A programme to deepen the reserve of top black coaches in South Africa has culminated in the graduation of 11 ‘students’ from an Elite Coaching Programme run by SA Rugby.
The graduates completed an intensive 18-month programme of learning, mentoring, practical sessions and testing. Seven of the original 18 entrants fell by the wayside during the challenging process.
“It’s not just a piece of paper that you have earned, it’s a tangible reward for a lot of hard work and effort,” said Rassie Erasmus, SA Rugby Director of Rugby. “You have had a chance to enhance your skills in a way that most other coaches did not have. Although SARU can’t make promises, we will look at you first when there are opportunities.”
HAVE YOU ALSO READ?: SA Rugby and Marker collaborate on concussion research
Hilton Adonis, the SA Rugby Manager: Coaching Education, said the objective of the programme was to create a pool of elite high-performance coaches equipped to successfully navigate the demands of the HP coaching environment, with focus areas including personal mastery, leadership development and change management.
“The programme was developed with coaches and academics to build the capacity of the coaches and included coaching philosophy, diversity management, dealing with the media, stakeholder relationship and strategic planning,” he said. “The programme concluded with a professional review by a peer coaching council.”
The graduates were:
• Etienne Fynn (Cell C Sharks)
• David Manuel (Eastern Province)
• Norman Jordaan (DHL Western Province)
• Phiwe Nomlomo (Cell C Sharks)
• Jonathan Mokuena (Lions)
• Wilbur Kraak (DHL Western Province)
• Joey Mongalo (Cell C Sharks)
• Jason Oliphant (Cell C Sharks)
• Hanyani Shimange (DHL Western Province)
• Franzel September (Boland)
• Labeeb Levy (DHL Western Province)