Thato Mokoena: Defending Champions Tuks Rowing Refuse to Be Distracted by 10th-Title Pressure

Tuks Rowing coach Thato Mokoena says the defending champions will not be distracted by the pressure of trying to win a 10th consecutive RMB Universities Boat Race title in Port Alfred this weekend. Instead, they will focus on executing their own race and continuing to build a culture that can last long beyond the current generation. Matshelane Mamabolo spoke to him ahead of the event that runs from Thursday September 10 to Sunday September 13.

Thato Mokoena, Tuks Rowing Coach

Matshelane Mamabolo (MM): It is generally said that it is easy to become a champion but harder to stay a champion. Do you concur with that coach?

Thato Mokoena (TM): Yeah, I think so. I think most of the time, when you are leading the standard, sometimes you think about - in rugby they say don’t focus on dropping the ball, focus on catching it. When you do have the ball all the time, when you do have the title, you sometimes start worrying too much about losing it versus just keeping doing what you do best.

MM: How do you deal with that as a coach? I mean, your athletes are likely to feel that pressure and it’s your duty to make sure they handle it.

TM: One hundred percent. I think just naturally, whenever I coach, I always say that there’s so much that we need to focus on in terms of ourselves as individuals and as a crew. There’s enough internal pressure and the standard for us to hold internally versus fetching pressure, fetching the result. We always focus a lot on how we can execute the best possible race. I know it’s a cliché, but it’s basically for us to be authentic to ourselves and try to be the best version of ourselves rather than synthetically look for something unnatural. If we focus on the others, we might race their race, and we might have been even further ahead than we thought. So rather focus on what we can do so we can push our limits.

MM: How do you approach a weekend like this one, with Tuks as defending champions and some of your crew having just returned from a major international event?

TM: We always feel like university boat races are the true part of the sport that we appreciate the most - just enjoying time with the crew. It’s a lot more people involved and, on the bigger scheme, it’s a whole club involved. We’re doing something for the university and all the people around us.

Some of the athletes had to stay here and keep the ship afloat, so it’s kind of giving back to their sacrifice that they’ve gone through the winter training hard. It is a different type of race, but for us it’s always been the best race. It’s something that we know, something we understand. And it’s true to our culture as South Africans. It’s, in a way, the better part of it all. It’s not in a foreign land with foreign people. This is true to us.

It’s a massive tradition within South African rowing, so it’s about uplifting that. And then plus the legacy that the other members have held in the past. It’s people we know, not necessarily foreigners. It’s people we understand, and we all have a long tradition of the amazing race down the Kowie.

MM: You’ve won this race four times as a coach. Do you think about going for a fifth title?

TM: No, not really.  It’s like that with Kat and Court as well. We try to understand  a culture which can last forever, rather than counting (trophies). We’re trying to understand the things that we're doing right or not doing right within the women’s club so that, even if we’re here or we’re not here, it can continue for years.

MM: So there is a sense that you’re building a legacy?

TM: One hundred percent. One of my best friends was the previous coach, who passed on Mpumi Geza, and I saw how much passion he had for the university. That’s what we’re trying still. Of course, being the University of Pretoria, there are many sports which succeed, so just in general from Tuks, it’s part of the standard. But then for us to try to create something within that, that people from outside want to be part of and the people inside want to continue.

Mpumi Geza

MM: UCT, UJ and the other crews will all want to knock you off the top perch. How are you expecting the competition to be this weekend?

TM: I think they always want to do that. Everyone wants to be a winner. We’re trying not to focus on that too much. As I said earlier, there’s so much we can do better within our clubs that we still work hard and focus on that. Yes, of course, as a coach, I’ll assess who the competition is. But with the Kowie, it’s such a difficult course. There are tides, there’s winds, there’s corners. So you might think someone is competition, but they’re not because they’re just not executing the racing lines properly. That’s why with the head race, we just really focus on how much we can push ourselves ahead of everyone. And then see after that how we assess to then focus on the one-on-one racing.

MM: You studied at UJ. How did you end up becoming the Tuks coach?

TM: I got appointed the Under-23 national head coach in 2022. That’s when I also then decided to move to Pretoria after finishing (coaching) at St Benedict’s College.  The national team at that time and the  University of Pretoria trained in the same facilities, so it only just made sense through that as well.

MM: Was coaching something you always wanted to do when you were rowing?

