Coach has eyes set on talent
Van Rooyen previously played for Wits FC but his football career was hampered by injuries
Aspirant coach, Tiro van Rooyen (27), recently assisted the South African Olympic soccer team with their qualification rounds for Rio 2016.
Van Rooyen hails from the Lowveld. “My work as a performance analyst with the South African national teams has given me the opportunity to do consulting work for the senior national team as well. I assisted them with their qualification rounds to participate in the 2017 African Cup of Nations,” he told Lowvelder.
He still remembers when he was scouted to represent the Lowveld region in the u/17 Coca-Cola Cup.
“That gave me a lot of exposure. Soon after that I was selected to play for the u/17 national team,” he said.
He previously played for Wits FC but his football career was hampered by injuries. However, because he loves the game, Van Rooyen decided to take another route to remain in the sport.
He successfully completed a Sport Science Degree at the University of Pretoria. “That allowed me to be actively involved in football as a coach and later as a performance analyst,” he said.
“I was privileged to have also been roped in to be part of a team of analysts that went to the u/17 Fifa World Cup in Chile last year. It was a great experience for me,” he said.
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In 2014 he completed his CAF B coaching badge and said he will use it to pursue a new purpose in coaching. “My immediate dream is to enrol for a CAF A coaching certificate. That will enable me to secure a place in the Bafana Bafana coaching team,” he said.
“I took my time off from Gauteng to come to the province in order to establish a working relationship with some of the local football clubs but that didn’t work well,” he said.
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He added that he would love to help mentor up-and-coming footballers because he believes the province has a lot of potential.
As a performance analyst, he gets the opportunity to interact with coaches regularly, delivering post-match analysis and the latest trends in the Premier Soccer League.
“I believe the province has a lot of talented footballers and I want to help unearth this talent,” he concluded.
