We were treated to some exciting and beautiful football in the Carling Knockout semi-finals where Stellenbosch FC and TS Galaxy secured their spots in the final that will be taking place at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday 16th of December. They knocked out Richards Bay FC and AmaZulu FC to effectively destroy any potential KZN derby final, which would have been history in the making. Both games were really exciting and all four teams gave it their best but, unfortunately, with the nature of knockout football, two teams had to be eliminated. I would like to wish the two teams everything of the best in the final, in over a week's time, and that should be an interesting match to watch. Both teams are enjoying a good run of form and proved to be free scoring, so it remains to be seen who the first winner of this new competition will be. On a sad note, my heartfelt condolences to Jermaine Craig's family, following his shocking passing. May his soul rest in peace.
Doc Answers Your Questions…
Please don't forget to send your questions to editor@soccerladuma.co.za for now, until further notice.
Mthuthuzeli Magqashela wants to know what is the difference between football now and back in the day when we still played?
It is not easy to pinpoint the difference, but a lot has changed since then. We played to win and entertain the supporters, through the freedom we got, and things have now evolved whereby the game model is different. Also, almost every team had four to five superstars in their team and it was not a case of just one player standing out, so that meant the competition was intense against almost every opposition. I don't like to compare generations because, to be fair, things have changed. Some of the top players of our era wouldn't even be considered by some teams or coaches these days, not because they were not good enough but simply because things have changed.
Danny Moreo wants to know if we need VAR in our football and why it is taking so long.
VAR divides opinion in the Beautiful Game because there are those who are for it, while others are against it. Also, it doesn't come cheap, especially considering most of our teams don't own the stadiums that are considered their home venues.
Being Doc
I must say certain things look difficult even before you try them out. You need to rule out any self-doubt and thinking you are not worthy. Give it a try and you will be surprised. Going up the mountain isn't easy, but the view you get on top, it is priceless. You get there and you smile. I am smiling today, thanking guys like Ngomane, Kubheka and Solomons for their contribution in my coaching career. I will tell you guys about instructor Solomons next year because we already have an interview with him on page 12 of this edition.
Coaches I've worked with: I really appreciate you!
I'm not sure if our readers are aware of some of the top coaching instructors we have in the country. I'm talking about people who are the driving force behind coaching education. I don't think they know of these guys' qualifications and how they arrange these coaching courses. They don't know how these people impact former footballers and individuals who want to get into coaching. They don't know much about how important these people are to our game. Some, if not most, of you will remember when I mentioned that coach Conti Kubheka planted the coaching seed in my career. Along the way, here I am, having crossed paths with a very knowledgeable Simon Ngomane. A very strict individual who can be one of the calmest people you will ever meet. I know this might sound contradictory, but it is the truth. Bra Simon is a no-nonsense instructor. I know some of my classmates struggled to understand him as an instructor in the beginning, but they realised that he was just taking his craft seriously and wanted only the best from everyone. This is someone who wants everything to be done on time and he never compromises.
Some of us are very fragile, but I took instructor Ngomane as someone who wanted nothing but the best for all of us while we behaved like typical students in class. I would like to believe if Bra Simon wasn't as firm as he was, most of us wouldn't have gone out of our way to understand the concepts and everything he was teaching us. In other words, he really managed to get the best out of all of us. We all understood, quickly, what it takes to become a coach through his teachings. Instructors, just like teachers, differ in their approach and style. Instructor Boebie Solomons, Kubheka and others are different in their own way and that is what sets them apart from everyone else. That's why it is important to pick up something from each individual to formulate your own approach and philosophy. We need to appreciate our instructors because these people put a lot of effort and input into South African football, without making any noise about it. Words can't describe how important these guys are to our football because of the information they share with the upcoming coaches and how they prepare them for the coaching world.
When I go around the country doing coaching workshops with my colleagues, we realise that some of our coaches are clueless because they've not undergone professional coaching and therefore don't know what coaching is really about. This puts us in serious danger because they are the catalysts of developing and preparing players for the future. That's why we find talented youngsters lacking football basics because they were not developed properly. These instructors play a major role in avoiding that because they have the South African football syllabus. They are the ones who know how everything should be done and we need to acknowledge and treat them with kid gloves. We have to let them know that we appreciate you, Mr Ngomane, Mr Kubheka, Mr Solomons and your colleagues. My first classroom encounter with instructor Ngomane made me realise the difference between receiving and giving out information. What I mean is that, as a footballer, you receive information and as a coach, you give out the information.