TM: When I remember back in the days, I was always hovering around the coaches. I always asked a lot of questions, tried to figure out why we weren’tt performing.  Of course, I wanted to row at the Olympics, but then I didn’t have the facilities. So the next best thing was to try coaching at that level and try to see if I can impart what I know to other athletes to hopefully allow them to reach their full potential.

MM: Your Olympic dream didn’t happen because you didn’t have the facilities. Is it pleasing to now see how things have changed, particularly with RMB’s involvement in the sport?

TM: One hundred percent. When I was at school, it was almost far-fetched that people could be supported and regattas were supported this well. The foundation of the sport and the grassroots was not supported so well. Rowing is, unfortunately, quite a lot of money, so the support of RMB has been next level in helping future generations.

MM: You’ve watched the RMB Universities Boat Race develop over the years. What changes have you seen?

TM: I think just the ability for all athletes to feel that it doesn’t have to be far-fetched for them to try and be at the Olympics or try and be a national athlete and not have to go too much into their pocket. We’ve seen facilities improve. We’ve seen coaches being supported more, which is quite a big thing with the cost of living so high. It’s one thing you can just go to corporate or follow your passion and try to help athletes compete at the highest level. And those athletes also who’ve gotten their degrees can pursue a dream of going to the Olympic Games.

MM: You’ve coached at the Youth Olympics and are now involved with the Under-23s. Does going to the main Olympics remain a dream?

Katherine Williams and Courtney Westley

TM: Yes, definitely. Hopefully, while coaching Katherine and Courtney, that becomes a possibility. We didn’t have the greatest of regattas (at the recent World Championship in Amsterdam), but I fully believe in the process right now to be able to achieve that.

MM: Oh yes you were in Amsterdam for the World Championships recently. How was that experience?

TM: It was, in terms of us being there, my first senior event. It was Courtney’s first senior event as well, so a lot was learnt. A lot can probably be improved prior with preparations. But we take the results and the chance so that we can learn from it rather than make any excuses. Great experience although not the great result that we’re looking for.

MM: You were at the World Championships and a few weeks later you’re racing at the Universities Boat Race. Is that a step down?

TM: I don’t think we ever look down on people. In the end, like I said earlier, this is probably the fun part where we can really challenge ourselves without that enormous pressure. This is much more fulfilling - if I can use that word - in terms of us being able to find the reason why we joined the sport to then push on again for next year’s World Championships. This is why we did the sport: to be surrounded by big crews, to have a big dream where there ae some great athletes and some athletes who just train really hard and have different kinds of views of rowing.

With university athletes, this is like the Olympics, the pinnacle of their rowing careers. So we also try to respect that so that we all can then push on, and they can use each other’s experience. The Kat and Court can see how much the others enjoy the sport, and the others can see how hard the Kat and Court h train as well.

MM: One of the special things about rowing is that university athletes can share a boat with athletes who have competed at World Championship level. How does that help?

TM: Big time, because it’s a huge kind of honour for them to row with people who are at the top of their sport, not only locally but internationally as well.  And for you to brush shoulders with them, then it allows you to also believe in your ability. We’ve had university athletes who’ve come, not really being that great from school, but as soon as they joined Tuks, they start believing in themselves a little bit more. They start taking it a little bit more seriously and then seeing what it really takes. It’s like mentorship in a way, but indirectly.

MM: Tell me about your own introduction to rowing. Which school did you attend and how did you get into the sport?

TM: I went to the great Jeppe High School for Boys. I went there on a cricket scholarship, but then I had a major operation on my leg because I got a big injury. And my history or geography teacher said, “Hey, come try rowing.” And my Math teacher recommended it too. I was like: ‘What the hell is rowing?’ And my orthopaedic surgeon also said, “Rowing will be good for your legs.” I was like, ‘What is this rowing thing?’ And then I finally went to the camp. And as they say, ‘the bug bit’. And after that, I never looked back.

MM: How fulfilling is it to now help young athletes, to coach them and see them growing in the sport?

TM: I think that’s the best part of the sport - especially in this day and age when everyone is trying to find their own meaning in life or sports or friends. And you see them try something as difficult as rowing. Once you simplify it for them and allow them to understand hard work, understand what true confidence and belief in yourself looks like, then you see the spark in their eyes. I think that’s the best part of the sport. Better than seeing them get medals and all of that, you know. Them seeing and understanding their worth is greater than any medal or any type of result.

MM: Thank you Thato, all the best for you and the crew this weekend.

TM: Thank you.