Boksburg’s Du Plessis named CGA Coach of the Year
She coached Lythe Pillay and Leendert Koekemoer who received medals at several major world athletics competitions, including the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, where they were part of the SA men's 4x400m relay team that clinched a bronze medal.
After guiding her elite athletes to medals at major world events, Lindi du Plessis was named the Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA) Coach of the Year at the organisation’s end-of-season awards at Melrose Arch on December 7.
“It’s a privilege to stand here. It wouldn’t be possible without my athletes’ hard work and commitment,” said Du Plessis.
The Libradene, Boksburg, resident guided former national and world junior 400m champion Lythe Pillay to the one-lap dash title at the FISU World University Games in Germany in July.
Under Du Plessis’ mentorship, Pillay and Leendert Koekemoer received gold and bronze medals at the World Athletics (WA) Relay Championships in May and WA Championships in September as part of South Africa’s 4x400m relay team.
Koekemoer also smashed the national U20 record at the ASA Senior Championships in April after clocking 45.03 seconds to take 0.12 seconds off Riaan Dempers’ 1994 time of 45.15 seconds.
“It was a tough year with ups and downs, but it ended well. Our focus was on the major event, the World Championships in Tokyo. We focused on endurance training and then tapering. With Lythe, we had the World Student Games. Our goal there was to qualify him for the world champs.”
Du Plessis holds an ASA Level Two coaching certificate and hopes to upgrade to a Level Three, which focuses on advanced coaching skills, performance analysis, and developing high-level athletes.
She has 15 years of experience, having started coaching in 2010 after a long career as an athlete. She’s also a development coach and had six athletes compete at nationals this year.
Although she recognises the value of coaching qualifications, Du Plessis believes her background as a former athlete gives her an edge, allowing her to understand the sport’s demands firsthand.
“They are important, but you must have experienced the sport firsthand. I was an athlete and competed at the World Student Games in 2006. The experience you have as a former athlete plays a big role in preparing your athletes.
“You know what works and doesn’t work on the track. Listening to your athletes while coaching is most important to ensure they are also emotionally and physically healthy because these play a part in their performance,” she said.
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