To become the best, you have to be taught by the best.
And that is exactly why the Director of Sport at Maties, Ilhaam Groenewald, roped in the highly rated and qualified coach Kamaal Sait (pictured) to take women’s football at the academy to the next level.
According to Groenewald, Sait’s appointment was a no-brainer as his impeccable track record speaks for itself, not only as a former pro-player for Santos, Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana, but also as a highly qualified and skilled coach who has been around the proverbial block.
“First of all, Kamaal is a fantastic person and educator, and I’m really looking forward to working with him,” Groenewald said to No Bones with Jones.” I remember he played an instrumental role in getting the UCT Ladies promoted to the Hollywoodbets Super League last year. He is a coach who is familiar with the landscape in women’s football and knows how to develop and grow players.
“So, yeah, I’m really excited, but the difference is that we don’t have non-students in our teams, so that will be a real challenge for him. That’s why the development angle is so crucial. We have sound plans in place and I’m excited for the expertise that he will bring,” said Groenewald, who vowed to throw her full support behind the Elsies River-born Sait.
Meanwhile, the 53-year-old Sait is under no illusion of the challenges that await him in his new role at the academy.
“If I can be brutally honest, it looks like a very challenging venture at this point because I’m stepping in right in the middle of the exams and tests,” Sait explained to No Bones with Jones. “So, you have players coming to training and others not able to train – and that makes it a little bit challenging, but uhm, but be that as it may…. we will definitely give a good account of ourselves.
“At the moment, it is a little bit difficult. I think I have found my feet by now, so it’s time to knuckle down and get the players to come to training as a unit and not as individuals. But so far so good and all praise to God,” Sait, who played amateur football for Matroosfontein FC, concluded.
Back from left is Reginald Smith (Head: Sport Code Management); Andy de Bruin (Senior Accountant) and Sean Surmon (Director).
