Ken Borland

Malibongwe Maketa is spending the winter as the head coach of the national academy at the CSA Centre of Excellence at the University of Pretoria, but the Warriors mentor is already thinking ahead to how he will handle the greater expectation that their excellent performances at franchise level have created for the Eastern Cape side.

In his second full season in charge, Maketa led the Warriors to both limited-overs finals and they were strongly in contention through the first five rounds of the Sunfoil Series as well, before losing their last three matches to finish last.

“It’s a great honour to be entrusted with such great talent at the academy, and as a group we’re going to commit to world-class standards. As a coach, I’m going to learn and grow as we try and keep South Africa as the number one cricketing nation. It should be the most memorable three months.

“I am happy with the progress the Warriors made last season, their hard work was rewarded. But the true test comes now because the supporters will expect us to box in that weight division from now on. As much as people say we don’t have any big names, we have a lot of very intelligent players and that is a big part of our success,” Maketa told Saturday Citizen at the CSA Centre of Excellence.

Many South African sports treat their up-and-coming coaches with almost criminal neglect, but it seems CSA certainly have a plan for Maketa, and his stint in charge of the academy is indicative of that. How does the 36-year-old see his own career pathway?

“I believe I’ve really grown as a coach. The players are also looking to grow and I’ve set barriers for them to get over, in a way I have to keep up with their growth. I enjoy all aspects of coaching, you have to give the players a lot of reassurance. If you don’t want to get better as a coach then you must not do this, because it’s about personal development, you want to see your players going up to the representative teams.

“I also want to go to higher levels as a coach, which means internationally, but the main thing is building relationships with the players. They must have enough trust that they know I am doing what is best for them,” Maketa said.

https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-citizen-kzn/20170610/282385514491146