Coach Tats builds Randburg youth cricket legacy
Everyone in Randburg cricket circles knows Coach Tats, the coach who built his own academy from a stalled playing career, and is now mentoring cricketers of every age.
Ask around Randburg’s cricket circles for Tatenda Moyo and you may draw a blank look, but ask for Coach Tats, and everyone knows who you mean.
“Every time you say, ‘Do you know Tatenda?’ they ask, ‘Which one?’ because there is another Tatenda based at Montrose,” he said. “Then I am Tats.”
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Moyo grew up playing cricket in Zimbabwe, reaching provincial U19 level, before moving to South Africa in 2009 hoping to build a professional career. When that path did not open up, he turned to coaching instead. In August 2013, he launched his own academy, the Sport Network Cricket Academy, built around one-on-one coaching rather than large group sessions. “If you have a team of 11 or 12 kids, and each one goes to private coaching, then you have 11 kids who individually can catch and hit a ball better, which effectively makes the team a lot better,” he explained.
His coaching journey took him through a school-based programme at Randpark Primary School, before Covid-19 lockdown restrictions made coaching there impractical. That led him back to Randburg Cricket Club, a ground he knew well from his playing days. A typical coaching day runs from around 14:00 until 19:00 or 19:30, packed with players of every age and skill level. Rather than running fixed drills, Moyo builds each session around what the player wants to work on. He says he loves coaching because he gets to watch his players improve.
Also read: Coach Tats builds Randburg cricket stars one player at a time
Beyond his academy, Moyo has helped grow youth cricket through ATT Sporting Solutions, a venture he co-founded that runs friendly matches and a longer two-day youth format to build endurance and a love of the game. The initiative’s U11 side won its opening two matches in the Gauteng Super League.
For Moyo, the reward lies beyond the scoreboard. “May they be better human individuals,” he said. “May they be better men, better women, better citizens in our endeavours and what we are doing. So, that’s me and that’s my driving force on a daily basis.”
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