by Tony Minoldo » Tue Mar 13 2007, 15:58
What I find annoying about the different coaching qualifications, is the fact that if you hold, say, a UEFA B coaching certificate (now Level 2) and are in the USA -hapened to me- and want to do a Level 3 (USSF B), you have to do first they USSF C (level 2)?
Because I was coaching and living there for a while, and I had never find the time to take my 2 final UEFA B Licence (level 3) assessments in England (I'll comment on this below), I refused to do level 2 again with the USSF...Gladly, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, where a lot of British coaches work, accepted me into their level 3 (Advanced National Diploma).
The benefit of the NSCAA educational system (apart from top-quality teaching) is that you do the final exam the final day, don't have to come back months later. Also, you discuss systems of play (4-4-2, 3-5-2, etc, that it didn't happen at Lilleshall 2003).
In my case, I paid £250 to the FA in 2003, went to Lilleshall, completed everything, but never found the time (a Saturday and a Sunday in a row, to be assessed, even after contacting my local (then London) FA. I was invited once with the promise to be assessed, but they used me as an extra body for other coaches' exams without assessing me...All my Sat and Sunday I coach -during the footy season- and I used to spend the summers coaching in the USA, so...
I really rather have the final assessments in the final day of the course. But I also question the too much importance given to these two final coaching sessions...