Tiisetso Mlaungane, one of South Africa’s emerging talents, is a 16-year-old middle-distance runner who has been racking up accolades and breaking records along the way, making the nation proud. However, as the saying goes, behind every successful champion is a dedicated coach. Catherine Malungane is that coach.
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Who is Catherine Malungane?
Catherine Malungane is the mother and primary coach to South Africa’s rising star, Tiisetso Malungane. Born in Bushbuckridge as a twin, she was raised by a single mother in a family of eight children. Stern values of hard work and discipline filled her childhood home.
By profession, she is a coach at the Hazeldean Curro campus and a private coach. Catherine started as an athlete, with her own achievements as a marathon and ultra-marathon runner. Her coaching journey began when the then-three-year-old Tiisetso started running with his mother as she trained for her own career.
Catherine Malungane as a coach
In light of Tiisetso’s recent record-breaking success, Catherine’s coaching sheds light on the significance of female leadership in sports.
She carries out a holistic approach to coaching. As she details what a day of coaching looks like for her, she told BONA, “Coaching isn’t just sets and reps. It’s checking in: How did you sleep? How’s school/work? How’s your head?”
She is cognisant that she is coaching people who lead human lives as well as children who are still developing mentally and emotionally.
Catherine is very intentional about instilling discipline and character in her athletes, specifically Tiisetso. When asked what wisdom she imparts to him, she stated a few things. The first being that discipline beats motivation. Discipline is the one that pushes you when you are tired. She also teaches him to respect the process: “Be patient in victory and be hungry in defeat.”
One piece of wisdom that stood out was that character always comes first. She said, “Talent can take you to the start line, but character gets you to the finish line and back home with your integrity intact.”
This shows that Catherine’s coaching is centred around ensuring that her athletes don’t just win medals but that they have strong character and integrity.
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The challenges she’s faced
Catherine detailed a few of the challenges she faces as a female coach. She states that a big one is underestimation. According to Catherine, people assume that a female coach can’t push an elite athlete, as they are perceived as being too soft.
“I’ve had to prove again and again that care and standards can live in the same room.”
Alongside the constant proving, she also has to conduct a balancing act of being available for the athletes whilst still being available for her family, while demanding respect in the male-dominated field and seeking funding and access to facilities.
She further shared with BONA that watching her athletes perform silences the doubt.
Her future in coaching
Tiisetso’s recent success has definitely opened doors, she notes. Thus, when asked if she is open to coaching more professional athletes, she stated that she is open to the opportunities, mainly to build people, not an army.
Catherine expressed that her dream “is to create a small, values-driven setup where young talent, especially from limited backgrounds and surrounding areas, get proper structure, guidance, and belief.”
The reason is that she was inspired by the Ruta Sechaba Foundation, which came into Tiisetso’s life to help with his educational development.
Significance of female leaders in sports
Catherine’s coaching journey shows the significance of women in leadership roles in sports. There is a level of care she offers her athletes that is very important. She is very intentional about teaching her young athletes that integrity, discipline, and community are as important as the medals.
What keeps her going
Catherine rounds up her interview with some moments of pride that keep her going. She starts with the loudest moment of pride: seeing her son win and thrive.
The quiet moments of pride are the ones that keep her going. This is when her athletes show her that they trust her and are inspired by her.
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