Coaching progress

England U19s coach Brian Eastick returned from Antigua this week after sharing his coaching knowledge with football enthusiasts in the Caribbean.

After an initial approach from the Antiguan and Barbudan FA, The FA allowed Eastick to give his experience to young players and coaches looking to progress in the game.

With much of the football infastructure in need of improvement, Eastick was delighted to be involved at an early important stage of the development.

Eastick told TheFA.com: "The enthusiasm from the coaches and players was absolutely incredible and it is now a matter of harnessing that and continuing the good work that has been presented this week.

"They will go away from this Pilot course with a lot of benefits, but to truly move forward the work has to be ongoing long into the future.

"The facilities need attention and hopefully they will get some assistance in that area, but I think that this could be the start of something special for them."

So keen was Eastick to share all he had he donated more than just his coaching knowledge - leaving behind his boots and football training kit for those who attended the course.

The Antigua and Barbuda FA Technical Advisor is Brian Hamilton, the former Northern Ireland manager, and he was involved in bringing this course together with ABFA President Mervyn Richards.

The enthusiasm for the course was fantastic with more than 50 coaches attending each evening, and there was a real thirst for football knowledge.

The Pilot course was focused on Youth Development and improving coaching techniques, with Eastick taking responsibility for the working techniques to improve 16 through to 21-year-olds.

Alfred Galustian, who was a co-founder of Coerver Coaching, came from Japan to help with the techniques to improve seven through to 15-year-olds.

The course was part-time throughout the week with theory and practical demonstrations running in the evenings.