Barbados Coach, Shakeira Waithe, is a Physical education teacher that attended the BWF Coaches Conference 2018 and the Coach Level 3 Course held last year in our region. She want to continue developing our sport in her country and has a big dreams with our sport.
Shakeira, like many of the women involved in our sport, started as a player and decided to be a coach in order to give back to our sport a little of how much it gave her.
“I started as a player when I was 7 years old. And from there I started playing until there was a moment when I decided to become a coach, give back a little to this sport that has given me so much. That’s something you think about when you get more and more involved with badminton.”
The transition from being a player to a coach is usually different for each one, however everyone seeks to reinforce their decisions and give their best for new projects.
“I am a physical education teacher, and teaching others has been easy for me, so deciding to stop being an athlete and become a coach. Fortunately it was not that difficult for me.”
Being at the forefront is a characteristic of the best coaches. Knowing more about our sport and how it evolves complements each one of them. Shakeira is sure of the importance of continuing training and takes advantage of these opportunities to acquire better tools for her country.
“It is definitely very important to continue training. Sport is changing so we need to be prepared for it, to always give athletes updated knowledge.”
Shakeira’s goals are linked to her role as coach, however, she does not think only about her, but also about the development of our sport in her country.
“My goal is to continue developing badminton in Barbados, with more people involved and, who knows, maybe with a badminton player competing internationally. Honestly, my big dream is to participate in some Olympic Games. ”
Last november, BWF and BPAC developed a Coach Level 3 Pilot course in our region with participation of some coaches who were challenged to see their way of training differently.
“It was a very good and challenging course. We received a lot of information during a short week. Some things I already knew from before, so I have reinforced my knowledge and challenged to implement new strategies. We already do several things that we have seen in the course , but we need to implement a better structure to continue improving. “
