Who are your role model(s) in the sport? Have you ever met him/her?
My role models are Caster Semenya and Bongi Msomi. I have met Bongi Msomi but I have never met Caster and would love to at some time in the future.

What is your most memorable personal sporting moment?
The South African Spar Proteas netball team winning agai

nst England’s Roses team. I cannot remember the year but I remember it was my birthday on that day.

What is your most memorable other sporting moment that doesn’t involve you?
In 2010 when South Africa hosted the Fifa World Cup on home soil.

In terms of your travels, what has been your favourite city and why?
I have not travelled much as yet. I would like to travel to United

States because I would really like to see myself in New York city!

Where in South Africa do you live? 
In Johannesburg

What is your favourite app on your phone?
Definitely WhatsApp

What is your favourite TV show? 
Gomora

What else do you do outside of sports coaching, ie, what’s your “day job”?
I am a University student

Is there anything that you’ve done in lockdown that you will continue doing permanently from now on?
I started learning how to cook!

Finish the sentence. My sport is the best because …
It brings women together and it is fun and exciting

Who are your role models in the sport?
Phumza Maweni – I’ve met her, in Mossel Bay – Peace Proscovia and Mwai Kumwenda. Hopefully I’ll get to meet her at the 2023 Netball World Cup in Cape Town

What is your most memorable personal sporting moment?
As coach of Eden Under-19 Team 2019, when we won the gold medal at the National Under-19 Netball Championship 2019 in the B-Division. It was an extremely proud and humbling moment.

What is your most memorable other sporting moment that doesn’t involve you?
The Springboks winning the three Rugby Cups yes, but the announcement that South Africa will host the 2023 Netball World Cup in Cape Town is by far the BEST (#PutYourHandsUp2023)

In terms of your travels, what has been your favourite city and why?
My favourite city so far is Durban. I just fell in love with this beautiful part of our country when I visited her in 2017 while attending Spar National Championship

Where in South Africa do you live?
I stay in Herbertsdale (it’s a small rural farming town just outside Mossel Bay).

What is your favourite app on your phone?
My favourite app on my phone is between Whatsapp and Facebook

What is your favourite TV show? 
I’m a real series fan and I follow a lot but here are a few (laughs). Grey Anatomy, Bull, All Rise, For the People, Chicago Fire / Med / PD, NCIS, Madam Secretary, etc. (They are programmes that inspire and educate me)

What else do you do outside of sports coaching, ie, what’s your “day job”?
I am a Fire Fighter by profession

Is there anything that you’ve done in lockdown that you will continue doing permanently from now on?
As an essential / frontline worker I did not have the opportunity to work from home, but what I appreciate most about lockdown is the valuable family time (we even got back to house church and communion) – the reset button on that was refreshing

Finish the sentence. My sport is the best because …
My sport is the best because I’m passionate about it, keeps me fit and enables me to give hope and help to less privileged children

Who are your role model(s) in sport?
I do not have one specific role model, I believe that everyone is unique and all offer different qualities and I thus strive to learn from all that are around me.

What is your most memorable personal sporting moment as a Sports Coach?
The memorable moments continue to stay with me each day as I coach the members of my teams , one specific thing that stands out is seeing a swimmer’s face light up when they achieve something that they have never managed to achieve before – it speaks to their realisation that they matter and that they are capable of doing anything.

What is your most memorable other sporting moment?
On top of being devoted to Lifesaving, I am a huge tennis fan. The 2018 Wimbledon semi-final between Kevin Anderson and John Isner was a favourite, it was a Wimbledon semi-final for the history books and I had my entire family on their toes and in front of the television.

In terms of your travels, what has been your favourite city and why?
No country in the world can rival the beauty that South Africa has to offer. I still and always will love Cape Town the most of all places. I would however like to experience as mush of the world as possible – with Australia and New Zealand being on my list of places that must be seen. Cities such as Auckland, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane come to mind.

What made you decide to get into Sports Coaching?
Easy answer: My children and I became so involved in sports that it evolved into becoming a large part of our everyday lives – I am thankful that it turned out that way. They are all grown up at this point , with one – quite ironically – studying in Cape Town , perhaps aiming to make me jealous! I enjoy continuing the dedication to sport and giving other sportspeople the opportunities to compete, even though my own children do not competitively participate any longer.

