Edward Marshall - coaching basketball to build players

Not many people can boast a rewarding career in coaching basketball in Jamaica, and though he can, coach Edward 'Ted' Marshall admits that making players better is more encouraging than championships.

Marshall, a popular coaching figure in the sport locally, has been doing the feat for over 15 years, at multiple levels to include national, collegiate and business house.

He told THE STAR how he got started and where his inspiration came from.

"I got started as a coach because of my brother Roger Marshall. It's not a family thing. He coached me and idolised me and I did the same and that's how I began," Marshall said.

Marshall has coached teams such as The Gleaner Company (2012 Champions - Business House Division Two), National Bakery (Business House), Tivoli Gardens (Multiple Champions - National League), Jamaica Fire Brigade (Inner City League Division One) and Caribbean Maritime Institute (Collegiate).

When asked what was his greatest accomplishment, Marshall told THE STAR, "My greatest accomplishment is not winning, but seeing players improve by what I teach them."

He lists winning back-to-back national championship titles in 2011 and 2012 with Tivoli Gardens as his most memorable coaching experience.

When asked what was his worst experience as a coach, he said, "That was when they threw me out of a game and banned me."

He also told THE STAR that he simply paid the fine and did the time.

Marshall told THE STAR that he would encourage persons to become coaches.

MORE COACHES NEEDED

He said, "I would tell them to start from the youth and come up. Get involved in a school programme and get them to learn the basics, and that will guide them because basketball is about using the basics."

Basketball is not the most popular sport in Jamaica, however, according to Marshall certain limitation in coaching needs to be addressed.

"Some of the coaches don't really love it; they just do it as a job. Other limitations include certification and lack of training," said Marshall.

On the topic of rewards, the no-nonsense coach said, "I think, once you are certified, you should be rewarded. Once they see the hard work and improvements in players, coaches should be rewarded."

Marshall said he is looking to continue his coaching stints in 2016 as he seeks to build more basketball players.