Cuban coach with a lot of experience in badminton, Jose Antonio Couto, works in Peru training new athletes, but his extensive knowledge has allowed him to provide trainings for coaches throughout our region.
Tony, as Jose Antonio is known, got to know our sport several years ago and has had the opportunity to contribute his knowledge to a national team and to the development of new talents in Peruvian badminton.
“I discovered badminton in Cuba, in the year 2000, and from there I became very interested and began to become involved in this sport. The greatest opportunity I had when I came to Peru and I was able to relate to the badminton of a power such as Peru.”
Couto constantly participates in training related to badminton, either as a speaker or as an assistant. He was present at the BWF Coach Level 3 Course held in our region last year.
“I participated in the course with a great desire to know what we were going to face and I think I have fulfilled expectations. I found it a very interesting course and with new perspectives for player development.”
New knowledge presents Tony with new challenges for his professional career, both in his influence on players as well as with coaches.
“My biggest challenge is trying to change certain concepts and behaviors of us coaches in our daily practice and trying to make that change happen with the implementation of new methodologies that allow us players to grow through thought and reflection.”
As a trainer, Tony is a tutor for BWF courses in our region, he is aware of the importance of a coach constantly seeking new knowledge as this will help them to always be prepared for the continuous evolution of the sport.
“The development of the coach is permanent. Among the tools that a coach must always have is training. If we want to train talented players, the coach must be a talent. To train high-level players, we must be ahead of them. We have to be constantly updating ourselves, review the trends in our sport. The changes in the sport are going very fast and we have to anticipate those changes, be investigating and try to sustain ourselves through training. ”
During his sports career, Tony has accomplished many goals that have allowed him to continue dreaming. He currently leads the badminton coaching team of a club in Lima, Peru, but the development he sees in his athletes allow him to dream of thinking about guiding them to achieve international achievements for the country that has welcomed him for several years and has provided the opportunity to continue growing professionally.
“My great dream is to work for a national team. To have a group of players in charge and to be able to represent Peru again, accompany them and try to achieve the maximum achievements for the country. That would be a dream, but right now I am focused on the work that I have in a club and happy with the results that we are obtaining in the development of our players. “
