A Foreign Coach Needed Now
Wed, Aug 25, '04
The West Indies need a foreign coach now. There, I said it. Yes, and I mean it too.
Let me preface my argument by saying that I am not foreign-minded. For a very long time, I scoffed at the idea of a foreigner being preferred to local talent. Being involved in the sports scene in Jamaica, the situation was always on the table; should the country invest in a foreign coach or should the country keep faith with indigenous talent?
My vote was to give the local coaches a chance...until one Captain Horace Burrell took the bold decision to elicit the services of a Brazilian, Rene Simoes, to take over the country's national football program.
It is important to make the point here that the country had tried other foreign coaches before Simoes. Many football stalwarts still hold the sojourn of George Penna, in awe. I invite readers to the article linked here that will explain the very small but so poignant changes that took place when Penna, a Brazilian became Jamaica?s first foreign coach.
In my own time, I remembered Otmar Calder, a German, if I remember correctly. I know that he didn?t have anywhere an impact in the 1970s that Penna made earlier. I know that one of the problems was language-related and there wasn?t the right chemistry between players and coach, something that is a huge factor in coaching a team sport. For whatever reason, his time didn?t work very well. So I am not here saying that having a foreign coach is the be-all and end-all to solve the problems of West Indies cricket. There has to be that chemistry.
So right about now, you may be saying, so what if a local coach had that chemistry? That would be great! But sadly, this is where parochialism or insular behaviour, if you prefer, comes in. If I were to compare the two environments, that is, Jamaica?s football and West Indies cricket, for obvious reasons, the temperature of insular behaviour would be far higher among the cricketing nations of the Caribbean.
Love of country runs deep and in Jamaica, love and loyalty in those early days to clubs was very strong. It was widely known that many times when a squad of players was chosen for the national team that players used to come with a lot of biases which in effect, undermined the ?local? coach?s efforts. Yes, players would openly share their minds on what the national coach is doing and heaping scorn on his tactics or techniques. The result was, that despite the good intentions of the local coach, respect was at a minimum which often led to poor performances on the field.
The local West Indies cricket coach faces much the same situation and to boot, he has to contend with ?Board? members and very influential past players and supporters. Not to mention that there will always be the feeling among rank and file West Indians that he is not giving their countryman a fair shake. The strong and confident, note those two words, coach, come minus the baggage. He will be criticized, to say the least, but if he is given the power that is proposed by the new stipulations as laid in print by the WICB, without fear of losing his job, he would be in a great position to carry out his duties as he sees fit.
There are many other reasons for proposing a foreign coach but I will deal with one more here. Finance. I am not aware of the coffers of the WICB but the latest happenings in Jamaica regarding foreign coach points to one of the reasons why that country has to resort to a foreign coach even now. I would have thought that after all the apprenticeship that Technical Director Carl Brown has been through and for all his successes, even now, there appears to be little confidence in him trying to accomplish the ultimate (for the time being) task of preparing the country?s national football team for the World Cup.
If you read this article, you will realize how important economics dictates.
If the WICB ever finds itself facing a situation where support is only forthcoming if those with the purse strings have no confidence in the ?local person? then they will be forced to look elsewhere.
Let me just reiterate; I am not saying get a foreign coach for the sake of it. This person has to be competent and have the chemistry with not only the players but with the whole West Indies. Now that may be the biggest stumbling block, if he steps on a few toes early.
