Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 129, April 2020 | Page 34

TRACK & FIELD Laying the Foundation for Greatness The Ultra Athletic Club has helped change the face of Western Cape athletics over the last few years. The club’s mission to mine and expose the oft forgotten Cape Flats talent pool has paid dividends, as their athletes have started to make their mark on the track and field scene, both provincially and at a national level. And to the man behind the dream of waking the sleeping giant of Cape talent, coach Waleed Donough, it is important to open doors and guide the youth. – BY PJ MOSES Training, racing, success, proud coach His athletics philosophy is quite simple: In order for you to reach your potential in the sport, you have to look at it like you are building a house. “You don’t start by building the walls and putting the roof of the house on first, instead you need to lay the foundation and then build everything else on top of it.” He tries to instil this philosophy in all the athletes that he coaches, and wants them to realise that the lessons they learn in training can be used in their daily lives, too. “Our coaching philosophy is that practice makes permanent. What you train daily will translate into great performances,” he says. “You should not allow anything or anyone to hold you back in life. If you can envision something, then you can make it a reality. But you have to constantly work at it. That same discipline you need if you want to become a straight A student, by sitting with your books, especially if you don’t want to, is what you need to be great at athletics. I advise new athletes and parents to always be willing to put in the work if they want to taste success.” “The same goes for my advice to the coaches I meet and instruct. I tell them that they have to always reinvent themselves by constantly doing research on how to improve their coaching skills. If you do that as a coach, then you will always find better ways of doing things, and this in turn will translate into better performances by the athletes you coach.” Humble Beginnings This positive approach has helped Waleed guide the Ultra club becoming a coaching hub for Western Province Athletics – seven of their athletes qualified for nationals in various events just before the lockdown interrupted the season – but he admits it has 34 ISSUE 129 APRIL 2020 / www.modernathlete.co.za been a challenging road to get to this point. “I remember our club rocking up at a track competition and we were literally laughed at. It didn’t deter us, however, but only served to make us more determined.” “Coming back for our second season is where we started making inroads, finishing second at the Western Province Top 10 interclub competition. This competition always has a prestige to it, because of its long history and the calibre of clubs like Bellville, Tygerberg and UWC taking part. Heads were turned when a small community club like Ultra unseated these giants from their usual positions. Then we came back a third season and repeated our success, proving to all the doubters that it wasn’t a fluke, and that we were here to stay!” says Waleed proudly. “From those tentative first steps our athletes have levelled up and gone on to perform at the national championships and have been able to win many medals. This rise and consistency in performance has seen many other athletes flocking to us. Athletes started believing that no matter where you come from or what your circumstances are, that you can achieve your goals if you are willing to grab the opportunities when they are available to you. We have multiple medallists from communities like Manenberg, Bonteheuwel and Mitchells Plain, all townships that are plagued with crime, poverty and drug abuse. Many of them are now ranked in the ASA top ten national rankings.” Father-Daughter Combo One of the most talented athletes in Waleed’s group just happens to be his own daughter, Ameerah, who W aleed knows the heartache of not being able to chase your athletic dreams all too well, though for him it was because of an oppressive political system that kept him from achieving his goals. “I have always been involved in sport, especially athletics, which I competed in and also watched on TV whenever I could. Now the kids have different challenges stopping them from reaching their full potential, and I want to be a solution to that problem, to help them over or past the obstacles in their way,” says Waleed.