By Neto Baptiste
Former national footballer and now head coach of the West Virginia Wesleyan College men’s football team, Glenn Francis, believes a deeper effort must be made to ensure that student-athletes moving to the US to pursue studies at colleges are fully equipped to do so.
Francis, who was recently promoted to head coach of the Bobcats, identified funding as one of the major issues normally affecting those players from the Caribbean but said athletes must also be well-rounded.
“For kids to come to the States, most parents in Antigua cannot afford to be spending the money, so they are going to need the support of either the government or the football association. Are we doing enough? I don’t think so. but at the same time we have to make certain we are checking all these boxes so when we send students up here [USA] that we are sending battle tested students that can survive. The reality here is that it one comes and that person fails then all of a sudden, coaches don’t want to recruit from Antigua because that person didn’t live up to expectations,” he said.
The Antiguan, who also played locally for the Freeman’s Village FC and SAP FC, was appointed in May at Wesleyan College. He hopes one day to have the opportunity to share his knowledge with Antigua and Barbuda and the rest of the world.
“I’ve put myself in a situation that, as I keep on doing what I am doing, I am expanding my wings, keep on learning and doing that stuff that eventually, I see myself coaching at a national level. If it’s not Antigua it’s going to be some place else and that’s something I can guarantee you,” he said.
Francis’ coaching career began in 2003 when he joined Wesleyan as the assistant men’s coach for legendary Gavin Donaldson. Then in 2005, Francis was named as the head coach of Bobcats’ women’s football team. During his six-year tenure, he turned the program around to claim the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship for three straight seasons from 2007 through 2009. He was named Coach of the Year in 2007 and 2008.
