My SS4LS experience started in the last term of 2002, I was still in matric and we were not allowed to play for the school due to final exams. At the time I was playing for Edgemead Cricket Club (ECC). I don’t even recall how we stumbled upon UWC but as I recall I had a meeting with Nick and Ezra.
I then started to train with the squad.
Coming from a white family and a predominantly white background it was initially quite a shock / change for me to be the only white guy at training. I remember my first session being called and not responding because I was being called Eugene (after Eugene Terblanche - an Afrikaner nationalist and white supremacist who founded and led the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging in South Africa). Great start!
I started playing 2nd team cricket and finally progressed to playing in the first team in the second half of the 2002/03 season.
I was made captain at the start of the next season and I don’t think I understood the magnitude of position at the time; in fact I know I did not. We were a very diverse group of different individuals, races, ages, nationalities and socio-economic backgrounds. I was very lucky at the time because even though I was the “leader” of the group I had a great group of experienced players to lean on. I have always believed, and this reinforced this feeling, that any leader is only as good as the leadership group he has around him, or in a sporting context, the senior players.
I had to do very little talking to get folks to track in a certain direction and always tried to lead by example in terms of work ethic, (although some might add I struggled on the fitness front!) the way I conducted myself in front of others, the quality of training that I did and to get to know everyone as well as I could. I think this is key and something I became better at as I grew within the programme and gained more experience. A key lesson I took was that you do need to treat people differently, respecting the individual's specific cultural and behavioural norms, albeit following your natural instincts as a leader of people. The Programme encouraged me to grow this leadership style and make decisions independently, even if they weren’t always agreed upon, especially on the field. This would be made known very clearly by someone like Ezra Poole (Head Coach at the time), which very quickly and equally forced me to develop a stronger character and personal resilience!
I had many arguments with Nic Kock (SS4LS Programme Director) about situations in the squad. For me it was always black or white, right or wrong and Nic was all about the grey area which I wanted to know nothing about. Again as I grew I began to realise that there is actually more grey than black and white in sport and in life.
The biggest mental aspect that was missing from our group at the time was belief in our ability. We didn’t think of ourselves as a “big deal” or a very good cricket team, even though on paper we were. I feel this was one of our biggest victories as a group. The big kickstart was winning our first two matches in the A division of SASSU in 2003. That same season we won the Western Province 1A (premier division) after finishing second for four years in a row. Success bred success and before you knew it, the national tertiary cricket week (SASSU) became something we really started to look forward to. No longer perceiving ourselves as merely participants but as a real force in domestic cricketing circles.
We grew together as a group of young men with a handful of older leaders, into a collective group of leaders in our own right. Once the experienced guys left, the transition of leadership was made that much easier, as everyone knew their roles and what it meant to be part of the Programme. If someone new came into the group they were welcomed but quickly had to fit into our culture and pull their weight as the core group had set a really strong foundation that was built on trust, friendship and respect for others above all else. This gained momentum and we were able to turn in consistently good results to become the team to beat in all competitions we took part in.
On reflection, while part of the programme I never realised the magnitude of what I had experienced and learned during my time at SS4LS. It was only upon continued reflection after finishing my studies that I realised what a great group of people I had spent four years of my life with and what environment and legacy we had contributed towards. From our chants when taking wickets, to creating traditions like the baggies and haircuts. We created an environment for people to thrive if they were willing to put in the work and where they were able to learn about different people and cultures in a safe space.
I will forever be grateful for the life lesson that I learnt in my time, it made me a better human being - a more understanding human being. I learnt about different people and their struggles and that we have so much to be grateful for. It made me realise that I wouldn’t change that experience for anything… it was invaluable.
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