Hockey thrives under ex-Olympian
At the Diocesan School For Girls (DSG), hockey could hardly be in better shape. Not only has captain Sandisiwe Tabata broken into the national U21 team, but their first team has finished a second season ranked among the top four girls’ sides in the country. Steering the ship is former Olympic goalkeeper Chris Hibbert, and he shows no sign of slowing down.
Hibbert previously coached at DSG – as well as Rhodes University and St Andrew’s College – in 2005 and 2006, while he was still playing hockey professionally. Hibbert returned to his former town in 2014 as DSG’s Director of Sport, Head of Hockey, and First Team Coach.
When he arrived, Hibbert met Tabata, who was in Grade 10 at the time and already a mainstay in the first team.
He has since presided over her development as she has worked her way up to captain of the U18 national side and earned herself a spot in the U21 squad for the Junior World Cup in Chile.
Hibbert, who represented South Africa at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, admitted to having been struck by Tabata’s work rate, and claimed that she could go on to emulate him should it never falter. He said: “(Tabata) has got what it takes to go all the way and one day play international hockey if she keeps working hard and remains injury-free.”
This year, Tabata has been far from the only first-team star who has shone for DSG. At August’s FNB Private Wealth Super 12 Hokkietoernoei in Bloemfontein, which was contested between last year’s 12 top schools in the country, DSG finished fifth.
Hibbert insisted that DSG “could have gone one or two (places) better,” but was pleased with his side’s consistency, as they finished the year ranked fourth in the country, having ended 2015 in third.
He has also once again assumed coaching duties at Rhodes since his return, guiding the women’s first team through the 2014 and 2015 season and presiding over the men’s first team in 2015 and 2016.
Although his DSG duties have consumed much of his time, he has nonetheless managed to capture hearts at the Rhodes Hockey Club.
First team men’s captain Ryan Howden said: “He is experienced and brings a different dynamic to the game in just about every training session,” while club chairperson Kelly Mzobe said: “He understands a lot and he gives us the independence to make decisions for ourselves regarding our playing while also continuously guiding us into the right direction.”
Perhaps the most noteworthy praise came from Tabata, the star he has helped mould, who said: “No matter what a team looks like on paper, Mr Hibbert has a way (of) being able to create strength in unity, create a culture of playing the game for the love of it, and encourage players to be driven to be better than they were the last time they were on the turf.”