It’s no walk in the Park

Renowned Scottish Football Association coach Donald Park gave his Bermudian pupils the seal of approval as they work towards their UEFA Licence badges.

Nine have embarked on the B Licence, while a further 26 underwent the C Licence course in order to gain the globally-recognized qualifications.

The sessions were hosted by ABC Football School, the BFA and, along with Park, conducted by the vastly-experienced Jacques Crevoisier.

Crevoisier has worked in partnership with ABC for some time now, combining it with his work as a French TV commentator and at Arsenal, where he provides Arsene Wenger  with psychological tests on prospective signings. He has also coached at Liverpool.

Crevoisier hailed Bermuda’s coaches’ ‘will to improve’ and declared himself happy with their progress.

For Park, who is head of coach education at the SFA and boasts stints at Hibernian and Hearts on his resume, he was impressed with his students’ open-mindedness as they started a course that requires a minimum 120 hours of on-pitch work, assignments and lectures.

He told the Bermuda Sun:  “It’s a big commitment in every aspect, physically and psychologically, sleepless nights and every other aspect of it! The course is very demanding and we want to challenge the guys.

“For us it’s interesting to see how the course fits into the Bermuda lifestyle and mentality.

“The  guys have been fantastic, which is great for us and hopefully they are enjoying it as much as I am.

“It’s great for them to take a step forward on the coaching ladder.

“The real plus for the guys is they are all very open-minded and very willing to learn different styles so that becomes a balance.

“We don’t come and say this is your philosophy – we just ask questions and challenge them.

“The real plus they’ve got is they’ve started their course here so they’ve now got a structure and it is a chance to progress with their UEFA B and that gives them an avenue to go and coach because it is recognized worldwide.”