, Dougan said.

Alexander saw the course as “ a refresher in some instances for me, but I have a better understanding in the area of long- term preparation of advanced swimmers in terms of a training plan”.

The five -day course was held from June 1-5, with practical sessions convened at the Shrewsbury Aquatic Centre. The conference room at Paradise Inn was the venue for the theoretical component.

It was facilitated by Barbadian, Dave Farmer who gave an overview of the course content.

“ We looked at the stroke analysis, that was -looking at strokes and analysing … looking for errors, things that are done well, things that need correction.”

As such coaches were required to plan programmes for swimmers and to assess their abilities, rectify flaws in their techniques and advance the swimmers.

Several young swimmers were used to help provide that type of analysis.

With the heavy content over the five days, Farmer has concluded that the coaches are ready to put their new knowledge into practice.

“They are expected to operate at a national level and to be able to work with teams at a national level because we are looking to develop swimmers at the national level that a national coach will need.”

The St Vincent and the Grenadines Swimming Federation hosted the course on behalf of World

Aquatics and was thus responsible for the logistical and other support.