By Reginald Andrew

With all the added dimensions and applications being engineered into sports, the art of coaching and sports development have taken on a new twist in this modern era.

No longer can professional coaches be content to just get players going through the regular drills and exercise regime. Adopting strategic and scientific techniques is vital to enable them to transition into a fully fledged coaching career with the ability to nurture highly skilled players.

Peter Philogene is keen on helping to push for the overall development of   professional   and semi-professional players from a football league standpoint.

Coaching and sports development   now   require insightful delivery, excellent communication and mobilization skills and the ability to develop good rapport with young players and their parents or guardians.

Philogene has taken up the formidable task with his sights set on bolstering the holistic development of a breed of players with excellent physical fitness and an awareness of what is at stake for professional players who are committed to honing their skills. He is currently doing his utmost to elevate Reduit FC to a higher level in the game.

Philogene put Dazzle through the drills to give us an insight into what has become his mission.

Dazzle: Tell us how your sports business venture began?

Philogene: Apart from being involved in some landscaping business, my main focus is implementing a youth football coaching and holistic developmental programme. I’m currently attached to and a founding member of the Reduit Football Club. I got an opportunity to start our first RFC Youth Academy through my links with Gary St. Rose-then President of the Gros Islet Football League (GIFL) – who was technical administrator and/trainer for the Saint Lucia Football Association (SLFA).

At that time, the SLFA was conducting youth football coaching courses under the NICE programme. After participating in the courses I got an opportunity to do an ‘after-school youth programme’ with the Montessori Centre, between the years 2011 to 2012. Initially it was done free of charge. From thereon I began doing the after-school programme and got kids to come out and play football for about 60 to 90 minute spells.I got assistance from another NICE coach and some senior Reduit FC players and progressed to this stage.

Dazzle: Tell us about ReduitFC?

Philogene: Reduit FC got underway in 2010. There was a need for a new organization to be formed encompassing footballers from Reduit Park. The Reduit Sports and Cultural Club, which was managed by some other residents, got disbanded and there was no structure to take on the responsibility of managing our football. A few of us got together and decided to do our thing. The current organization is a brainchild of mine and Richard Mathurin, another Reduit FC member.Our aspiration at the time was to have a squad of players training and playing throughout the year, and to be able to pay them a stipend. It was pretty much setting up a group of semi-professional players. This is still very much at the forefront of what we want to achieve regarding Reduit FC in particular.

Dazzle: What are the operational functions like?

Philogene: Initially, the process of getting the name registered was a bit drawn out but I persisted and got to register the name Reduit FC to start off the business. However, my dream is that it becomes a club owned by every member and sustained by its membership. We would like to see the club run akin to a credit union with more than football to offer its members. There are now tangible stakes in terms of the business and its sustainability for prospective players to participate.

Dazzle: Where did the idea of managing a football club owned by the membership stem from?

Philogene: I’ve had an interest in football from my infant and primary school days. My brother and cousins and I played football at school and we also played for a few competing teams outside of school. It may also have stemmed from my English background as I’ve always followed the football world closely, rather than just watch games and think of scores and players. Now the sport attracts lots of supporters. No longer is it just about players and managers, it’s also about the players’ progress as professionals and the overall development of clubs. For me, it is like a marriage of my passion for football and my passion for community. Reduit FC certainly has provided me with a foundation to be pretty much who I am today and it’s all based upon a group of persons from our community working together. I have always wanted to do things within the community and to do it with football. Having a playing field in the community where we grew up was pretty much the spark that started it off.

Dazzle: What is your philosophy regarding coaching and its relationship to education?

Philogene: Discipline has to be at the forefront. In our last two matches I continued to impress on the boys the value of discipline.Thinking responsibly with the aim of getting better at the sport is an education. You really have to want to learn how to master the game. Actually, the more successful players that go through the ranks of world-class football generally have a background of education that enables them to see past a normal level of playing.

You have to look at the scenarios and be able to figure things out. You must be able to balance your mode of play with that of your teammates. When it comes to sport or football, I feel that the schools should play a very big role in terms of establishing clubs since the clubs and associations fall short with regards to their administration and sustainability. The ability to perform at any sport is innate but the onus is on the coach to direct everything. I think we are missing out by not encouraging more youth participation in sport, not only as players but in key areas of the overall development of sports. You never know who can be a club Treasurer/Accountant, Media Person/Journalist, Medic, Secretary and of course coach/manager. The kids have more talent and ability than we may think – clubs could be the platform to let them experience these roles and could assist in choosing their careers.

Dazzle: How do you plan to communicate your plans and expectations to parents?

Philogene: At the moment some parents do listen

most times, and I think they can see the efforts we put forward and that we are changing things. We’re willing to adapt and move forward on a lot of challenges. Generally, their interest is in their children coming and having fun and ensuring that they are safe and enjoying themselves.

Dazzle: What challenges do you face as a coach?

Philogene: The biggest challenge I face, and that resonates through many other academies, is the lack of a profound respect for the sport. There isn’t much appreciation of value put into football that makes you feel we can move to the next level or become semi- professional or a professional attached to the sport in the industry.

Generally, people’s perception of the game and the approach towards the sport,although it is getting better, I must say there has to be more commitment from and to the kids. It is hard to separate them from various technology gadgets, like the tablets and other apps that they spend their time playing with… and we must get into the habit of encouraging the kids to want to play the game, as opposed to just wanting to be there.

Dazzle: Where do you see Reduit FC in the next five years?

Philogene: In the next five years maybe we would have had a couple players on national teams. I think I have and have had a couple players who could maybe reach the age where they can be picked up by a football scout and given the opportunity to be professionals in the sport somewhere in the world. Added to that, I would like the club to be sustainable and continuing to forge community driven members of society.

Dazzle: What has been your greatest achievement with Reduit FC?

Philogene: Funny enough, it was managing the senior team to a simple 1-0 win over the then National Club Champions, Super J Northern United in a Senior Football Tournament them having most of their players fielded including the legend Francis “Baba” Lastic. We had never beaten them before and managing the team then was a proud moment for me. Also, starting the youth academy has also been a momentous occasion for me. Positive impact on just one child is a great achievement for me, I’d like to think I’ve already done that.

Dazzle: Who has motivated you?

Philogene:  I was fortunate to have learnt under   a few very good coaches, from as young as 11 or 12 years old at St. Mary’s College under Stewart

Charles. He was the first coach who really made me understand the various aspects of the game. And there were other coaches like Patrick ‘Pattaco’ Philip of Northern United, now passed, Quintin of Lancers, ‘Gros Brown’ of VSADC, Osco – Gros Islet U19 and the current national coach, Francis ‘Baba’ Lastic and many more I could mention. Certainly, their commitment to the game has been an inspiration to me over the years and they’ve had a profound influence on me.

fun facts

Who or what motivates you?

My family.

What other sports do you play?

Futbol, Futsal…Soccer when I’m in the US.

Favourtie sports personality?

My brother – Christopher Philogene

Favourite hang-out spot?

Reduit Playing Field.