In the December issue of SA Sports Illustrated magazine coaches Sakkie van der Walt of Affies, Grant Griffy Griffiths of Dale and Barend Steyn of Kearsney are named along with a soccer and a cricket coach as the Five Best School Coaches in South Africa. Although the evaluation criteria is not mentioned, it makes for interesting reading.
Sakkie who has been coach at Affies for over a decade gives reasons why Affies opted out of the regional cup competitions like the Beeld back in 2006. He also relays the school’s feeling about buying players.
Griffy, a Dale old boy who played in their last unbeaten team back in 1993, has coached at the junior and high school for a combined total of 16 years*. He goes into detail on how Dale has adapted it’s style of play to make up for not having big forwards.
Barend, the Kearsney coach for 12 years discusses his ABC coaching motto. He also expresses his opinion on why teachers still make better school coaches for developing boys than outside professionals.
Good stuff. It’s worth getting the magazine just for this article.
*Griffiths will be leaving Dale in King Williams Town to take up a post at Hamilton Rugby Club in Cape Town Reply email from the editor after being asked about evaluation criteria (Am************@me*****.com)Hi Beet,We left that up to the discretion of our journalist. Our brief to him was to find men who are true leaders and inspirations than just sports coaches – so their effect on the kids they raise must go beyond merely making them good sportsmen; they must raise good men.I trust he did a good job, because he has a lot of experience in terms of schools.Cheers,Ami
@GreenBlooded: so true, and now just buying 1st teams , very plastic , just a VISA Card
@CyndiAtRugby: where was he asked , ?? lol also depends where and what school
@Greenblooded, very true that. There are only a handful of these types of schools and may they prosper.
@Green Hopper: Exactly. There is just something different about a school that has over 100 years of history behind it. Old photographs of the 19-voetsak cricket team on the walls, memorials to Old Boys who died in the 1st and 2nd World Wars, legions of successful Old Boys who have long since passed on. There is something special about that. There are schools that have this ‘mahogany and brass’ feel about them and some that are just ‘plastic and chrome’.
@Green Hopper: I was very amused yesterday when my son was approached in the local mall and asked whether he would like to finish his schooling in Australia as they are looking for big boys for rugby. The guys hasn’t even seen him play rugby!!!
@GreenBlooded: another reason Glenwood stands out for ME
TRADITION hope it never fads
http://www.glenwoodhighschool.co.za/node/624
@Green Hopper: Interesting article. Amazingly they seem to have the same issues as we do here. I wonder how accurate the birth records are on the South Sea islands? They may well have a Siyabonga Tom or 2 lurking in some of their schools.
@GreenBlooded: i will send you an email on that , funny how , rules are made , but never agreed by parties?? i think you know what i am talking about , so never went through , expect some legal challenges soon , lol
@GreenBlooded: all good mate,
read this
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/death-inevitable-in-gps-rugby-arms-race-principal-says/story-e6frf7jo-1225852420863
@Green Hopper: Early?? After 8 o clock mate. Had my first coffee break already. You are definately the earliest riser here – which is understandable being on the other side of the word. How goes it there? Are you going to coach there? Just behave yourself if you do
@GreenBlooded: i see you are up early in teh morning today, you obvioulsy want thsi one ??lol have a whistle handy ??lol
@oldschool: well , when looking at teh score board over teh last few years , if that the best you can put forward, i fell humble, lol
@oldschool: I’m going to plagarise one of Gunget’s pearlers on this one: “Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty but the pig likes it.”
@Green Hopper: the brads of the upper highway area….good one mate ….as opposed to the Fanie’s of the lower umbilo area i suppose !!!
@GreenBlooded: ha ha sarcasm i love it …..you willing to go down this road ….or are you a bit sensitive ….cos we can do sarcasm and humour all day long if you have the stomach for it my boet ….cos i have many hick jokes and mullet jokes and trailer park humour ……your call !!!
@kcob: ja ….Kev Smith gets my vote all day long …..discipline and structure …..and we never lost to the hood in my 3 years of playing 1st team !!infact they were easy games if i recall ….expecially KC vs The hood in 93 at kings park ….KC by 40 !!!
@Gungets Tuft: nope , i travell by chopper !
All I suggest is that before some body , puts “best” or other words of such improvement or substance , that they have a proper valuation criteria , to give some credibility to any such story ,
I don’t doubt that they people mentioned are certainly top notch, but take consideration of the situation , of course a school teacher would undoubtedly be for school teachers coaching 1st =team players , or school boys rugby , why wouldn’t they ,m they don’t need the inclusion of outside coaches to compete against, one just has to look at the junior club level and the quality of coaches out there , for me they have a much harder task in coaching as they have less boys and a much wider gap in skills , most of these teams are made up of boys from 5th to 1st team players , for me that’s a lot harder to coach then boys of a same level being at training
In the junior junior levels , you have be far more skilled, and you have boys from a wide scope of cultural back grounds, schools might be more one dimensional in this regard , especially Kearsney where wealth certainly isn’t a problem
I am saying just take care when putting such emotive words and slinging them around as headline articles , and for one moment don’t think that the club coaches don’t bring the other factors into being as well
@beet:
Really don’t know. They have probably shut down though.
