ST MARTIN’S want the Guernsey Football Associ-ation to sanction the appointment of club coaches. In response to the proposal put forward by Guernsey Press sports editor Rob Batiste to have the Junior Island squad as an eighth Priaulx League team, Saints have suggested some alternative strategies to improve the standard of Guernsey football.

Top of their list is that all clubs would be required to nominate their proposed appointments for Youth Two, Youth One and Priaulx team coaches to the GFA council for ratification. The views of the development officer would then be sought and only when the GFA were satisfied that those nominated were suitable would the appointments be approved.

There could be scope to extend that to younger-age-group coaches as well if the GFA were to take the idea on board, according to St Martin’s youth coach Glyn Smith.

‘Our suggestion is that the GFA would have the say over who was in charge of those three teams,’ he said.

‘We were trying to look at it from the perspective that Rob [Batiste] did, from youth into senior football. But, yes, the coaches at Corbet Cup and Youth Three level are probably as important, if not more so, than those at the older age groups.

‘If people regard the standard of football having dropped, to rectify that we need to look at grass roots level and the people who influence the standards the most are the coaches involved.’

Smith acknowledged the work of development officer Phil Corbet in educating many local coaches through the courses he has run. He believes that it is important to use ‘that stock of educated coaches to improve the standard of that football’.

St Martin’s do not want to decry the work being done by those coaches who do not have qualifications, but they do want to ensure that those who hold ‘head coach’ roles need to be able to make a difference.

‘What we are not saying is that a coach cannot be qualified through experience. There needs to be a blend of the right sort of attributes.

‘I would say there are coaches in positions here who would benefit from experience of going through a FA technical coaching course. It would help them and their club. It would just bring a further technical aspect to the experience that is already there.’

Corbet understands where St Martin’s are coming from but believes such measures should not be necessary as any club worth its salt would ensure it appointed coaches who were capable of improving standards at the club.

‘I endorse their sentiment but appointments should not require ratification at the highest level, it should be self-regulated by the clubs,’ he said.

‘Ideally, in time the GFA will have a rule in place whereby clubs will have to have qualified coaches in place at youth level because that is where players learn.’

In addition to coach-ratification, St Martin’s suggest reverting to a system of registration for Priaulx League teams.

‘Our view is that the current system is open to abuse. What we would prefer is a system whereby those playing Priaulx football were only playing Priaulx football,’ said Smith.