Tonga Athletics Association has hosted a CECS Level I course in country from 1st – 12th May 2017. The coaching course was the first of its kind for more than a decade in Tonga and an important milestone for the development of Athletics.
21 participants have attended and successfully completed the course, which teaches not only event specific theory but also general subjects such as anatomy, bio mechanics and physiology in order to give the new coaches a good foundation to apply their knowledge. The course aims to teach the basics of coaching and a phrase that will stick with all of the new coaches is “Athlete first, winning second”, which lecturer Lolomanaia Tu’ifua stressed on multiple occasions.
A special inspiration for all was the visit of Olympic Shot Putter Jacko Gill, who took the time and gave an introduction to the rotational glide technique and ways to teach it step by step. He also gave details of the design of his training plan and why it is important for athlete and coach to have a long term plan.
The President of Tonga Athletics Association, Semisi Fonua, has congratulated the newly certified coaches to their great learning effort and has encouraged them to use their knowledge to help young athletes in Tonga achieve their goals. He has also stressed the importance of coaches in Tonga to work together in order to push limits and break records.
The participants efforts in learning and cooperating with each other was enormous and the lecturers have been very pleased with the outcome of the course. We would like to congratulate all newly qualified coaches and are looking forward to see their work come to fruition.
