Top RI women coaches gain int’l accreditation

JAKARTA: The Australian Embassy and the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) joined forces on Tuesday to present an Australian strength-and-conditioning coaching course to Indonesian women coaches.

In the latest sports workshop hosted by the embassy, some of Indonesia’s top women coaches gained an internationally recognized coaching accreditation through training sessions provided by the Australian Strength and Conditioning Association (ASCA).

“In Indonesia’s tradition, the physical training of athletes has been dominated by male coaches. But through the course, we will give women coaches the skills and educational background so they can lead physical training for their athletes,” KOI’s women and sports commission head Pusparani Hakim said in a statement sent to The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

“So far, we have run six ASCA Level 1 courses ... but these courses were mostly attended by male coaches. Number of women participants who have completed the course was less than 10,” she added.

Australian charge d’affaires David Engel said the increasing number of accredited Indonsian women coaches was a step to make better the nation’s sports. The ASCA is a professional development body for strength and conditioning coaches in Australia. It represents over 2000 accredited coaches who are involved in athletes’ and teams’ coaching at all levels.