Former national midfielder Clint Marcelle is another local coach who endorses the recent Elite Coaches Symposium hosted by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation.
The former Barnsley player who has also been an assistant coach with the T&T Olympic team, was selected to be among a group of local coaches by the TTFF and shared in the indoor and outdoor sessions over three days at the Larry Gomes Stadium last month.
“It’s been an exciting experience for us. There are a lot of coaches here with great qualities and also those in the panel. Persons like Alvin Corneal and Edgar Vidale are icons in our football and we are striving to be just like them. There’s been a collective group here just brainstorming and sharing ideas over the three days spent at the symposium,” said Marcelle who also runs the Clint Marcelle academy in Trinidad.”
He spoke on the benefits of such an effort being overseen by technical director Anton Corneal and coach education officer Jamaal Shabazz among others. Corneal also intends to invite other past stalwarts to make contributions in the development program.
“This effort is going to benefit us once we do it collectively and come together maybe once a month and share our ideas for us going forward. The past has gone and now we are heading into the future and we are the future of coaching in Trinidad and Tobago,” Marcelle said.
“Meeting new people and getting new ideas and heading in a different direction than we were in the past and this can only make me a better person and a better coach. We had coaches in the past who had big egos and we have to move away from that and share things and hold more open discussions on our football,” added the 43-year-old former Hull City and Stevanage Borough player. Marcelle also played in Portugal. One of the high points of his career in England was him scoring the goal at Wembley against Bradford City in April, 1997 to secure Barnsley’s promotion to the Premier League for the 1997–98 season. That goal is down as a legendary moment in the club’s history.