That really opened my eyes because this means just because you were a great player, or played at the highest level, you will not automatically become a good coach without education. You need to swallow your pride, go sit down and study in a classroom, from knowledgeable people like instructor Ngomane. That's how we can enhance our coaching and I rate this man and his colleagues very highly, having gone through their teachings myself. These are people we don't appreciate or talk about what they are doing for the country, while they are still alive. I want to say to Mr Ngomane, as much as it was not an easy road for one to travel – the course was really difficult – but I'm now a better person because of your teachings. I know more and use your approach in my teachings because it really worked. From the bottom of my heart, I really appreciate you! Why can't our mother body allow these gentlemen to come up with a unified solution on how development structures need to be run in South Africa? It looks like a fruit salad, at the moment, because different provinces do things in their own way, we have foreign invasion with people coming from countries that I believe shouldn't be coming here to teach football. Why don't we allow our own to rescue the situation and take us back to our glory days? The school sports played a major role in our football and I believe if the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture can sit and meet with these gentlemen, they can find a solution to our school sports and youth development. Other sporting codes are ahead of football at schools.
Some of us are products of school sports and if you trace school sports back, you will find that at some point, about 90% of footballers making headlines were school sports products. We have people who can take us back to those wonderful days, in our midst, but we are not making use of their expertise. I'm saying this because I don't think everyone is aware of what we have at our disposal. Mr Ngomane is one of the highly qualified individuals that I believe should be utilised in this country. Some of us have learned a lot from him, throughout the different courses at SAFA. Here we are, in possession of knowledge and qualifications that no one can take away from us. Instructor Ngomane has been working tirelessly behind the scenes and he hasn't asked for anyone to make noise about his good work on his behalf. He's an unsung hero and I really want to salute and celebrate this legend. Thank you, Mr Ngomane, for enhancing my coaching and being a mentor. I just thought I'd say these things about you while you are still alive and let you know exactly how I feel about your contribution to our football and let you know that you are being appreciated.
Doc's memory bank: For me, that was powerful!
I remember a very tense moment in class, as we were still trying to grasp the information and finding our feet in this coaching business. Before we could even crawl, Mr Ngomane told us, "You, as a coach, you need to come up with solutions when things are tough and not going according to your plan." I didn't understand what he was trying to achieve, prove or get out of us because, at the time, we didn't even know what challenges coaches come across. Years later, I realise that as a coach, if two of your players suffer from diarrhea a night before, in camp, are you going to ask for the game to be postponed? How will you manoeuvre your way around that disappointment and still go out there to get the result? A coach has to find a way around problems that they never anticipated instead of complaining. You need to come up with a solution and that's exactly the point instructor Ngomane was driving home. He also taught us not to be the coaches who start preparing their training sessions at the robot, as they are driving to training or when you get to the training field and see players getting dressed. You prepare for a weekly programme and there is a word for that, which all the coaches know. You also have to know what to do when three or so of your players are not available for a particular session that they were an important part of. You need to change the session to accommodate those who are available. As a coach, you don't complain that your players are not available and therefore you can't train or play. That is not a coach, and that's the kind of education we went through with instructor Ngomane. For me, that was powerful!
Doc's Friend Zone
The duration of the courses differ, sometimes we were together for two-three weeks, depending on the level of the course. On the last day, that's when we have so much to laugh about because we are going home. That's when we will have drinks and have fun. Then you realise that there is another side to Simon Ngomane that we didn't know. Surprisingly, Mr Ngomane can be so funny and cracking jokes, unlike the serious instructor he was throughout the course, ha, ha, ha. You know, an instructor that is so into the game, everything that comes to his mind and out of his mouth is related to football. He'd look at a room, like in a restaurant, full of people and say, "Yeses! This looks like a reinforced defence," ha, ha, ha. If you don't understand the football terms, forget about it because you need to stay on top of your football terms to get the message. Medical doctors have their own language… lawyers, teachers and all the other professions, so it is the same even in football. This remind me of a time while Mr Kubheka and I were still working for Kaizer Chiefs. We were standing outside and saw this one gentleman who came to buy club merchandise at the Village. We were looking at the way he was walking and we were like, "Hey, the load and recovery didn't take place here," ha, ha, ha. Someone not into football or coaching would have no idea what we were talking about it because those are principles of training. I remember this is how Steve Komphela and I would talk and not everyone would catch in on the conversation, unless they were clued up on the football talk.
