22 September 2009

JONATHAN COOK

AT 27, Mario Campbell's life has turned full circle.

The full-time hockey coach played his first game while at Alston Primary School in Pietermaritzburg. And after a round trip that took him to the Eastern and Western Cape over the next 15 years, Campbell is back in the city he left when in grade seven.



The new regional development officer for the KZN Inland Hockey Association is still pinching himself at the good fortune that's come his way.
"Sometimes I feel guilty because I am actually getting paid for what I love doing," he said.

However, less energetic souls might shrink at the challenge that awaits him, but Campbell is eminently qualified for the job, having studied sports science at Stellenbosch University, played for SA U18, Maties firsts and Western Province U21.
Still a provincial player, Campbell is tasked primarily with taking hockey to teachers, schoolboys and schoolgirls who have had very little exposure the game.

"The goal is to develop hockey in areas in and around Pietermaritzburg and as far afield as towns like Newcastle and Kokstad," Campbell said. "The focus is outcomes-based, regular progress tests by which aspiring young players can be measured; not a case of going to an area, having one big 'Hockey Day' and then never seeing me again."

Educating teachers in areas without a hockey culture to become coaches themselves, is another aim, so what they learn can be passed on at regular school practices. Satellite academies are also envisaged in which a central point in these regions is established for likeminded young players and teacher/coaches to come together for regular training.

"The focus is ultimately to gather info on boys and girls with potential, include them on a database, monitor their progress and feed them into regular high performance training sessions in their age groups," Campbell said. "The end goal is to see them selected for KZN Inland provincial age-group teams on merit and follow their progress through the years, thus ensuring that as few as possible fall through the cracks."

For more information, Mario Campbell can be contacted at 071 548 9295.