Kingswood College rugby players and coaches are learning from the best this season, with former All Black player and coach John Mitchell who will be providing input on a twice weekly basis for the next few months.
Kingswood College rugby players and coaches are learning from the best this season, with former All Black player and coach John Mitchell who will be providing input on a twice weekly basis for the next few months.
Mitchell, 48, was SA Coach of the Year in 2011 after his time as Head Coach of the Golden Lions. He is excited about working with the Kingswood youngsters, saying that he has a passion to teach and especially to empower coaches.
"I understand what it is to be a young start-out coach, and it is my objective to give them the resources for input into their teams to improve individual development and team performance. The openness of the coaches to learn has really struck me – they don't see this as threatening, but an opportunity to develop their resources."
Mitchell's coaching contract with Kingswood started last week and sees him making the trip from Durban each week for the remainder of the rugby season. Kingswood Head of Sport, Pieter Serfontein said that Mitchell's involvement in the rugby programme was a long-term investment.
"We see this input as influencing several seasons ahead, in which we can assess our systems and put in new ones. John will be working with us for the pre-season lead up and into the season, fitting in with our fixtures. It's a real privilege to have John here – our coaches and players are very excited and willing to learn from him."
Talking about schoolboy rugby, Mitchell said, "There is so much talent in South African schools rugby – I would say some of the best in the world. Here, school rugby is a stepping stone to professional rugby and we need to give every boy the ability to become a better player."
"It's not just about the rugby and winning, but all the lessons that come out of team sports. Coaches need to be provided with the resources to develop that talent, and players can also start to see coaching as a career path."
"It's refreshing to be associated with a school like Kingswood with its wonderful tradition and energy, and the ethos that the players have to work hard."
Mitchell has an impressive CV. As All Black Head Coach from 2001-2003, he had an 86% success rate. He has worked in Australia, New Zealand and Britain and now calls South Africa home.
His mantra is “A coach is someone who tells you what you don’t want to hear, who has you see what you don’t want to see, so you can be who you have always known you could be.”
