Paul-Andre Walker, Staff Reporter
JAMAICA'S NATIONAL Under-15 coach, Andre Coley, has expressed satisfaction at his charge's performance following the team's runaway victory in the just-concluded Clico West Indies Under-15 tournament in Antigua.
"I enjoyed it thoroughly, it was a learning experience for the team and for myself," said the 31-year-old coach in an interview with The Gleaner, fresh from the trip yesterday.
Delighted at the way the team gelled, Coley proposed ways of ensuring that the talent not go to waste.
In that regard, he pointed to a system of cataloguing the progress of each of the squad members and the talent that lay on the fringes within each parish.
DATABASE
"What we have started to do is develop a database for the talent in the various parishes. Even before we left we had an idea of where their strengths were and where their weaknesses are, how they are physically and the physical trainer, David Bernard and myself have made recommendations.
"What will happen now is that someone from each parish will oversee clinics where coaches like myself will come in and be able to keep a track on the players," said Coley.
Despite his obvious elation at winning his first tournament as head coach, he thinks the team could have done better.
"I thought we could have done better. Before the tournament we had asked that they set some targets. Some of the players, especially the batsmen, some of them fell a little short of the targets they had set for themselves," said Coley.
Some players came up for special congratulations from the coach, and the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, Andre Creary, topped the list for Coley.
"Creary marshalled the troops well. I think that he showed maturity beyond his years. That was probably because this is his third tournament, but I thought that he knew what to do in the various situations. He was very well prepared.
"He knew how to deal with the situation when the bowling was being hit and when we were in good positions he knew exactly what to do as well. I didn't have to do much coaching during the games," admitted Coley.
VOICED CONCERNS
Jamaican spinners Rajiffe Service and Patrick Harty also came up for honourable mention from the coach, who said they used the tools of flight and spin well in situations that would tempt bowlers to just bowl flat and try to avoid being hit.
Even with Jamaica's obvious dominance, Coley made sure to voice concerns about the structure of the tournament and what it meant for the development of the game in the region.
According to Coley, while he had at first thought playing five games in seven days would be fine as long as the teams prepared properly, witnessing the actual tournament gave him a change of heart.
"I was asked that question before we left and I thought that if we prepare and prepare well we should be able to do it, but having gone to the tournament and actually seeing it for myself, it was rough. If you are looking at development then this format of the game is not going to do that," said Coley.
"At this age I don't know if stressing them that way is a good idea. After the first game you could tell that the players were getting slower and were getting sore and that sort of thing, and that's why we impressed on them the importance of getting out to a good start," added Coley.
