Zondi confident that SA women’s hockey team can be better

Local hockey coach Inky Zondi is positive that he’ll get the best out of every player representing the South Africa women’s national field hockey team.

The team recently won the 2022 Hockey African Cup of Nations in Ghana where Zondi served as the interim head coach.

Zondi, who is the TuksHockey Head of Programme and Women’s Head Coach at TuksSport, is not the one to take credit for what happened at the tournament.

“It is a really fantastic result. All credit must go to the players. Everyone was motivated to win as there was a lot at stake. Being African champions means the team has qualified to play the World Cup. That was the mission from the start and the players showed a lot of character and resilience,” he said.

South Africa scored 26 goals in the five games and only conceded one. They defeated the home side Ghana 3-1 in the final.

“There were many changes over the last few months as quite a few players retired. So we had our challenges in the build-up to the tournament. The most important was to regroup as a team. I wanted the players to evolve in how they play and tactically think about the game.

“As a national coach, I tried to keep the same philosophies in the game, but obviously, every detail is essential at the highest level. I learned a long time ago that there is no blueprint coaching manual. Every player is unique in how they think and react to things. I always try to understand a player to get them to play to their best ability. Players should also be accountable for what happens during any game,” Zondi said.

He said his aim when he took over was for the team to be defensively solid and concede as few goals as possible.

“The other challenge was to try and score more than three goals in every game. It was easier said than done, especially in a tournament like the Africa Cup of Nations. Every team we played had a very spirited mindset. It was a matter of honour trying to prevent South Africa from scoring against them.”

Zondi was impressed by the tenacity of South Africa’s captain and goalkeeper, Phumelela Mbande.

“She was brilliant. She justifiably got the award as best goalkeeper. Tarryn Lombard, one of the top goal scorers, was like a breath of fresh air in the way she played.”

Zondi is unsure what the future holds for him, but he has some definite ideas if he continues to coach the national women’s team.

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