ORANJESTAD, Aruba – Last week 19 coaches took part in the latest Concacaf Coaching Education course to learn about various coaching topics, such as on-field tactics and off-field management skills.
Among the attendees was Ronald Gomez of Aruba. The 34-year-old is toward the end of his playing career as a member of the Aruba National Team that is competing currently in 2019/20 Concacaf Nations League Qualifying.
Like many veteran players from around the Caribbean, Gomez wants to continue his football career in the coaching world and found the Concacaf Coaching Education course to be incredibly useful.
“It was a nice experience and the Coaching Education course helped me a lot. There was a lot of people to learn from and I was able to get information that was very useful,” said Gomez in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com.
Gomez was particularly appreciative of Concacaf’s recent efforts to bring more opportunities for coaches in the Caribbean.
“Concacaf understands that in order for the level of football to rise in the Caribbean, the education of coaches has to improve. It all starts with coaching and it’s great that all of these Caribbean coaches are getting these opportunities in Coaching Education courses,” said Gomez.
Gomez also pointed to the CNL as another key factor in the growth of Caribbean football.
“The Nations League has been a great experience. You get to play against other countries and you play at a higher level. Now, players here in Aruba know they have four commitments every year, four matches they must train for, so we are all training together and I think together we will raise the level of football in Aruba,” said Gomez.
With a 1W-1D-1L record in CNLQ, there is still a chance for Aruba to qualify for the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup, which would be a great accomplishment for the nation of just over 100,000 people.
“It would mean a lot to qualify for the Gold Cup, we have so few people in the country, so it would be incredible if we qualified. But I would say more importantly we are starting to improve and grow and we want to continue that for the future of Aruba football,” concluded Gomez.
