It looks like Team Trinidad and Tobago has found its new Cycling Coach. UCI Coach James Hey is on the brink of signing on for the top Developmental Post after holding conversations with the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee and the T&T Cycling Federation. The details of the contract are expected to be worked out in the coming days.
00:00Trinidad and Tobago cyclists and those in the region stand to benefit as plans are being put in place to have a developmental director stationed at the UCI Cycling Satellite Center in Coover.
00:12Great Britain and UCI coach James Hay is ideally positioned to get the job after meeting the requirements in the latest camp hosted at the venue.
00:20President of the TNT Cycling Federation, Rowena Williams, elaborated on their plans moving forward for 2026.
00:26The plan is ready to have a full-time development manager here at the center to put those plans in place, put those programs in place and to work with all the coaches, not just in Trinidad and Tobago, but to also assist the countries in developing their sports out there.
00:42So I think all in all the plan is to get the satellite operational better and that's happening.
00:49Is James the man for the job?
00:51I think he is. He has gone through the whole process of the interviews, but again, we still have to identify whether or not he's willing to accept the position and of course all the different contractual arrangements that has to be put in place.
01:10But again, from what we've seen, James has the knowledge, he has the experience and he has the know-how to get the job done.
01:16So we would be gladly happy to have him on board with us.
01:20It's a plan that's also supported by the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee, according to its president, Diane Henderson.
01:26We have to action these events and the development, hence the reason, the whole idea about the developmental director, because it can't sit still.
01:39So, you know, through the support also of Pan Am Sports, we have collaborated with them and had some conversations in terms of how can we, you know, make use of the support that we can get.
01:55So is he interested in the job?
01:57Well, part of this trip for me was a little bit of an acid test, if you like, coming here to Trinidad to see if I wanted to work here on a longer term basis.
02:06I've got some responsibilities in London and the UK. We've got a meeting this afternoon, actually, so your timing's, yeah, quite apt, actually.
02:15So here we are. There's a few things to align on, but, yeah, dotting the i's and crossing the t's, so we're in a position to, yeah, hopefully move forward in 2026.
02:24And what will his new role entail?
02:27Yeah, we've been chatting since, oh, I'm trying to think where we are. We're in November now.
02:31So we've been chatting for a couple of months about the position for the development manager, which would involve working with the camps, having some level two coaching courses for not just coaches in Trinidad, but around the region.
02:43But I've expressed an interest with the possibility of working with a few of the Trinidad athletes.
02:49And I think that's probably one of the gaps that I mentioned earlier.
02:53If you take one of the federations in Europe, for example, Switzerland or Italy or GB, they've got dedicated coaches.
03:00He believes having a more dedicated coach will help to get them up to the mark against the top teams in the world.
03:07These athletes have great coaches, don't get me wrong, they've got club coaches.
03:11But as a federation, there's a lack of, yeah, there's a lack of coaches within the federation to get that consistency.
Be the first to comment