Getting to know Jaco Coetzer
"My hopes and dreams are to see every woman who finishes our programme become employable and economically active in such a way that they never have to depend on anybody else."
Born and bred in the East Rand, Jaco Coetzer (46) is the founder of the Gauteng Women’s Rugby Institute and development manager at the Valke Rugby Union.
When did you gain interest in rugby?
When I was eight years old.
Did you play rugby? If yes, what made you stop?
I stopped playing after a motor vehicle accident where I injured my neck. I played hooker at primary school level, secondary school level, in varsity and provincial rugby. That is the middle of the scrum and with a neck injury, you cannot play in that position anymore.
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How did you end up in Gauteng Women’s Rugby Institute?
I founded the Gauteng Women’s Rugby Institute to fill a gap in female rugby. We have a strong foundation for young girls to play rugby at school level with our development strategy at the Valke Rugby Union, but nowhere in South Africa is there a pathway for girls after they leave school. Universities and other institutes do not offer bursaries or scholarships to female rugby players. We then started the Gauteng Women’s Rugby Institute as a NPO to cater to female rugby players between the ages of 18 and 24. We have a holistic approach where we offer a high-performance programme, a three-year study programme and a life-skills programme. These ladies mostly come from poverty and townships where there are dangerous situations such as gender-based violence. We offer them a safe place to stay and three meals a day without them paying to be part of the institute.
What are your roles in the institution?
I look after the public relations. I try to work hard to source funding from the public sector and government.
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What are your proudest moments?
One of the proudest moments was when I won at the Gauteng Sports Awards and was a finalist in the South African Sports Awards. The proudest moment, however, is to see how we are changing the lives of young females who would otherwise never have a real chance after school.
What are your short-term goals with the institution?
To establish a partnership with organisations to help with the funding of this empowerment project.
Are you married, do you have children?
I am married and have two beautiful daughters, Tristain (17) and Cayden (16). Both of them also play rugby.
Have you seen any growth since you became part of the institution?
We experienced a lot of fantastic moments that have grown this project into something exceptional. We had five Springbok female rugby players coming from our programme. Twenty-three represented the Valke Rugby Union and five played for the Blue Bulls Rugby Union. We can see that the ladies understand the difference between empowerment and entitlement. If you are empowered, you can do so much more than a person who feels entitled.
Has lockdown affected the institution in any way?
The pandemic and lockdown have affected the institute in such a way that we did not receive promised funding from the government and the private sector. We had to dig deep with Tebogo Mochabo and Johan van Nieuwenhuizen to fund this project ourselves.
What are your hopes and dreams?
To see every woman who finishes our programme become employable and economically active in such a way that they never have to depend on anybody else.
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