26 April 2023
It’s a long read, but what an inspirational story! Pinnacle Schools sat down with DHS Director of Hockey Michael Baker to hear how he turned a down-and-out hockey programme into one of the best to be found anywhere in just five years…
When Michael Baker arrived at DHS five years ago to take over as the Director of Hockey, the school was not in a good place, and the hockey programme was emblematic of the problems. Now, though, the school’s 1st XI has a legitimate claim to be one of the leading sides in KwaZulu-Natal, if not in South Africa.
Shocking statistic
The extent of the challenge Baker faced was revealed to Pinnacle Schools when he shared a shocking statistic: “The year before I came across [from Glenwood], the first team’s average score was 11 goals against and 0.4 for!” he said.
Now, ahead of the Hibbert Shield, which will be hosted by Grey High School, starting on 27 April, Baker is not shying away from pitting his charges against any other school. In fact, he requested an opportunity to face SACS.
“I asked for SACS, because I think they’re the best team in the country,” Baker said. And a recent 10-0 thrashing of Grey High by SACS lends credence to that contention. “If I am going all the way there, let’s play against the best. We’ve got them day one, game one.
“We have a 16-hour bus trip. That doesn’t help. We arrive on the Wednesday and play them on the Thursday. Last year, we also had them day one, game one, and we got hammered. You could see the guys still hadn’t got off the bus. I’m hoping we’ve learned from last year’s experience.”
It is truly remarkable that DHS, which was scoring one goal for every 27.5 they conceded the year before Baker took over the reins of the hockey programme, is now eager to test their skills against a side which, based on their demolition of Grey, and Grey’s strong results at the Nomads Festival, is comfortably number one in the country to those in the know.
Previously, Baker was on staff at Clifton, working in the Junior Primary, before moving to Glenwood, where he enjoyed success, leading the school to a national top 10 ranking.
All was going well, so why move and take on the challenge of resurrecting a seriously troubled programme?
Part of the reason was an opportunity for Baker to lead a programme. At his previous stops, he had been behind other accomplished coaches in the pecking order, but a move to DHS would enable him to construct the programme in exactly the manner he believed was best.
Good leaders
Another part of the reason was the two men to whom he would answer at DHS, both of whom he had previously worked with at Glenwood: Durban High Headmaster Tony Pinheiro and Director of Sport, Nathan Pillay.
“Nathan and I go back a couple of years. He was the first guy to give me a provincial gig in the primary schools. He backed me then, and we formed a relationship through that. They came across and I sat with them, and they explained their vision,” Baker recalled.
“Obviously, I had boxes that I needed to be ticked, like the Astro. That was in 2017. We spoke about budgets and coaches. For me to make it work, I needed certain things. They were aligned with the vision I had.
“I was given this clean sheet of paper at DHS, and I was quite excited to be given the chance to try to create my own something. Also, I had to learn about being a Director. It’s one thing to coach, but it’s another thing to direct a programme.”
His first practice was eye-opening in all the wrong ways: “I will never forget my first hockey practice,” Baker said. “Guys arrived with flat caps backwards. I had this session planned, but they couldn’t stop and pass the ball.
Stark contrast
“I had gone from Glenwood, where I had Jarryd Cass (who is coaching here now), who was the best player in the country in his age group, and now I am coaching Johnny who can’t stop and pass, but he’s got his cap backwards, so he’s quite cool.
“I had to quickly change all of that and the way I was doing things very quickly. There’s a couple of days when I went to my wife and said this could set me back, because I had a really good year in 2017 as a coach.”
Crucially, though, he surrounded himself with quality coaches. He got the men that he wanted on board, coaches like Tanner Bottomley, Cameron Goodwin, Kelly Taylor-Stack and Igshan Manuel, and along the way he had excellent coaches like Jason Flanagan and Harold Siyaya, who have since moved on, who played an important role in uplifting the programme.
“We have always had a good core group of coaches. We have been able to build the brand that we have now. We have meetings where we try to problem solve. I try to allow coaches a bit of their own flair, but with what I’m trying to get at the end. I don’t necessarily say we’re all going to play the same way, but we’re trying to create players who can play in any side.”
So, what exactly is that brand? From observation by Pinnacle Schools, it is high-energy, hard-working team hockey, with rapid ball movement, made possible by excellent basic skills, and a good understanding of structure and off-the-ball movement.
Clearly happy with the progress that has been made, Baker said: “I have an awesome coaching group, all the way through. We all get on well. Everyone is part of every team. If the under-16 Bs are playing, you’ll see four or five of us floating around, because we are all invested in it.”
A change of team culture
To turn thing around, the coaches did what they could do in terms of hockey, but further changes were needed. Most importantly, a change of culture, it became glaringly clear, was perhaps even more important than the hockey lessons that were being taught. Without a better attitude to the game and to one another, the boys would hit a ceiling and it wasn’t particularly high.
Following a big drubbing at the hands of Michaelhouse, Baker took action. “I did an exercise where they all had to write something about each player in the team. It was anonymous. I would, then, make notes from it, and tell everyone what others think of them. We did that and guys were brutally honest.
“I read it out and from that moment a light went on, because guys didn’t know how others were thinking or feeling about them. You started to see guys start to work on themselves. That was a huge moment. We did team-building and chatted more.”
