Aspiring soccer mentors earn coaching stripes

Aspiring coaches from across the city completed their Confederation of African Football (CAF) D Licence course at Rocklands Sports Complex over the weekend. Hosted by Local Football Association Mitchell’s Plain (LFAMP), the course, conducted over three weekends, offered participants a hands-on approach towards learning the basics of guiding young players.

They listened, practiced, and had their skills tested, all in an effort to improve their understanding of coaching methodology and, of course, to obtain their first coaching credentials. As any coach worth his or her salt might say, effective communication — on and off the field — is a key component of the process, something which took on a special significance as the coaches from the deaf community were also included in the group of 32 that took part in this edition.

LFAMP technical and coaching head, Michelle de Wet, said the course encourages inclusivity and is available to anyone interested in coaching soccer or seeking a better understanding of the game and the rules that govern it.

“Ndipiwe Masiba, one of the deaf coaches, sent me an email, expressing that he and a few of his colleagues at Cape Town City Deaf FC would like to register for the course. They saw the posters of the course on our social media pages,” she said. 

“When Ndipiwe asked me if they could register and if we would have an interpreter available for them, I jumped at the chance to include them in the course and approached Eric Mahamba to do the sign language interpreting for us,” she said.

Mahamba, from Khayelitsha, a sign language interpreter for the Heathfield-based Deaf Community of Cape Town, offered participants a few lessons of his own, reminding them that sign language is South Africa’s 12th official language.

“What I learned from the course was the concept of critical thinking. It helped me analyze information more carefully and make better decisions,” he said.

De Wet said the CAF-D License course was specifically designed to assist grassroots-level coaches in obtaining the entry-level coaching qualification and is the first step towards obtaining a professional coaching license.

She said there are several more steps in place before coaches can obtain a professional coaching license — CAF-C, CAF-B, and CAF-A, and, finally, the elite CAF Pro License, the highest license offered by CAF and an equivalent to other professional licenses.

“These CAF coaching courses are formal coaching courses, recognised and instituted by the Confederation of African Football. The aim is to empower our grassroots coaches with the basic fundamental principles, knowledge, skills, and rules necessary to deliver age-appropriate and holistic training to junior players in our region,” she said.

Besides the fundamentals of the game, the course also covered all kinds of circumstances that players might find themselves in and how to deal with them, de Wet said.

She said tasks were given after each class to assess understanding of the lessons, culminating with the ultimate test on the final day.

Coaching instructor Zane Ryklief, along with the lead CAF instructor, Donovan Solomons, put the candidates through their paces, making sure they understood the football content and were able to prepare and conduct a coaching session.

“It's important that we send coaches back into communities with a full understanding of what it requires to coach and to give them the correct structure and knowledge to do so,” said Ryklief, technical director at LFAMP affiliate Ikapa Sporting FC. 

“My message to coaches is to equip themselves with the correct tools to coach, “ he said.

Zeekoevlei High soccer coach and sports co-ordinator Jordan Gysman agrees, saying that’s exactly why he decided to register for the course.

“I knew I had to start somewhere and thought this was the perfect opportunity,” said Gysman, who guided the school’s under-19 to victory at last year’s Wynberg Boys soccer festival. 

Now I can give back to the young footballers I coach,” said Gysman, who is also a member of Wolverhampton FC.

“For me, the best part of the course has to be the friendships and connections I’ve made over the last three weeks. The industry is about networking, and sometimes, who you know plays a big part in football,” he said.

“The instructors were top-tier as well; they shared their experiences over the years.”

Brandon Truter, from Beacon Valley, a respected coach in amateur and professional circles, encouraged the newly-licenced coaches to stay on course, to be willing to accept advice, and to be open to evolving with the game.

With coaching stints at various professional sides and having played the game at high levels, Truter certainly knows what he’s talking about.

"The D-License will soon become compulsory for a person to coach at LFA level as Safa National will implement the club licensing system in the near future. So it is very important to obtain one's licence should one wish to coach, even at an amateur club," he said.

In a message to aspiring coaches, he said: “Stay humble and have a servant mindset, because you are dealing with people and their futures.”

LFAMP vice president, Ricardo Meyer, considers the course a stepping stone to bigger things, saying the participants should use the knowledge gained to their advantage and to enhance others.

Give back to the community, especially our youth that we serve. What we put in is what we get out. We should inspire others and create opportunities for our youth,” he said.