Coach Steve Barker, as per the old cliché, has become part of the furniture at Stellenbosch FC, where he has successfully overseen the club's first team for the last six years. Not going anywhere soon, he recently penned a new long-term deal with the Cape Winelands outfit to keep him at the club at least until 2026 and it appears that he is repaying their faith after guiding Stellies to their first-ever cup final having emphatically beaten Richards Bay FC in the Carling Knockout Cup semifinal last weekend. The former University of Pretoria coach was recently in Johannesburg to complete the first part of his CAF A Licence qualification, which is where Soccer Laduma's Delmain Faver caught up with him to talk about the return of the course to SAFA, his backroom staff and the rise of the club's next big star Jayden Adams.
Delmain Faver: Coach Steve, thank you so much for your time. You were a part of 26 coaches selected to complete the first part of the CAF A Licence through SAFA, something that hasn't been available for the last six years or so. Would you let us in on your thoughts about the course itself and what it does for both established and aspiring coaches in the country?
Steve Barker: I think it's obviously a necessity and it (unavailability) has obviously really made it difficult for some of the coaches on the continent without having a CAF A Licence. So, it has taken a while, but we have to give credit to SAFA for eventually complying and getting everything into place to have the course presented. So, well done with that and it is obviously a massive opportunity for a lot of coaches to grow and develop and learn. There's a nice mix of coaches on the course from really experienced to the younger coaches coming through the ranks and I think a lot of knowledge and experiences will be shared and imparted. I think it will bode well for the up-and-coming coaches and we are never too old to learn either. Already, in the time that I was there, I have learned reminders about certain things that we need to be doing and haven't done and going back to the basics during your coaching that sometimes you neglect if you don't keep yourself, sort of, doing courses. I have been looking forward to be doing a course, whether it be here or abroad, so I am delighted to be on the course and looking forward to sharing knowledge with the rest of the group.
DF: According to the SAFA website, one of the things that you guys focused on as a module is how to improve the state of South African football, which obviously cannot be answered in one question. But just off the top of your head, what are the main areas that have been identified? What is it that needs to be tackled to go about improving the state of football in the country?
SB: Yeah, I think as you say, it's vey broad and there are many factors that need to be looked at, I think, but as coaches our biggest responsibility is our level of coaching. From grassroots all the way through to professional level, the standard of coaching needs to be of the level that we provide the environment for players to be challenged, for them to grow, for them to improve both from a technical and tactical level. I think our players are technically gifted as young players, but I think tactically there's a lot of work that needs to be done and improved on and courses like this will help coaches improve their tactical coaching, their technical coaching. So, it's our responsibility on the field to improve the standard of South African football. There are many other factors that are not coach-driven and that need to be addressed, but that's our responsibility.
DF: Do you think it improves the overall product of the PSL? There's a lot being said about coaches without the necessary qualifications, which makes it difficult for coaches to sit on the bench in African inter-club competitions. Does having a course like this play a role in adding more weight to the local scene in terms of coaching?
SB: No, I think it goes without saying and that's why people go to universities, and the higher the level of education of our country, the higher the level of education of individuals within our society. It always uplifts the standards, and it›s no different in coaching. So, the more coaches that are well qualified and learning and growing from these experiences and becoming better coaches, it will definitely help the level of coaching and learning the standard of football in South Africa.
DF: Obviously this is the CAF A Licence. One can imagine that the next step afterwards assume is a Pro Licence. As a UEFA A Licence holder, is that the next logical step for you and what timeline are you looking at to achieve this?
SB: Yes, that's correct, I think that would be. I have got my UEFA A, so after the CAF A, I think I need to get my Pro Licence, which would definitely be on the cards, but I think the first focus is to first pass this. You have to pass A before you can go on Pro. So, yeah, let me enjoy the course and learn from it and then, yeah, we'll take the next course when it's time.
DF: How was the timing of the course from your perspective because at the time it was happening, you had to focus on a tricky DStv Premiership run as well as the Carling Knockout, of which you have now reached the final, where you will be taking on TS Galaxy?
SB: Look, Wesley (Sergel), my assistant coach, was also with me. But we've had trust and faith in our support staff back home in Evangelos Vellios, our DDC (DStv Diski Challenge) coach. He is a really quality coach, he's also experienced and also coached at the highest level. So, the players were in capable hands and maybe it was a good thing for them to not see our faces and voices, just to have a bit of a different environment. But, yeah, we obviously chatted daily and we had contact with the coaches and our processes are there, we know what we want to do. We have our structures that work, so whether we are there or not, things will continue. So, yeah, we enjoyed and then got back to work as soon as we could and prepared for a big week with the matches against AmaZulu FC away, back home to Cape Town Spurs and then back to Richards Bay FC for the semifinal.
DF: While we safeguard against overhyping players and singling them out, one has to ask about Jayden Adams, who, despite being only 22, has already reached the 100-match mark in the topflight, which came just after he was selected for Bafana Bafana. You must be proud of his growth given the fact that it was you who promoted him to the first team…
SB: I think he's only young in,sort of, being selected at Bafana. I think in age and experience, he's not young. I think he got his 100th cap in the PSL, so I think he's got that experience. I'm not worried in terms of him being young, I think that experience of playing he's got, and he's an exceptionally talented, gifted, technically good player and I think the experience and the maturity of having played in the PSL for a number of years, he's starting to show in consistently good performances, performances with maturity, performances that are match-winning and so he fully deserves his opportunity and he's got a bright future.
