Meet Thembisa’s netball coach: Olian Mampuru Thobejane
He began his career of being a coach, he has learned that netball is not just a sport but a life orientation.
Olian Mampuru Thobejane (36) is a netball coach for the U19 team called Chasers from Phomolong Section in Thembisa.
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Thobejane said that he started coaching in 2012 and was inspired by his passion and desire to share the experience and talent that he has with other netball players.
He said that during his journey of being a coach, there were various challenges that he had to face such as finding sponsorship for his team, buying equipment, and travelling to training and games.
“Most companies are still reluctant to support netball.
“It is still a predominantly female sport so it’s quite a struggle to get support from companies,” said Thobejane.
Due to his hard work and determination as a netball coach, he managed to achieve several things such as being a head coach for the Ekurhuleni U19 team.
“I have two gold and two silver medals for Telkom Netball Championships U19 and I recently won a gold medal at the males’ championships 2023 in royal Bafokeng North West,’’ he said.
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According to Mampuru, since he began his career of being a coach, he has learned that netball is not just a sport but a life orientation.
“Looking back on how I grew up, a lot would have gone wrong so coaching and sharing the talent I have kept me away from the street, which made me learn that netball is not just a sport but it is life orientation,” said the coach.
He added that he enjoys coaching as it helps him to save young people’s lives by keeping them off the streets and sharing with them the talent that he has.
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“In future, I see myself as a national head coach and coaching one of the biggest team,’’ he told the Thembisan.
Thobejane advised anyone who wants to pursue a career of being a netball coach to first have a passion for sports and invest their time in their teams and never be afraid to look for help if they need help.
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