@HORSEFLY NO.1: There are 2 Durban schools on the list that I have never heard of. Boys Model School and Berea Academy. I wonder what became of these schools. Did they change names and relocate or shut down?
After being told earlier in the day that he would only be back in office on the 6 Dec, the editor was kind enough to come back to me after hours. Here is his answer to a question of evaluation criteria used:
Hi Beet,
We left that up to the discretion of our journalist. Our brief to him was to find men who are true leaders and inspirations than just sports coaches – so their effect on the kids they raise must go beyond merely making them good sportsmen; they must raise good men.
I trust he did a good job, because he has a lot of experience in terms of schools.
Cheers,
Ami
@beet: @Gungets Tuft: Ha ha, ha Oldschool. What you say!
1991, Toppy was my coach with college’s Dave Anderson. What great guys. Best coach I ever had though was definitely Kevin Smith
http://www.schoolsportsnews.co.za/cricket/most-test-cricketers-by-school-2/
DHS in front by a bit hey… also, the info is wrong. DHS has had 27
Hahahahahaha!Maybe the Glenwood faithful got to him before you did.
I tried to make contact with the SASI editor to find out about criteria but he is unavailable until 6 December. I wonder if the response from the many passionate SBR supporters to the mag article has anything to do with it :grin:
Nice one Griffy, well done!
What a loss you are to Dale rugby.
@Green Hopper: Hey – I’m from the upper Kloof area
@oldschool: Do you have any cars that need towing…?
@GreenBlooded: agreed lok at how they are structurd , the open group thi year and next , will be the stongest ever@Pedantic: i never said he was not deserving , i was however concerned about the bais in the artical
@oldschool: Thanks mate – I feel a whole lot better now.
@oldschool: no not really confusing , just using the fanagolaa of the normal hard working perosn , not the brads of the upper kloof area
if you coached a little you might now what its all about at school boy level
@Grasshopper: I meant time as 1st team head coach. In that regard Sean has been coach since 2008.
@GreenBlooded: I actually like Glenwood my boet ……i have walked around Glenwood on game days and most of the boys greet you …which is great to see , also happens at College and the prvt Schools ….i always use greeting as an indication of discipline and respect ….and have often been impressed by the boys of the Hood !!!
@GreenBlooded:Nope – no idea what the criteria was.
I understand your point, but it would be interesting to see the results down the line of other schools vs College over the last 10 to 20 years.
I’m almost certain most schools have made large improvements, especially Westville. Are these improvements due to coaching alone or due to rugby becoming a high profile marketing tool for schools and in essence these large “improvers” handing out freebies that weren’t available before?
We could debate this all day and yes, Erasmus has done a great job at Glenwood and achieved good results – that doesn’t necessarily mean that Barend is not deserving of the recognition for his years of service at KC and KZN level, not only as a coach, but an educator and all round mentor for our youngsters.
@oldschool: Like I said – there are many Glenwood haters out of there. We’ll call you “Exhibit A” for starters
@Pedantic: No – it’s not all about the results on the scoreboard. That’s not what I said. I said it is from where to where he has taken Glenwood Rugby in a relatively short space of time. It is about what he has achieved in terms of cultivating depth in the lower teams by the coaching structures he has put in place. A review of the ‘down the line’ results against College from 10 and 20 years ago to today will prove this. I guess you would have needed to be a Glenwood boy in the 80’s and faced the College slaighter twice a year to fully appreciate the turn-around.
So what were the evaluation criteria – do you know?
@Grasshopper: Now thats more like it !!! Green hopper should get some lessons in modesty from you my boet !!!
And I have all the respect for Toppie ….Know many Gwood lads whom speak very highly of him ….
One of the old school legends of all boys schools through out the country !!!
@Green Hopper: confusing response ???
I wasnt in the war ….nor did i make a comment about your beloved Toppie…..
Thought i would get a clever comeback , not some irrelevent drivvel again about how wonderful Glenwood people are ….
And no im not a coach ……..im a billionaire trust fund kid , hung like a horse, look like brad pit and am faster than Baronet !!!
I remember being at the KZN trials in 1982 and watching as the ” official” selectors looked around for confirmation from Skonk. He would stand quietly about 15 yards from the touchline but everyone new he was there.Talk about rugby genius and presence.