As a Sports Coach, what do you think should be prioritised in our sports at grassroots level?
Emphasis should first and foremost be placed on the love of sport, self-belief and the development of our youth. We must enable them to build a foundation that will forever allow them to achieve things in life. Furthermore, we should prioritise things such as nutrition and psychology as we aim towards developing our young sports people.

Are you/would you like to be involved in assisting other Sports Coaches become professionally certified?
I am more than willing to assist in the future, for the moment I want to focus on the development of myself as a coach; this will inevitably place me in a very good position from which I can assist other coaches to walk the same path that I did.

Where in South Africa do you live? 
Bloemfontein

What is your favourite app on your phone?
Absa – because I have a student in Cape Town who never stops eating.

What is your favourite TV show? 
Game of Thrones

Finish the sentence. My sport is the best because …
It is a team sport that requires cooperation and support from everyone since it is packed with complicated skills and techniques.

Who are your role model(s) in the sport? Have you ever met her?
Karla Pretorius. I played in a team with her in university. She is such a humble person, no matter the things she has achieved.

What is your most memorable personal sporting moment?
Being among the top shooters of the then Brutal Fruit players.

What is your most memorable other sporting moment that doesn’t involve you?
There is a video of Renske Stoltz in the England fast 5 where she just shoots long shot after long shot. Her team has got so much faith in her and she has so much confidence. It’s amazing!

In terms of your travels, what has been your favourite city and why?
For sport my favourite has to be Durban, I love the ocean as well as the freshness of the air.

Where in South Africa do you live?
Kimberley, Northern Cape (see why I love going to the ocean)

What is your favourite app on your phone?
Probably Whats app, it allows me to stay connected with family and friends.

What is your favourite TV show?
Any comedy show where I can just relax and not have to think too much. At the moment I’m rewatching Friends.

What else do you do outside of sports coaching?
Well, I am a teacher. So that and coaching takes up a lot of my time. Otherwise I like taking on creative projects like sewing, painting, photography and other crafts. Something to keep my hands busy.

Finish the sentence. If I wasn’t so actively involved in netball I’d be …
Traveling all over South Africa with my friends in my spare time.

In the next of our “Getting To Know Your SASCA Sports Coaches” series, we chat to netball’s Nicolene Martin who celebrates her birthday on 18 July. Here she tells us a little more about herself.

Who is your role model in the sport? Have you ever met him?
Cricket’s Hansie Cronje, the former Proteas captain. No, I never did meet him

What is your most memorable personal sporting moment?
The 2010 Fifa World Cup which was staged in South Africa. It was an amazing event and part of our history

What is your most memorable other sporting moment that doesn’t involve you?
The 2011 Netball World Cup that was held in Singapore

Where in South Africa do you live?
Paarl, just outside Cape Town

What is your favourite app on your phone?
Google – I use it a lot!

What is your favourite TV show?
NCIS

Finish the sentence. My sport is the best because ….
It allows me to spent time with and work with under-privileged children

Who are your role model in the sport? Have you ever met her?
Freda Kemp, the CEO of StellenSport and sports scientist, sports coach. I have met her and we still in contact.

What is your most memorable personal sporting moment?
When UWC qualified for the first time for the Varsity Cup competition at USSA that was hosted at UCT. This was also my first year in coaching a University team at USSA.

What is your most memorable other sporting moment that doesn’t involve you?
Attending a coaching clinic hosted by Norma Plummer and Nicole Cusack. It’s was enlightening and inspirational.

In terms of your travels, what has been your favourite city and why? If you haven’t travelled, what city would you most like to visit, and why?
Potchefstroom, people there are very welcoming and helpful. Potchefstroom is so small you get to know the place on the first day and don’t need a GPS (laughs). The amenities are close to each other that you can access a laundromat to a shop to a restaurant within walking distance. When we visited a restaurant the waiter and manager was so welcoming that it felt like they knew us … like regulars going there. This is really a great place to be when playing a week long tournament like USSA.

Where in South Africa do you live?
Bellville, Cape Town

What is your favourite app on your phone?
Tom Tom Sports (running watch app)

What is your favourite TV show?
SWAT

Finish the sentence. My sport is the best because ….
It caters for young and old. Netball gives opportunities on all levels (administrator, coach, umpire, technical official, etc) for people to be involved.