A recipe for success

Ballito’s Derek Heiberg is a rugby coach of note and is at the helm of College Rovers Rugby Club, which he has taken all the way to the 2017 SARU Gold Cup final.

Heiberg is currently the head coach of the Rovers as well as the director of rugby and first team coach at Glenwood Boys High School.

He has lived in Ballito since 2013 and previous to that in Cape Town where he went to Bergvliet Hoerskool and was an avid rugby and cricket player.

“I have always gravitated to rugby though, as I love the physicality of the game that goes hand in hand with sound tactical decision making and technical skill,” he said.

Heiberg has been coaching for 15 years at various levels before he joined College Rovers – including coaching positions at Wynberg Boys High School, False Bay Rugby Club, Claremont’s Villager FC, Green Point’s Hamilton SPR FC, the Western Province Women’s team at the Western Province Rugby Academy, Sharks Club XV and at Durban Collegians.

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He attributed much of his success as a coach to his time spent at the Investec International Rugby Academy in 2013, where he joined the Advanced Coaches Course to further his coaching career by working closely with former and current, international and local coaches.

“When I finished my degree in Biokenetics from UCT I also went on my own accord to New Zealand where I spent a month with the Hurricanes, a week with the Highlanders and a week in Sydney with the Waratahs all at my own cost. I wanted to learn and that experience moulded so much of the coach I want to become.”

Heiberg – a father of 16 month old twin boys – has big hopes for College Rovers in the future, something he believes goes beyond winning games.

“Naturally, we hope to claim the 2018 SARU Gold Cup victory but, to us, group success is not just measured by the number of trophies we win – we want to continue to develop our culture at the club,” said a passionate Heiberg.

Players hoping to participate at club level, according to Heiberg, should look at the club culture when selecting a team to join.

“Join a club that resonates with you as a person. Look at the environment that exists within the club, the way the players interact with each other and how the coaches relate to the players. The environment that you play in will play a huge part in your success. No one tends to be successful in an environment that they can’t identify with,” advises Heiberg.

He explained that he believes in a holistic, interactive approach to coaching, saying that collaboration and cooperation with the players has led to a fantastic team spirit.

Asked what he though about Alistair Coetzee’s position as Springbok coach, Heilberg was hesitant to condemn him.
“In the end, I think he is probably in the toughest job in world rugby.”

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