Concacaf’s new E-Learning Academy, for all intents and purposes, looks to be keeping regional technical directors and coaches on the ball in a coronavirus-ravaged sporting globe.

Without being able to have physical educational sessions for the game’s technical experts, the confederation fast-tracked a platform for stakeholders to continue the business of teaching and learning in the virtual space.

The cohort of over 60 technical directors and coaches from across Concacaf’s spread — North America, Central America and Caribbean — completed the first three weeks of the six-week programme. The first phase kicked off on April 15, with the second portion now in its penultimate week.

Technical Director Wendell Downswell, Reggae Boyz Head Coach Theodore Whitmore, Boyz fitness trainer Lamar Morgan, National grass roots Director Andre Virtue, and Concacaf Development Manager Andre Waugh represented Jamaica in the groundbreaking activation.

Concacaf’s Director of Development Jason Roberts says his organisation continues to innovate with the aim of keeping the proverbial ball rolling in a COVID-19-induced dimension.

“I think that access is an important word in our organisation. How can we provide access to education, and how can we provide access to development initiatives across the region, and how to make football an experience and an opportunity for all of our 41-member association and giving each of them the same chance to develop,” said the former Grenada international.

He said critical to the broad development platform of Concacaf, and President Victor Montagliani’s One Concacaf agenda, is broadening the knowledge base of the technical talent that abounds in the region.

“I also think a key part of that is to ensure that there is ongoing coaching education learning opportunities to ensure that those on the coaching pathway are given those bits of knowledge that can help them to develop.

“Within our strategic plan we have an idea to develop an e-learning platform to achieve that objective of getting our technical leaders and coaching leaders on a centralised platform that would allow them to continue to learn,” said Roberts, the former Blackburn Rovers striker.

In crisis comes opportunity, and Concacaf, in response to the coronavirus, was forced to bring forward the e-learning programme, which was already in the works.

“Unfortunately, the situation we have found ourselves in with COVID-19 and the restrictions around travel and that physical interaction, that was missing. So what that meant is that we moved forward what was to be a medium to long-term plan into an extremely short term, and I am really proud that we were able to put in place our Concacaf E-learning Academy,” beamed the 42-year-old.

“What we have done is get over 60 of our coaching educators to be part of a project where we have given them the skills to be able to use the platform, and we have really concentrated on the ongoing development of these educators and leaders,” Roberts told the Jamaica Observer by telephone recently.

Over the first three weeks, and with exciting prospects to come for the final phase, Concacaf’s “technical leaders” were exposed to “coaching educators deliver[ing] presentations, curriculum and content”.

“We have also had experts from Fifa, the English FA, from USSF [US Soccer Federation], and I am very happy that we have been able to put together the Concacaf E-Learning Academy based around coaching education.

Roberts, who also played for West Bromwich Albion, said apart from the flow of critical information and exchange of knowledge, the programme has brought a sense of renewed camaraderie among the technical directors, coaches and coaching educators – which potentially speaks to the power of the activation.

“We are very excited with, not only the interaction, but with the engagement because we are now seeing additional lines of communications being created between technical directors and coaching educators throughout the region.

“We are creating a network of technical leaders who would normally be in competition on the pitch but who are now learning from each other, and in this time really promoting the values of access to education,” noted Roberts.

He said already a plan to build out the A-Learning Academy is taking shape.

“We are now working with the women’s department to ensure that we can do the same thing to engage the women technical leaders around the region and try to give them additional opportunities to learn, to engage and to share best practices,” said the confederation’s development chief.

Roberts says he was pleased that the subcontinental grouping was able to find an opportunity to open channels for continuing the process of football academics in the region during the COVID-19 disruptions.

“As I have said, in that unfortunate situation [COVID-19], there are opportunities… importantly for us is to give our stakeholders, our MAs and technical leaders ownership [of the knowledge] so they can grow their own programmes,” Roberts ended.

— Sean Williams