3 take AFC B license coaching course

From left, Asian Football Confederation instructor Yusuke Adachi of Japan, Jersh Angeles, Irish Pagarao, Ruselle Zapanta, and Cambodia U20 National Team head coach Kazunori Ohara pose for a photo at the conclusion of last month’s coaching course in Guam. (Contributed Photo)

Three coaches took an Asian Football Confederation B License coaching course last month in Guam.

Northern Mariana Islands Football Association executive director and Southern United Football Club’s Ruselle Zapanta, CNMI Men’s National Team assistant coach Jersh Angeles, and CNMI Women’s National Team manager Irish Pagarao attended the two-week course at the Guam Football Association National Training Center and came home with a lot of knowledge on coaching at a higher level and aimed at sharing what they learned to other coaches and applying them while handling CNMI players.

“The coaching course was great and very insightful. The methodology of how to coach young players for the most part was new to me and to many of the participants. I received my ‘C’ license six years ago, so it was great to receive a refresher into coaching and also new and updated knowledge,” said Zapanta.

He added that the course required long hours of work, both on and off the pitch.

“The long, late hours of the course (sometimes under the heavy rain) were challenging. Classes took up the whole weekend and weeknights to accommodate the participants with their daily, regular jobs. Also applying the new coaching methods in our practical exercise is a challenge because as a current coach, we may have habits that need to be broken in order to apply the new learnings,” the former CNMI national team member said.

Angeles echoed Zapanta’s thoughts about the time they had to devote to the course, but it’s all worth it.

“It was tiring because we always finished between 12:30am and 1am, but it was so much fun. I love the practical sessions the most, as we get to do/play the practical sessions and at the same time, understand the dynamics better,” Angeles said.

“The course is very significant as I am one of the NMI NT youth coaches. It makes me aware mainly on the off the ball players and allows me to analyze the game better,” he added.

For her part, Pagarao hopes more female coaches will be given opportunities to take similar coaching courses to push for the development of women’s soccer in the Commonwealth.

“There are more male coaches on the island, so we want to encourage more female players to try the sport and get into coaching, too so we can improve further and compete with other countries. I also took this course because the sport has been very good to me, providing me with opportunities, so I want to give back to the soccer community by sharing what I’ve learned from the course,” Pagarao said.

Last month’s course was just the first part and the three coaches will be back in Guam in January next year to have the second module and take the practical and written tests.

“We hope to find out the results next year by summer. And whether I pass or not, I still have a responsibility to my soccer club and players and that is to make them better players and individuals on and off the field. This soccer coaching course and its teachings can apply to real life situations outside of soccer. We will not only become better individuals, but we can also inspire others to do the same and groom better citizens in our community,” Zapanta said.

“We would like to thank NMIFA officers and staff for the continued support to the coaches. We would also like to thank coach Mita (NMIFA technical director Michiteru Mita) for always guiding us and sharing his knowledge for us to become better coaches,” Angeles said.

AFC instructor and Hong Kong Football Association elite development coach Yusuke Adachi of Japan conducted the first part of the course that ran from Aug. 10 to 23 and was assisted by compatriot and Cambodia U20 National Team head coach Kazunori Ohara.