At home on the water and behind the oars

Rowing and Germiston High School fit comfortably in the same sentence, as the school has been a proud rowing school for decades.

Helping the young rowers of Germiston High School Rowing Club pursue their passion and reach their goals is head coach Lebohang Mashigo (23).

The GCN first met Mashigo in January 2019 after the school’s rowing fraternity suffered a crushing blow when the school’s boathouse at Germiston Lake, which stored their boats and other equipment, was destroyed by an unforgiving storm.

ALSO READ: Rowing community comes together to overcome tragedy

But we wanted to find out more about the man behind the oars and his rowing journey.

“I got involved in rowing when I was in Grade Six at Galway Primary School,” Mashigo said.

“I was recruited by a man called Keith Maybery to row for the Germiston High School Rowing Academy (at the time) in November 2009.

“When I started my high school career at Germiston High my rowing continued.”

The rowing ‘bug’ bit Mashigo not only because it wasn’t a well-known sport, but also because it offered a physical and mental challenge.

“I felt and still feel at home when I am rowing,” he said.

Describing the sport, Mashigo said it is not only a sport, but a lifestyle.

“Starting at the bottom you work your way through a number of challenges,” he said.

“The challenges start with learning how to balance a boat, which comes with its own difficulties depending on the person, but once you’ve faced your fears of falling into the water, you move on to the next level, which is learning the techniques that will help you make the boat move.

“This level requires time, discipline, focus, hard work, consistency and patience, all aspects that can be applied in everyday life when striving to succeed in a specific career.

“Then finally the race comes.

“Yes, you will get butterflies at the start line, which is normal.

“Once the racing begins you will need to focus and recall all your training, keeping the goals you have set for yourself close at hand.

“All of this will allow you to tap into your full potential and ensure your boat’s bow ball is the first one over the finish line.”

Mashigo officially became the school’s head coach in 2018, but began his training career in 2015.

“In August 2015, I was in matric at the time, I managed to get a part-time coaching job at the Victoria Lake Club’s Water Sport Institute.

“I was then hired as junior coach at Germiston High School Rowing Club in January 2016.

“In February of the same year I became the u-16 coach and was moved up again in September of the same year and began coaching the school’s u-19 rowers.

“I became an acting head coach in May 2017, and in January 2018, I was officially the head coach of the Germiston High School Rowing Club,” said Mashigo proudly.

But Mashigo is not only the head coach at Germiston High School.

He is also an assistant coach at the University of Johannesburg Rowing Club and in his free time helps with Rowing South Africa’s (RowSA) indoor rowing programme.

Mashigo feels the most important thing to remember when coaching is understanding that you’re dealing with different people from different backgrounds who have different personalities.

“Make sure that you as the coach and the athlete understand the main reason why you are working together,” said Mashigo.

“Respect the athlete as much as you would want to be respected, don’t be too serious and make yourself approachable.

“Crack jokes during your sessions, especially technical sessions to avoid athletes getting bored.

“Provide different types of the most common examples to help improve understanding from the athlete’s perspective.

“Always give credit where it’s needed and provide words of motivation in difficult times.”

ALSO READ: Germiston High rowers propel to greater lengths

The biggest highlight for Mashigo as Germiston High coach came in 2019 when two of his rowing coaches, Mosa Leballo and Tokelo Dhlamini, and their athletes managed to keep their heads held high and celebrate great performances at every regatta, even after their rowing shed collapsed.

“We would not have been able to do it without our school and the help of the rowing community,” he said.

The school has tackled the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown by training at home.

“Honestly as much as these are tough times and we can’t meet or get on the water, it doesn’t mean that the training must stop,” he said.

“Our athletes are still training at home whilst also focusing on their books.

“We, as the coaches, have trained them to always try and remain positive, and most importantly, safe during this pandemic as we will be getting on the water soon after this wave cools down.”

Looking to the future, Mashigo aims to become an entrepreneur, as well as excelling in his career as a rowing coach.

Have a story?

Contact the newsroom by emailing: Melissa Hart (Editor) germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za, Leigh Hodgson (News Editor) leighh@caxton.co.za or Busi Vilakazi (Journalist) busiv@caxton.co.za.

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