BY Obakeng Maje

Nineteen (19) coaches have graduated in the South African Football Association’s (SAFA) Level 3 Pro Licence coaching course.

The graduation ceremony took place on Tuesday, 17 July 2012 at SAFA House, with the certificates being handed out by SAFA President Kirsten Nematandani, SAFA CEO Dr Robin Petersen and Markus Bollmohr, Head of Culture and Sport at the German Embassy.

Also in attendance were Ashford Mamelodi and Juerg Nepfer from FIFA.

At the beginning there were 27 coaches. Two dropped out due to work commitments, while the other six still have to complete.

The course started with the first phase six months ago (16 January), and ended last month (13 June).
“It is never too late to learn, you need to continue because the more you learn the better you become in your field. You have been given the opportunity to brighten the corner where you with this course. Go out there and make a difference and don’t wait for your certificate to do the talking for you, because ultimately it is what you do that will matter,” said SAFA President Kirsten Nematandani.

“Our gratitude goes to the German Football Association which is our partner, and this course is the climax of that relationship.”

This is the second course in two years, and carries the highest qualification on the continent. Last year 33 coaches graduated, and these include Thomas Madigage and Serame Letsoaka, who are both Bafana Bafana assistant coaches, as well as Alex Heredia who is the goalkeeper coach.

“Congratulations to the participants for succeeding in this demanding course. You are the key to the development of this country, and I am confident this Level 3 coaching course will continue for a long time to come. I am also optimistic that it will become the benchmark for South African coaches,” said Bollmohr.

The SAFA Level 3 Pro-Licence coaching course is the highest coaching qualification offered in South Africa. It was conducted over a period of seventy days (70 days) in seven phases made up of different modules covering a variety of topics.

It was conducted by SAFA Director of Coaching Education Michael Nees, with the assistance of SAFA instructors Frans Mogashoa, Steve Coetsee and Urban de Kock. Almost 30 guest lecturers were also involved in the course.

“This course took 70 days, and included the required four–week traineeship at a professional club, a lot of research, as well as the study time for exams and presentations. Some coaches might have spent up to 1000 hours learning time in relation to the course. I believe that this is a course of highest quality and intensity, and everybody who passed the 9 different exams deserves the certificate” said SAFA Director of Coaching Education Michael Nees.

Fran Hilton Smith, Technical Director of Women’s Football, and also a FIFA and CAF Instructor, says the course is ranked amongst the best in the World and that coaches were well equipped to make a difference in South African football.

Some of the topics covered included the following:

Phase 1   16 – 29 January 2012
Tactical training and Modern Match Analysis

Phase 2   6 – 15 February 2012
Modern Match and Training Analysis

Phase 3   27 Feb – 7 March 2012
Physical training and Sports Science

Phase 4   10 – 19 April 2012
Psychology and football training (Mental skill training)

Phase 5   5 – 10 May 2012
Pedagogic – teaching as an instructor, Youth Development and technical training

Phase 6   21 – 30 May 2012
Integration of all different coaching modules

Phase 7   4 – 13 June 2012
Examination and Closure

“If you thought this was the end, then you are mistaken – actually this is just the beginning of the road. We have put in the hard work, and now we must just go out there and not stop because we have certificates. We have the chance to take this process forward and return our country to greater heights,” said Augustine Makalakalane, one of the graduates.

Here is the full list of graduates:

1. Steven Bezuidenhout                 (Westville United Football Academy)
2. Alan Clark                                    (Norkem Park Primary School)
3. Rulani Mokwena                        (Mamelodi Sundowns Youth)
4. Richard Lovell                             (Diambars Football Academy)
5. Sheldon Roux                              (Durban Classic)
6. Klaas-Jan Top                             (Tiger Kloof Educational Trust)
7. Ian Palmer                                    (formerly Maritzburg United)
8. Karabo Mogudi                             (Wits University)
9. Roscoe Krieling                            (Hellenic FC)
10. Thomas Nare                              (Mamelodi Sundowns)
11. Scelo Qwabe                               (Thanda Academy, KZN)
12. Fabian Randalls                         (Mamelodi Sundowns Youth)
13. Martin Donald Mojaki                 (SAFA Francis Baard region, Head Coach)
14. Augustine Makalakalane          (North West University)
15. Ian Gorowa                                  (Mamelodi Sundowns)
16. Edwin Johannes                         (SASFA; R.B. Dithupe School)
17. Themba Ngwenya                      (Mamelodi Sundowns Development)
18. Brandon Truter                            (Cape Town All Stars)
19. Dylan Deane                                (Ajax Cape Town)

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