Coaches can be likened to CEOs, and it’s not hard to see why. They help their respective teams not just with performance but with their goals, strategies, and overcoming obstacles, as well as assisting with their personal growth as team leaders.
A coach who embodies these qualities is Tsoanelo Pholo, the former South African hockey player has spent close to a year overseas where she has taken her expertise to another continent. Pholo left for Hong Kong in June 2024 where she took up the role of Head Coach for Hockey Hong Kong’s Women’s program.
Pholo has a broad portfolio of teams she is overseeing. She coaches the Hong Kong women’s national team, U21’s, U18’s, and the development team which is young women that are 16 years and under. It’s quite the task to undertake but like a true leader, she is making sure she has a solid team as she balances her time.
“It’s a lot to do, and I think my first thing was just getting the right team around me, because I don’t think that any single human can do the job that is needed to look after the players in the way that they need to be looked after. I can say that I have the best people around me, people I can trust, people I can trust with my players, and people players can trust also.”
Hong Kong Women’s National, U21’s, U18’s and Development Team Head Coach, Tsoanelo Pholo
It is not hard to see why she was scooped up for the position as she has a wealth of experience on the international stage as she represented South Africa at the 2004 Athens Olympics, as well as two World Cups—and not forgetting the 2003 All Africa Games! Since Pholo called time on her career, she has been ploughing back her expertise into the sport as coach.
Pholo’s credentials are impeccable – She is an accredited Level 4 field hockey coach, as well as an FIH Coach Educator, and has vast experience, including head coach for the women’s senior team at the University of Johannesburg, as well as leading the Southern Gauteng provincial junior team, the first-ever Head Coach of the SA Hockey 5’s in 2022, and with further time on the field in Oman.
Pholo says she loves to give players the confidence they need to succeed. “I am about people, and just want people to believe in themselves.”
“I will know what their ability can look like in the future, so give you now and I say oh cool, I see you in five years and that is what I work towards. My big thing is that people must believe that their growth is within their reach.”
On her experience in Hong Kong, Pholo appreciates progress: “I think I am getting better through this team, they are starting to believe in themselves.”
“I see talent, I don’t see finished products, and that’s why you are a coach right?”, she explains. “I come in to say ‘We are here, but we can be there’. These girls are starting to believe in themselves in a way that I feel, maybe before they did not, and that is always my coaching philosophy: How can I make you feel like you are a superstar, even before you are a superstar?”
Having spent a fair amount of time in Hong Kong, Pholo revealed that being in a foreign country has taught her a lot, and she has learned things about herself. “What I have learned is that it’s not the same, and ‘not the same’ is a good thing!
“Anything different teaches you as a person, something you would have never had the opportunity to learn. Learning that about myself, learning that I can adapt, learning that people are different. The way they do things is different, and just learning that adaptability is at the forefront of what an international coach has to be. You know, (if) I need to move in the next few years to a different continent, I can do that.”
In her position as a leader, Pholo shared this wise advice for the women and girls who looking to make a career of their sporting talents. She stressed that being part of a team is something that helps you grow in many ways as a person.
“Understand where you are, want more, ask many questions of your coach, and demand more from your coach because sometimes we think we know, but sometimes we are just winging it.”
“Ask the right questions and tell them what you want from this. The world is opening up for us, but I know if you give a lot of yourself, things will come to you. The world is open, especially for South Africans, to be playing in Europe, the US and Canada, because we have the will and the determination to be great.”
“So, any young girl that wants to take up a team sport, and yes I am a huge ambassador for hockey, but I think I am a woman first, before I am a hockey coach … You do you, and demand the best from the world, and the world will give you what you deserve.”
“Team sport for me is what will make us better, wherever you want to be. Just play sport, understand that you will falter, and be better tomorrow.”
Main Photo Caption: Former SA International Tsoanelo Pholo took up the role of Head Coach for Hockey Hong Kong’s Women’s program in June 2024, and talks with gsport about the rewards of her experiences in this high-pressure vocation. All Photos: Supplied
Photo 2 Caption: What makes Pholo tick is to allow people to develop confidence. “I am about people, and (I) just want people to believe in themselves.”
Photo 3 Caption: Pholo excelled first as an international player, and has since built on her credentials by gaining key qualifications and international experience.
Photo 4 Caption: Pholo explains she has grown by appreciating different ways: “Learning adaptability is at the forefront of what an international coach has to be.”
Photo 5 Caption: For anyone looking to make a career of their sporting talents, Pholo says: “Just play sport, understand that you will falter, and be better tomorrow”