@Old School, please don’t lump all Glenwood supporters together. Barend is a great coach, that is undeniable (he is the KZN coach for a reason)! Erasmus is good too, but in my opinion has now been there too long now. Glenwood needs to go back to basics and maybe bring in someone with fresh ideas. I am not keen on the mics and ear pieces either, it looks a bit pretentious. These are kids not professionals. BUT please give respect to a great rugby man in Toppy, he is a legend.
@Green Hopper: & GreenBlooded – take off your blinkers boys – it’s quite clear the evaluation criteria was not based on results alone, if that was the case, Grey’s Ingo Machts would easily be number 1 – 95% wins since 2006 which would leave Erasmus way behind.
Both of you are respected coaches in your own rights – you surely understand that coaching is not all about results?
I think in 2013 I should take a series of photos of the coaches on the side lines. Observing the coaches has always amused and/or shocked me. It would be interesting to rate them on the way they ‘encourage’ the team.
I get the strong impression that all these coaches mentioned as being great coaches were ‘gentlemen’ who showed their players respect and also respected the school they were coaching for.
@oldschool: What is your opinion of the Sharks coaching setup using radio communications during the match or the Bok coaching setup for that matter – professional approach to coaching or ‘quite funny’? Just asking……
@oldschool: Old school you are obviously some resentful, coach from a school decimated by a GW 6th Team beating your 1st team, lol,
But on a serious note , please don’t lead with a glass jaw on issues of Tier one schools and don’t include GW and be of a condescending comment of us being below the poverty line , if you have ever seen Toppy here and others are there for the Boys and the school, Jordon , recently attended all the Memorial Services of the World War 1 dead, wonder who attended from Kearsney or for that matter other school,
Give respect where respect is due, as@ green blooded said, I have been a fan of Erasmus over the last year , and there are many reason for that , but he is un doudtedly the best coach and consistently over the last 6 years
Toppy Record is written in stone its so old and been around so long , never a truer gentleman have you met and respect not commanded but truly earned within the mantra of the school
@GreenBlooded: Just so we are all very clear here, Toppy was the Only Coach at Glenwood, to have defeated Grey and all the majors he was the 2006 Coach , so must rank up there, there where call this year for him to return as 1st team coach when Sean was a bit of a Afrikaans “soutie” one foot here and one foot there , and getting kicked in the nuts both sides ,
However Toppy has taken 3rds for the last two years and have almost unbeaten records over the last two years, also was u16 b coach the year before also with the same unbeaten u16 b for the year ,
Just shows, he has the ability still , so beware any one who doesnt measure up
@Green Hopper: ha ha you okes are so funny sometimes ….any chance to pounce you do ….when ever something good is advertised about a KZN school and not the Hood , you okes are like a leopard in hunting mode ….to firstly attack and then defend …..you should be more modest in your aproach ….cos the reality is that what ever evaluation process was followed ….it obvoiusly applied to all top tier schools coaches including the truly great rugby schools like PG , GCB , PaulRoos, affies etc…..but in your case everything comes back to Glenwood vs the rest of KZN ……and if someting doesnt go the way of the hood …the claws come out ……a well done Barend would be a lot more powerful than the overly biased drivvel that you sometimes put out there !!!
On that note , i do find it quite funny watching the coaching staff of the hood all geared up with head phone mics patrolling the field barking instructions like a CIA ops team managing a coup !!!
Maybe us lesser schools coaches should invest in some technology to get the aproval of the supporters of the greatest school on the planet !!!
@Beet, I think Sean Erasmus has been at Glenwood from around 2002….not sure though…
Just looking at it nationally from a results point of view, Ingo Machts lost something like 5 games in 6 years while in charge at Grey Bloem.
I get a feeling one of the criteria was time in the job. Each of the 3 rugby coaches have 10 years +
@Gungets Tuft: Graham henry !!!!!
@GreenBlooded: I have heard a lot about Toppy and it does seem as if he is held in the same high regard as Skonk. Skonk’s work was done before he got to the field for practice. He was a great coach but that was not his greatest asset. I will tell you about my experiences with him one day. Unfailingly humble, as fair as the day is long, unbending on issues of ethics, morals and common decency. It was those qualities that had the best talent of the Midlands going to College long before bursaries and scholarships were even thought of. He never regularly coached me, but he did attend lower team practices scouting (it was not unheard of for a 5th team centre to turn out as a flank for the 3rds because of something he noticed) and just having him on the field made you stand taller and up your game by 50%. Rare men.
@Greenblooded, agreed Toppy is up there. His best side was 1979 in my opinion. Not quite in the Skonk league but up there. Remember Toppy didn’t get a huge crop of farmer boys who had played rugby in primary school to work with, he got a bunch of Durban rabble from Umbilo, the Bluff and Queensburgh who had never played rugby before and turned them into decent teams. To be honest that new Pavilion should not be called the Ivan Clark pavilion but the Hortop Pavilion. He was like a 2nd father to many Glenwood boys….a legend!
