LUSIKISIKI- BORN aspiring coach Senzo Mdingi actively persuaded a professional career as a soccer player in 2018, he spent half of that period with Moroka Swallows FC, FC Cape Town, and Amazulu FC. While he was moving in between the clubs for the rest of the period his love for football started from an early age.
“Informally my journey began the day I fell in love with soccer more than I enjoyed playing, I always had a crowd of ideas of how our team would perform better. I would always share my thoughts during halftime with my coach as a reserve player identifying players with shooting potential that may be not exercising enough, players with the skill that they don’t have enough confidence to explore or not working hard enough to display and utilize their potential,” he recalls. He adds that his formal journey began in 2018 when he had a knee injury and got more involved with his local area team playing more of an advisory coach.
COVID times kicked in and delayed the pursuit of his formal training as a coach. The right time and opportunity came when his friend told him about an opportunity at SAFA Ekurhuleni Region to hold one of the trainings. Right at that moment, he knew that it was about time to invest in his ongoing identified potential and talent, he has since completed the training and in the lookout and pursuit of a club to partner with in his journey.
“I believe that as a coach you need to understand first your role as a coach so that when those criticism come you understand why they come. You must not take it personal so that your job would be easy,” he says.
Developing yourself and continuing to grow is to overcome the fear because fear can prevent a person from growing and progressing, you also need to learn something new, ask for feedback, and network that is how you will grow. “I taught myself to draw my happiness from within, this helps me to be able to deliver the best even if the environment is not favourable,” he adds.
“Self-belief, persistence, and hard work are the words and principles that molds an upcoming young coach, achieved only by the attitude of Never stop learning including from those who ought to be guiding or leading,” he concludes.
