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Otto Pfister in T&T training.Otto Pfister’s open invitation for local club coaches to witness his National Team training sessions have not fallen on deaf ears as there were sights of a few faces sitting in the stands at the Ato Boldon Stadium looking on this week.

 

 

Chief among them were W Connection head coach Stuart Charles Fevrier and Rajesh Latchoo of Joe Public FC as well as Dexter Cyrus of T&TEC.

National Women’s football technical director Even Pellerud and some of his staff have also been observing.

Pfister extended the invitation during a recent meeting with Pro League club representatives and has initiated a move to develop a better understanding with the respective clubs as it relates to his vision and programme for the development of the national team.

Fevrier, an ex-national coach himself, noted that he had already picked up a few things from observing Pfister’s sessions which takes place three days per week.

“I find the sessions have been very interesting and I’ve seen some new ways to do some things and I continue to observe from session to session because it’s an opportunity for me to observe a high-profile coach,” Fevrier said.

“It is always good to see someone who has worked at the highest level and he has great experience and I consider myself fortunate to come to his sessions.

I speak to him sometimes after his sessions and there are things I can also pass on to my players. Regarding the meeting last week, Fevrier added: “He told us about his philosophy. At W Connection we have always supported the national team no matter if it’s a foreign or local coach.

“Sometimes it has been very challenging. We asked him certain questions and we got answers. When the competition starts however we may have some issues and we may need to be flexible,” he added.

Latchoo, meantime, who is heading into his first season as head coach of Joe Public, said all coaches should utilise the opportunity to observe the national team sessions.

“Firstly, I think Joe Public will co-operate with the plans for the team. Based on the information that he has provided to us at the clubs, we will now be able to plan a programme for our team and take into consideration the amount of work that is going at the national level and ensure we don’t overtrain our players or cause them to underdevelop,” Latchoo said.

“I’m grateful for this opportunity to observe sessions like this. You see new ideas or new drills that you can learn and the opportunity to look at these sessions is something I think all coaches would enjoy,” he mentioned.

The unavailability of the some of the higher ranked Concacaf  teams for the upcoming Fifa date in June due to the Concacaf Gold Cup as well as a couple teams that were approached in Conmebol means that T&T will not play a friendly international and instead will go into a training camp.

Pfister is also booked to head off to the United States to witness some of the matches at the Concacaf Gold Cup next month.

 


 

Fevrier, Latchoo applaud Pfister.
By Ian Prescott (Express).


Two T&T Pro League club coaches have applauded the work they have seen German Otto Pfister doing with the Trinidad and Tobago senior national team.

On Friday, both W Connection's St Lucian head coach Stuart Charles Fevrier and Joe Public's coach Rajesh Latchoo were at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva, where the German held a session. Afterwards, both coaches gave their thoughts on what they had seen.

Pfister trained with a squad which included most of the top locally-based players, among them being Hughtun Hector, Juma Clarence, Carlyle Mitchell, Hayden Tinto, Andrei Pacheco, Marvin Phillip, Jan Michael Williams, Cleon John, Silvio Spann, Seon Power, Ataullah Guerra, Noel Williams and Kern Cupid.

The T&T coach worked mainly on quick ball movement and moving the ball around the park. And at the end of it all, footballers in the national training squad probably had more laps to make than they would have had under past coaches.

Both Pfister and assistant coach Anton Corneal handled the sessions.

"It's always good to see coaches who have worked at the highest level on the job," Fevrier stated. "You could always learn something...you could always improve.

"For me, personally, it has been very interesting sessions to watch. I have seen some new ways of doing things and I have come on a daily basis because it is an opportunity for me to see a high-profile coach working and I am very pleased with what I have seen so far," Fevrier said.

"He has good experience and he has worked at the highest level of the game. I consider myself very fortunate to be able to come to the sessions. I talk to him after sometimes and I will definitely pass on some of the things I have learnt to the players I work with."

Equally impressed was 26-year-old Latchoo, who was only recently installed as head coach of Joe Public.

Latchoo, who began coaching from a very young age, said that Pfister's session allows him to see new things. He also commented that the feedback he has received from the German veteran allows Joe Public to better plan a programme for their national players.

Like Fevrier, Latchoo also pledged that Pfister and the national team would have Joe Public's cooperation when it comes to player availability.

"I am always grateful for the opportunity to learn new things and new ideas...what new drills there are and new tactics I can learn. By looking at the sessions, I think it's something that all coaches will enjoy," Latchoo said.

In other national team news, the unavailability of some of the higher-ranked CONCACAF teams for the upcoming FIFA international date in June due to the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, as well as a couple teams that were approached in CONMEBOL, means that Trinidad and Tobago will not play a friendly international next month and instead will go into a training camp.

Pfister is also booked to head off to the United States to witness some of the matches at the Gold Cup next month.