Nthabiseng Mothutsi, who mentors the Limpopo Lillies, is enjoying her debut season as a coach in the Telkom Netball League.
The Lilies are currently in the second division of campaign of the TNL; one of two teams introduced to the competition in the 2023 edition. The other is Free State Sonoblomo.
Although her side has not done well so far this season, Mothutsi says she is proud of what the team has been able to do so far. In their debut season, the Lillies were not successful in earning points in the 14 matches they played.
They however have earned a point on the lower tier table after they played to a 42-42 draw against the KwaZulu-Natal Kingdom Queens.
Mothutsi says this is a step forward. “TNL has been great. It has been a new experience for me which has come with character building. It is exciting but also just as stressful. I thought being a player was better but honestly, there is no difference between the two. The pressure of wanting to do well weighs on you but I also put a lot of pressure on myself as well but as the games go, I have gradually tried to be patient with myself and everyone else,” explains Mothutsi.
She reckons the lessons from this season will go a long way in making the team formidable for next season. “I think I have reached that goal. I didn’t want to end the season on zero points. We drew in our game against the Queens and that for me is a milestone because since the Lilies started in the league, they had not had any points. Now having a point and individual accolades is a milestone for me. I am pretty sure the girls are proud of themselves. That is enough for us. They know what we need to work on for next year, it’s my first year as coach, and building from what we have we will come back with a huge comeback,” she says.
Mothutsi together with SPAR Proteas assistant coach, Zanele Mdodana spent about three months in Saudi Arabia where they worked with schools to teach the basics of the sport.
The Saudi Netball Federation was looking to introduce the sport at the grassroots level in the hope of making netball one of the big sports in the country.
The training programme is helpful to Saudi Arabia as the country prepares to host the 2024 Asian Women’s Netball Championship set for 28 September to 8 October.
This will be the first time Saudi Arabia will host the competition since its inception in 1985.
The former goalkeeper says the experience was crucial for her young coaching career. “That has equipped me very much especially with patience because we started from scratch when we got there. When one says grassroots, I want to say it is lower than grassroots, and that requires a lot of patience and focus. It needed me to be there mentally and physically, so that has equipped me enough to come back and be the coach that I think I am now. Being in Saudi Arabia has really helped me psychologically as well, although I didn’t know I was going to be given this position. It was a blessing in disguise,” she says.
Mothutsi also enjoys coaching at Capricorn High School where her team has qualified for the Under-17 Schools Championship national finals. She says coaching is her calling. “My Under-17s have qualified for the national schools’ championships and I am very excited about that. My life is not my own, I go where I am needed. This could be a calling for me because I was once a player and I kind of understand them. I relate a lot to them; I understand the kind of people they are. So, I have the balance of coaching adults and kids at the same time. It keeps me on my toes, but I try to stay relevant with them and try to allow them to relate to me because I have been through every stage in my life playing the sport,” she says.
The former Limpopo Baobabs captain was part of the team that helped the team win Division Two last season and gain promotion to the elite stream of the TNL.
She says although she would have relished playing with the top teams in the competition, she felt her playing days had come to an end. “Yes, I would have loved to play in Division One but I felt like I had run my course. I felt like I had reached personal goals in terms of my playing career. It was about time that I went and paved my way for other stuff. I would have loved to play but it is not a big deal that I am not playing (anymore),” she says.