Inspired by Chelsea football manager Jose Mourinho, Sandtonview High School teacher and soccer coach Thabani Nyathi hopes one day he too will coach a Premier Soccer League side.
“One day I want to coach a premiership team and unearth talented players and make them the Teko Modise’s of this country,” said Nyathi who coaches the school’s soccer team in the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup. “I want to give these players the chance of playing professionally.”
Nyathi draws inspiration from the fact that he can make a difference in the players’ lives. “I am also inspired by coaches from all over the world. “Locally I look up to the likes of Gavin Hunt and Gordon Igesund, and internationally it’s Alex Ferguson, and especially Jose Mourinho. He started off as a teacher as well and I see myself following in his footsteps.”
Nyathi is well-qualified for his role. After years of playing soccer at amateur level he decided to go into coaching. He has an advanced level 4 coaching qualification, a diploma in sports management, a cricket umpiring certificate and an athletics coaching certificate.
“I am very passionate about sport in general, hence I want to be qualified in different sports,” he said. “I believe that knowledge is power and as a coach you need to be able to back your experience with a qualification.”
He likens coaching to teaching. “Coaching is the same as teaching because at the end of the day you need to transfer your knowledge to the players, and the only way of measuring your success is by the results that they show on the field. I think that being a teacher is an advantage because you use the same mechanisms you use in class on the field.”
Teamwork is what Nyathi emphasises. “We win and lose as a team. After games I never focus on a single player and I boost their confidence levels all the time. During a training session I do give credit to players that give 100 percent.
“Before every game I have words of encouragement. During half time I tell them what they did great and what they need to focus on. I applaud them when they play well.”
Nyathi’s next step is to become a fully fledged professional coach.