An extremely difficult challenge
Improving the hockey programme was one thing but making it competitive in a hockey-rich area of the country was another. School’s traditional rivals were working to attract top players, too, and in the beginning local children were not interested in DHS. Its reputation had taken a hit.
Baker, though, had no option. He had to try to attract good, or maybe that should rather be potentially good, hockey players to the school, because the more rounded, better developed players were looking elsewhere for their high school years.
If he was going to get boys to invest in DHS, he had to get their parents invested, too. “I don’t know how I did it. I don’t know if I’ve got good people skills. I had to sell the parents that it would come right one day. They needed to trust that I would look after their sons while they’re in Durban, and I would develop them into good human beings,” Baker explained.
Citing the case of the 2023 captain Lerou Dithlakanyane, who helped the South African under-21 team become champions of Africa earlier this year, he said: “Imagine DHS five years ago, when Lerou was in grade 7, and we had just lost 15-0 to Maritzburg College, how do I get a kid like him to come to DHS, when every school is after him?
“I always thank the boys and the parents for believing in what I said to them five years ago. A kid like Lerou, everyone would have seen him, but he still came to us and believed in the vision we had. In Lerou’s first year as a grade eight, I think we lost one game.”
He added: “A big thing I say to the coaches is the boys are not just your pawns in this hockey thing. Get to know them. We want good human beings first.”
Building relationships
Investment in the children has also led to Baker investing in communities and to building relationships there. Some areas, he might visit once or twice a year. He’ll take goods to the people in those communities to help them run their programmes. He’ll also head up hockey clinics, and he stays in contact with those people, offering his support. Everybody wins.
Now, many of his leading players come from far afield. Most were very far from the finished product when they arrived at DHS, but Baker believes in his ability and that of his coaching staff to get the best out of the boys, to unlock the potential that flickered when he first saw them.
As a result of the success of the hockey programme at DHS, which produced a school record 36 players for KZN Coastal teams in 2022, local children now view DHS as an option that must be considered. The tide is turning.
One of the stars of the DHS 1st team is Lumi Matwele, a skilful and influential midfielder, but that was definitely not the case when he arrived at DHS, Baker said.
“Lumi was really bad,” he said with a laugh. “But his family was good, and I could see some potential. There were certain things that I was looking for that he does. I took the chance, and now look at him.
“A lot of schools don’t want to back the raw guys. I always say that if a boy comes to us, we will make him better than a boy from another school. I am ready to back our coaching and our programme. “
Recognition
His success at DHS has brought further recognition for Baker. Last year, he coached the KZN Coastal under-18 A team. He also assisted the South African women’s hockey team in their Olympic cycle. Baker, furthermore, is the Head of High Performance for KZN Senior Hockey, and he coaches the Crusaders men’s team. There’s also the Raiders indoor hockey team, where he assists Cameron Mackay, and add to that a Pro Series Indoor (PSI) hockey side. Now, he’s set to work as a trainer with the national under-17 squad.
He’s cut back on coaching this year, Baker said! If only there was monetary reward for all that hard work but, he revealed, most of that coaching is for free, which is kind of troubling when one considers that he has an excellent record of coaching success. He’s the man you want for a turnaround project. DHS is not the only example of that.
Baker previously coached the Crusaders ladies’ team, which had come last in the Super League in the year he took over at the club. “Two or three years later, we won the Super League,” he said.
Now, along with good results, DHS, finally, has its own Astro, which was opened just before the start of the 2023 hockey season, next to the Blackmore House boarding establishment. Baker has given it the name of “The Coliseum”. The tiered seating lends itself to the name, and he hopes that the excellence of the DHS teams makes it somewhat of an intimidating venue for opposing teams.
Astro advantages
The Astro – which was built through a large contribution and support from the DHS Foundation (Welcome – DHS Foundation), Trellidor (Trellidor – Custom Made Security Gates & Secure Burglar Bars), and a partnership with Maris Stella (Private All Girls School in Durban | Catholic Girls School | Maris Stella) – is already helping the Horseflies take another step forward. It allows boys to do things like practice penalty corners, such an important part of the game, which had to take a bit of a back seat previously when the school called the Riverside Sports Club home, because travel time cut into practice time.
In 2023, DHS has a legitimate claim to being home to the top schoolboy hockey team in Kwazulu-Natal. Sure, there are still many matches to be played before that can be proclaimed, but they’re right up there, no doubt. Among the teams they have beaten this year are Maritzburg College, Paarl Boys’ High and, most recently, a very good Northwood side.
So, what’s next? What is Baker’s plan?
He’s not settling for short-term success. That much is crystal clear. “Today, I called in the guys to say we had won a couple of games, but we can’t settle now,” he said. “What are we lacking? We’ve had a few discussions, talked about focal points.
“It’s one thing after five years being good for a year or two. It’s another thing being good for the next 20 years. Consistency is the thing we need to strive for.
And then he revealed his great ambition: “That DHS should one day be recognised as powerhouse hockey programme across South Africa, which consistently produces quality boys on and off the field.” It seems the standard has already been met, now it’s all about meeting that standard consistently enough to be regarded as a powerhouse.
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