YOUNG ... there needs to be more opportunities like this for our local coaches to go overseas and see first hand how fully professional clubs operate

Head coach of Portmore United, Paul Young, says that Jamaica's players and coaches are far behind their English counterparts with regard to professionalism and expertise.

Young, 37, who guided Portmore to the National Premier League (NPL) title last season and more recently the Caribbean Club Championship, told Sporting World that this reality was driven home following a three-week coaching stint at English Championship side Preston North End (PNE) last month.

"We are way behind the English professional set-up, not just Portmore but Jamaica on a whole. we are different cultures but the way they prepare is so different, when they come to work they come to work," said the former Jamaica striker.

"The mentality of the players here (Jamaica) in training is so different. If you visit some of our local clubs you will see some players just going through the motion," he said. "This is not possible in England as every single player, including the star, has to work and if he doesn't work, he doesn't play," Young said.

He said the rules and penalties in the professional environment in England are sometimes harsh. "Players there who come to training and don't work hard will be fined. There are a lot of rules and guidelines in their system and the fines can be hefty too," he noted.

"When I was there at PNE, a player called in to say he had a flat tyre and he was 15 minutes late for training and he was fined half of his week's wages by the coach. So you see it is all business and we (Jamaica) have a long way to go," said Young, who was capped 84 times for Jamaica and scored 20 goals.

He said the experience at the north England club has opened his eyes to many things and noted that local clubs and the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) should do much more in giving coaches this kind of exposure in their development.

"There needs to be more opportunities like this for our local coaches to go overseas and see first hand how fully professional clubs operate. there is a lot of information out there for local coaches," suggests Young, who formed part of Rene Simoes' Reggae Boyz side in the qualifying campaign of the successful France World Cup in 1998.

Local coaches, he notes, have the potential to develop but remain far behind their counterparts to the north because of a lack of high-quality training and exposure.

"Most of the coaches here are young and we still have a lot to learn. we are limited here and are not exposed, but if we should draw a line and compare ourselves with our colleagues in the Caribbean, maybe we are ahead. But if you are going to compare us to international coaches, then we would be way behind," Young said.

After three weeks of observing the PNE set-up, one of the things that stood out in Young's mind was the players' approach to training. "What stood out in my mind was the kind of intensity the players exhibited in the training sessions. They train as if it was a game. So intense," he beamed.

And from a coach's position, he said he was amazed at how his colleagues at PNE paid close attention to details before a game, and Young noted that this is something that is missing even at Jamaica's national senior level.

"The coaches would gather video tapes of the other team to see their set plays and who goes where; they also look at the weaknesses and the strengths of each player. When they are finished, each player would be aware of every player on the opposing team and that makes it easier for the players to match up against their opponents," he explained.

"They (PNE players) actually know the other players inside out before the game. The players have actually played the game before they even take the field. Every single point that sometimes we as coaches in Jamaica would overlook, is brought to another level.

"Everything is done to the finest detail and so there is minimum room for errors," Young pointed out.
But after considering the difference in cultures, what are the applicable lessons that Young would want to take from PNE to Portmore?

"What I would like to see in my players is for them to be better able to play the game off the field, to always carry themselves as professionals, to be training even after training, and they need to come to meetings and training sessions on time," he said.

"The way a player carries himself, his work ethic, his respect for the coach and all of these things go into making a professional," the former outstanding Wolmer's schoolboy player added.

He notes that Jamaican players can be moulded into top-class professionals as was demonstrated with national defender Claude Davis, who transferred to PNE from Portmore.

"Claude (Davis) has gone there and is doing extremely well and the coaches have absolutely no problems with him; he is a changed person. They respect him and love him dearly. He works hard, trains hard, is very competitive, very intense and when he comes to the game he plays hard," Young said of his former teammate at the St Catherine-based club.

National striker Ricardo Fuller, who now plays for Southampton in the English Premiership, also had a successful stint at PNE.

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