It hurts Augustine Makalakalani to see home-grown managers fail to establish themselves in Premier League football clubs, which are notorious for going through so many changes in a single season.
Makalakalani, who was on the 1996 African Cup of Nations winning team, found no luck with the local teams, despite his vast experience in his playing days – which included a long stint at FC Zurich in Switzerland – and his qualifications to be one of Safa’s coaches.
After leaving the Banja Banana coaching position in 2011, the retired midfielder found solace in junior football, and that is where his heart is currently firmly in, as he heads the coaching at Pitso Mosimane Soccer Schools (PMSS).
“My job is to make sure that all the coaches in the school follow the philosophy of Pitso Mosimane,” the 59-year-old told Sowetan. “We train according to standardization, and we teach the same thing. Because inevitably all coaches have their own ideas, but here, we must follow what Coach Pitsu believes.”
According to Makalakalani, Mosimann’s philosophy includes a lot of ball possession and passing ability. “he [Mosimane] He believes in players mastering the ball. Children should be happy when touching the ball. We have to use the correct size ball for the correct age. The field size should also be appropriate.
Makalakalan has more than 40 PMSS trainers reporting to him, and he admits that getting them to do it right will take time for a project that’s still in its infancy. My role is to supervise and conduct the sessions accordingly. I plan these training sessions with the trainers. Then they sent me reports after the sessions to see if they followed the instructions.