Gran Kaz invests in development of swimming in Seychelles |16 March 2022

From left to right: Coach Albert, Ms Amesbury and coach Mangroo

Coaches Barnsley Albert and Shane Mangroo from Mahé Skimmers club gave a ceremonial presentation of their certificates to Gran Kaz as a thank you for their contribution and support, in a small handover on Monday afternoon.

The certificates were achieved by the two coaches at a recent Level 1 to Level 4 coaching course hosted by the American Swimming Coach Association in collaboration with the United Emirates Swimming Federation.

We spoke to coach Albert, better known as Sir Barnsley, about the experience and how he believes this will improve the quality of local swimmers when coached for competitions.

“The American standard of swimming and coaching is currently the highest in the world, so this was a fantastic opportunity for us to grow our knowledge and skill set. I previously held a level 4 Canadian coaching certificate, and now this is literally like a level up. It is more internationally recognised and gives us greater credibility, as well, as coaches,” said coach Albert.

Gran Kaz tells us they are constantly looking at ways to assist at grassroots level – and this was a perfect opportunity.

“In order to help develop the competencies of our young swimmers, we need to provide them with a great foundation. Developing the skills of coaches in turn develops the skills of the swimmers. We were glad to be able to help build capacity in this way,” said Shama Amesbury, public relations and communications manager at Gran Kaz.

The coaches thanked Gran Kaz, saying this would not benefit just them as coaches but the larger population as well.

“As members of the Mahé Skimmers club we can use what we learned to further the development of others from the club. I also teach swimming to school children and this will definitely help me to get them to a higher level,” said coach Albert.

Contributed