CONCACAF Head of Coaching Education Andre Waugh has called for more solidarity between the nation’s best coaches to propel the game forward.

Waugh’s comments follow the failure of both the senior under and Under-20 Reggae Boyz failure to qualify this year for their respective World Cup tournaments.

These disappointments have bolstered Waugh’s desire to see the standard of coaching in the island improve.

Waugh urged the coaches to put aside the long standing practice of withholding information that could be beneficial to coaches across the island in the hopes of beating each other in local competitions.

Waugh urged those present to get rid of the current mentality of focusing on winning solely and neglecting to pass on information that could see the game grow in quality right across the island.

“We have this idea of being self-made, but the truth is we’re all here standing on the shoulders of giants. We spend too much time competing against each other and not collaborating. Outside of the 90 minutes we’re not in a competition.”

The statement came on the first of a two day Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) coaching conference, taking place on Saturday and Sunday. The event was largely focused on emphasising the need for improving the standard of coaching in the island.

In attendance were JFF president Michael Ricketts, several JFF board members, and over 100 coaches from across the island.

The coaching conference featured interim national team Head Coach Rudolph Speid, and notable names such as Andrew Price, Jerome Waite, Anthony Patrick, Xavier Gilbert, and Leacroft Lettman.

Merron Gordon, an assistant coach of the senior men’s national team during the last World Cup qualifying campaign, spoke at the conference and shared Waugh’s sentiment.

In a show of transparency he discussed in great detail how the national team set up to defend set plays against Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the USA in recent games.

Gordon’s presentation was done with the aim of showing the coaches present that sharing similarly intricate details like formations and systems with their fellow coaches after the season would not give their opponents the edge that they suspect, but rather help to push the game forward.

“Ten years ago, I wouldn’t share this information, because I was a selfish coach, so I would keep information from others because I wanted to beat my friends who are also coaches, but my wife and your wife can cook rice and peas and it tastes differently,” he said.

Waugh says that beyond the obvious need for greater infrastructure and resources, coaches need to begin to ask what can be done to extract every drop of effort out of the talent pool available?

He stressed the importance of more coaches taking their coach education seriously and implored more coaches to continue to climb the rankings regarding the licenses they hold, as it would directly influence the calibre of players the country can develop.

“The last time we sold a player for over a million dollars was Rudolph Austin 13 years ago,” Waugh said. “If we don’t become the coaches that can create that environment of development to help players get opportunities overseas, then clubs are going to hire coaches from abroad who will.

“We haven’t gotten used to players going abroad and coming back in six months, not even the USL (United Soccer League) we are prepared for… Palmeiras years ago said they’re not producing players like they used to so they’re taking down the artificial fields and going back to their roots. So, it’s not about getting better fields and stadiums, it’s about maximising what we have.”

Chae Roberts, the JFF’s head of coaching education, expressed a similar concern, saying, “The development of Jamaican football cannot be separated from development of our coaches.”

In a show of the aforementioned solidarity, day two featured Speid delivering a presentation designed to provide insight into how his Cavalier team have dominated the Jamaica Premier League, making the last four finals and winning two.

Speid came prepared with slides and videos to illustrate Cavalier’s structure, outlining key principles that govern how the club is run from their transfer policy, to their adaptability in tactical philosophy.

There were also discussions featuring a panel of coaches including Keon Broderick, who coached Excelsior High School to the Manning Cup title last season, and Omar Wedderburn, who coached St Elizabeth Technical High School to the daCosta Cup title.

The two matched up against each other in the Olivier Shield earlier this year, with Excelsior coming out on top but now they have joined forces to discuss how they handled managerial issues that arose during the season.