Dr Henning Gericke is considered by many in South African sport as the “Kop Dokter” (shrink). The go-to guy who can make sportsmen believe anything is possible.

There is certainly merit in this. The Tuks Alumni has, after all, played a role in helping the Springboks win the Rugby World Cup in 2007; Cameron van der Burgh to win gold during the 2012 Olympic Games in London and Sunette Viljoen to win silver during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

If he wanted to, Gericke could tell countless stories of how he helped athletes and teams fulfil their goals, but he won’t as he does not believe that success in sport should be about psychologists. It is about the athletes. The guys and girls who get to push the boundaries through their self-belief and hard work.

Currently one of Gericke’s priorities is helping the Blue Bulls prepare for the Currie Cup Tournament. He is doing so because the 2007 Springbok World Cup-winning coach, Jake White, has not forgotten what a calming influence he brings to a team.

Not allowing yourself to get worked up about things beyond one’s control is something Gericke had to learn for himself. As an athlete, he hated to lose. Winning was an obsession. In his bedroom against one of the walls he had put up a notice that read – “I will… I can… I shall”.

He did win. In the late seventies, he was considered as one of the most exciting prospects in South African middle-distance running. In 1977 he set a youth world record in the 1500m by clocking a time of 3:45.30 in Stellenbosch. Another definite highlight was winning the 800m, 1500m and 3000m on the same day during a South African Junior Championships.

Something to take note of is that as a junior athlete (under-20) Johan Fourie who is considered to be one of the legends of South African athletics never got to beat Gericke.

In 1978 Gericke so nearly became one of the youngest male track and field athletes to don the coveted “green and gold”. Unfortunately, in the race that mattered the 17-year old and the legendary Matthews Motshwarateu collided. Gericke ended up finishing fifth and only got awarded Junior Springbok colours.

In 1984 he again got selected for the Junior Springboks. He also qualified to represent South Africa in the 1500m at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, but due to politics, it was never meant to be. He managed to run ten dream miles (sub-four minutes) in his career.

Gericke retired in 1985 to focus on his psychology studies at the University of Pretoria.

According to Gericke, having been an athlete himself has helped him to better understand the needs and uncertainties athletes face every day. It also made him realise that winning and losing go hand in hand.

“People tend to have a misconception as to what success is about. It is as if they think you got to succeed all the time. The reality is that it is never going to happen. Every athlete I had worked with needed at first to learn how to deal with disappointments to enable them to become a champion. Failure is actually fantastic. It is what helps athletes become tough,” he explained.

After matriculating at Hoërskool Menlopark, Gericke went to study in the USA. While there, he tore his Achilles tendon. He could not run for six months. It was one of the factors that had a significant impact on his athletics career.

“I battled to win races as a senior athlete. I will be honest I could not handle losing. I had to learn to become process-driven and not be obsessed about results,” he remarked.

Gericke considers his “journey” with the Springboks from 2004 to 2007 as remarkable.

“The first time I walked into the Springboks dressing room was shortly after the notorious ‘Kamp Staaldraad’. It was a divided team. The Sharks players were in one corner and the Bulls in another. The players barely spoke to each other. The challenge was to turn things around. We succeeded. In 2004 we won the Tri-Nations Tournament,” he commented.

In 2006 the team faced another crisis. The Springboks lost the first four games of the Tri-Nations. One of the worst moments was losing 49-0 to Australia.

“I remember asking the players how we are going to turn things around. Pierre Spies was one of the first players to stand up telling everyone how he had to overcome adversity after his dad died. Then it was Breyton Paulse who spoke. It went on until every player shared something intimate about how they had overcome setbacks. Afterwards, it was a rejuvenated team. The Boks went on to win their last two games. The next year we won the World Cup. To me, it symbolises what life is about,” Gericke concluded.

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