THE RWANDA Basketball Federation (Ferwaba), this month, launched a long term youth coaches’ certification program, a development from which coaches working with primary, middle and high school players will benefit. It is taking place in all provinces of the country under the instruction of Ferwaba tacticians led by Cheikh Sarr, the national team head coach who doubles as a FIBA instructor. Speaking to Times Sport, Sarr said the aim is to provide coaches with a deep understanding of the coaching principles, teaching techniques, and fundamental individual offense techniques for players in the ages of 7-17. “We first will organize local coach committees within provinces and provide them tools to run camps and assess youth players. The U15 selection process starts from there and will end with a national camp of 72 best players in the U-15 for both girls and boys,” he said. “Coaches will be assessed and will be followed up during the whole school league during practice and games. The target is to categorize the local coaches’ certification in three levels: Youth coach, Level 1 and level 2. We will also make sure a national coaches clinic will take place during the preseason of the national league for D1 coaches,” he added. Sarr is an experienced tactician who has served as head coach of both the men and women’s basketball teams of Senegal. During his tenure as head coach for Senegal women’s national team, he led them to the FIBA women’s basketball world cup in 2018. As head coach for the men’s team, Sarr led them to the second round of the FIBA men’s basketball world cup in 2014. Sarr holds a Ph.D in sports psychology and has served as a teacher and researcher in sports and physical activities at Gaston Berger University (UGB) Senegal. He also holds a master’s degree in sports management, from Alfred Lerner College, Delaware, USA. He is also one of the few FIBA instructors on the continent. He is a FIBA instructor and a coach that trains fellow coaches in regard to improving their skills. As an instructor, he has been assisting coaches in various parts of Africa, including Cameroon, Madagascar and Rwanda.
