The well-known phrase of having too much on your plate does not seem to apply to SA women’s hockey coach, Sheldon Rostron, who recently led both national hockey teams to African titles in Egypt.
Rostron, the current head coach of the SA Women’s team, also had to take the interim coaching position in the men’s national team for the African Nations Cup and came through with flying colours.
The national teams’ African success has now taken both teams to the 2018 FIH Hockey World Cup as an added bonus, cementing the upward curve of hockey in the country.
The women’s team was unstoppable during the tournament and rattled in 28 goals without conceding a single one. Dirkie Chamberlain was the top scorer with 8 goals.
According to Rostron, the biggest challenges were preparing both teams and making sure that schedules did not clash during the tournament.
‘I only had three days to get the men ready for the tournament. I am grateful for the excellent support staff during the tournament and that really helped me a lot as the coach of both teams. It was great to see the progress in both teams and getting both teams to the World Cup next year,’ he said.
According to him, it was just as vital to establish world ranking points during the tournament as it was to be crowned continental champions.
‘This win is a perfect stepping stone and we will take it game by game in preparation for the World Cup.’
‘I am grateful to the NWU and NWU Hockey for their support and resources in order for me to represent my country as the coach of both national sides,’ emphasised Rostron.