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
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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.