@Gungets Tuft: Yup – Skonk is without equal. Another name to add to this list is Toppy Hortop. In KZN schools rugby – he must rank a distant second to Skonk. Not only a great coach but also big on the life skills side – those who he coached will never forget his season opening speeches, where he left the crowd in spellbound silence as he spoke passionately about the Green Machine and how the current crop are merely temporary custodians of a great legend. He also left us in no doubt about what was expected of us as ambassadors for Glenwood OFF the field as well as on. He is still at Glenwood – coaching the lower teams and teaching English.
@Green Hopper: Also without having read the article, but will buy the magazine this morning (has anyone confirmed the calendar story yet – SASI might qualify as a business purchase for my tow-truck business, but the accountant is going to ask!). If you look at Kearsney’s performance given their size, not too shabby, but then House deserve a look as well, so perhaps it is the CW coaching.
I can understand why they might say teachers make the best schoolboy coaches, because motivating and encouraging younsters is different to adults. By the time the Plumbs, Meyers, Whites of the world get the guys the motivation and goal is plain, it’s their jobs. At school this is not so, and the coaches are often brewing testosterone soup. I coach(ed) kids, I know this.
Besides – have a look at how many very successful coaches at top level have been schoolmasters. Eddie Jones and Jake White spring immediately to mind. At school level I have only one name. Skonk. After that … Erasmus, Everitt, Bashford ..making their way up the ladder.
@Green Hopper: Spot on mate. First thing that crossed my mind when I read the article – just didn’t want to be the first to say it
There will no doubt be howls of protest and indignation from the manne but facts are facts and Sean’s record speaks for itself. He is the man who lead Glenwood out of the rugby doldrums and made it the force it is today. Love him or loath him, his credentials as a schoolboy coach are plain to see.
There are many many Glenwood haters out there, those that just cannot accept that the Umbilo school has leapfrogged them and Sean is unfortunately the poster child for this.
Like you say – who selected those to be profiled in this article and on what basis?
Whilst I haven’t read the article and article refers to the 5 “best coaches” and Barend Steyn being one of this , could be greatly disputed , I agree on what criteria has the evaluation process been done, or is it just some journalists own imagination and bias. Without Doubt if one had to consider him a “best ‘ coach , the Sean Erasmus, needs to be without doubt elevated above him. Consistently over the last 6 years GW have performed better then KC , the results show and prove this. I see the reason why he motivates for a Teacher being better coach, but that was in the 80’s , to be the best you need to have specialist trainers , not just in rugby but academics as well, just look at the best performing schools in each sphere of schooling , ultimately there is a specialist in this position ,
Whilst I have noted my discontent with Sean and the performance of the GW side over the past season, it was directly proportional to the amount of effort he contributed , I think a balance was sport and the amount of influence that senior Sharks rugby filtered into the GW was clearly obvious to all, even the boys felt uncomfortable playing a game, that was far to mature for them , and the results showed .
However we have seen our Craven week results and Barend is the Coach, I have no dud that he is good, and that he adds value , but he has to be a bit of a dinosaur in the modern game and schools rugby
This coming year will be interesting and certainly a lot closer , I think that each school has a tradition of the type of style of rugby they play , and ultimately this will have to change to keep top position and superiority in the rankings in KZN, I don’t think the school coaches are up to speed or are particularly inept to this. GW where the leader in this over the last 5 – 7 years , but the other schools have caught up, what is uprising is that it took them so long , and it was part of the mentality that Brand notes as why Teachers are still the best coaches, every one thought that it was a phase , but its apparently and clearly not , they have all adapted and stepped up ,
@Haker: I know the story. It does not turn out the way you might think. :smile:
@beet: When are you going to shed some light on the fact that Sean Erasmus was seen looking around at properties on the western outskirts of Johannesburg?
@BOG: I have an uncut version, one where Candace Boucher had not quite got her cozzie on yet.
And my wife doesn’t enjoy rugby forums :-)
@Rugger fan: The 2 coaches are Andrew Gifford the soccer coach of Norkem Park, Kempton Park and Eric Lefson the cricket coach of Wynberg.
@BoishaaiPa: Yes, I cannot say- I have not read the SASI for ages, but I know that my memory is not fading that fast.The photo shoot was normally in Mauritius or some other exotic location. I cannot believe that so many here are pretending to never have seen it and I suspect their wives read their comments.
@BOG: It was usually the Nov issue!!…since the new editor took over I stopped my subscription I had for more than 20 years..not the same mag anymore.
Who were the other two coaches and schools (for interest)?
@BOG:Oh is there a calendar as well
Beet, are you sure that you did not get SASI, exclusively for the calendar girls that appear in this magazine around this time of the year? What evaluation criteria indeed, were used to determine the “best” coaches?