‘Sports Dev Not Possible Without Quality Coaches’

A certified International Tennis Registry (ITR) Coach, Abel Ubeibi, has observed that no country could achieve any viable development in sports without knowledgeable coaches to train budding talents.

Ubeibi told newsmen in Lagos that an athlete’s potentials can only be determined when the athlete was being mentored by a well-grounded coach.

“Athletes do not know how to maximise their potential; but with an experienced coach, he or she knows how to tap into the full potential of a budding talent.

“There is no way a country can succeed in any sport without the development of its coaches and coaching services,’’ Ubeibi said.

The ITR-Instructor, therefore, urged sports authorities to endeavour to upgrade coaches by exposing them to new techniques in the developed countries.

“We have to train and produce knowledgeable coaches who can be given the right exposure to develop our athletes from the foundation to performance levels.

“This is the only way we can revive our dwindling fortunes.

“We need knowledgeable coaches and sports scientists who can take our athletes to international, continental and regional competitions,’’ he said.

According to him, in today’s world of athletics, it is not just the job of a coach to train an athlete.