Sometimes, in life, it takes several steps to reach your goals. For NWU women’s hockey coach, Nelson Komane-Nel, those steps have been paid with growth and a healthy appetite for excellence.
“I was very unsure if I was ready for the position of coach in 2019, but I applied and the rest is history. I knew Sheldon Rostron and Shaun Hulley from within the hockey community, having worked with them in the past. They told me this was a great opportunity to grow my career and I’ve never looked back since,” says Nelson.
Nelson has a huge task on his plate, having taken over from Hulley as head women’s coach at NWU. Nelson has the advantage of having a Varsity Hockey winning team at his disposal, but with that comes the pressure to raise the bar on performance.
“My biggest challenge is to stamp my name as head coach of the women and continue the process that Shaun started. I can use my experience and knowledge to grow the game and continue the winning culture,” he stated.
The Covid-19 epidemic has made things a bit more complicated, though, as the team will most probably only defend their title in 2021 – hence planning, training and playing time has limited his ability to coach the team to the full.
“First of all, my goals are to get the hockey back on track after Covid-19. We need to build on our success and retain our Varsity Hockey title – some-thing the team has not been able to achieve yet. I would also like to see our players getting national recognition in senior and junior teams – especially the juniors – as the World Cup is in Potch next year,” he emphasised.
Hockey attracted Nelson as a 12- year-old and, since then, his love for the sport has grown tenfold.
“Hockey is a fun and lovely game. It’s a family sport and it’s always funny to see how small the hockey community is. You will always know someone from somewhere when you play this sport.”
He also enjoys working with new players every year and understanding and learning from different players.
“I enjoy working out game plans and sitting up till late to analyse games with staff. This includes all the good and bad moments that we go through as the team and staff.”
Nelson’s CV is already loaded with achievements – something he is very fortunate to have accomplished in his short coaching career.
This includes winning the women’s section IPT in 2018, winning USSA tournament with Tuks (2018) and taking the crown with Shaun Hulley at the 2017 Premier Hockey League.
“The big one was the Varsity Cup with the NWU women in 2019. For my first year, work at the university was very special and unforgettable,” he exclaims.
On top of that, he also achieved his South African Hockey Association (SAHA) Level 3 coaching certification.
Challenges motivate Nelson – whether positive or negative input.
“I like to have a challenge that I can work towards. I am never scared of learning and improving myself and the people around me. On a personal level, I would like to think that every team I’ve coached has hopefully made a small difference in some player’s life who has played for me. Not many people know, but a big motivation for me is to one day beat my best friend and one of my biggest inspirations, Inky Zondi, when NWU plays Tuks in the final of a tournament,” adds Nelson.
