Universities facing new problems
But they are coming up with solutions
THE outbreak of the coronavirus has posed its fair share of ups and downs for university sports gurus in their 2021 recruitment.
The absence of live sports action has robbed coaches of their traditional window to spot the talent on offer around the country.
Former South Africa netball captain and current Stellenbosch University coach Zanele Mdodana said the Covid19 lockdown has created an opportunity to rethink the way she goes about recruitment.
She has remained positive and has been proactively engaging coaches to scout for netball players that could further their careers at Stellenbosch.
“Usually recruitment for Maties Netball is a massive challenge,” said Mdodana. “There are many amazing players out there, but the university has a very high academic standard. It is not always possible to help these prospective student-athletes.
“Other universities such as Tuks (Pretoria) and Kovsies (Free State) have good netball programmes, and they usually make offers to the cream of the crop here in the Western Cape.
“This is my fourth year as Maties Netball Head Coach, and it is by far the best year since I started.
“We receive many applications from players we have identified without asking them to apply.
“The good players are here (in the Western Cape), and we want to keep them. I have not seen these players in action, but I have spoken to their coaches and trainers.
“I want to thank them for the brutal honesty for how they shared information. I am so excited to work with these players. This coronavirus just might have worked out to our advantage!
“There are a lot of conversations that take place. Options are put on the table and discussed, but I never make a promise before I know that this player can handle life as a student-athlete at Stellenbosch University.”
Mdodana’s rugby counterpart at Stellenbosch Drikus Hancke feels the pandemic has robbed him of a chance to unearth raw talent that often surfaces at lesser-known schools.
“The biggest loss is that we are not able to find the ‘diamonds in the rough’ at events,” said Hancke. “They are often players at smaller schools.
“We pride ourselves that we recruit players because of the way our Young Guns (Under-20) Head Coach Kabamba Floors does the groundwork.”
It is not only the sports coaches that are faced with fresh challenges.
The Deputy Director: High Performance at Maties Sport, Sean Surmon, said another challenge was to ensure that after months of inactivity, students are sufficiently prepared to reboot their sports careers.
“We are working hard with our current student-athletes.
“We do check-ins and make sure we give them all the support and information they need in this time,” said Surmon.
“For me, the next big challenge is making our firstyear and current students ready for collision sport.
“Being fit is one thing but taking contact is a whole different story. We always have a lot of injuries when it comes to first years,” he said.