12 August 2023
In the world of leading boys’ schools, both private and government, in KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Boys’ High Director of Sport Pam Hayward is the first woman to take the sporting reins of one of those highly regarded institutions.
Sure, some traditionalists raised their eyebrows when she was appointed to succeed Waylon Murray in mid-2021. And, she shared, it’s been hard to miss the surprise shown by some schools when they learn the Director of Sport at Westville is a woman.
What cannot be disputed is that, under her leadership, Westville produced an astonishing year on the sports’ front in 2022. The scope and astonishing level of achievement – 22 South African Schools and 130 provincial representatives – would have put the Griffins among the very top performers in South Africa.
A serious sportswoman
With a distinguished sporting background of her own, Hayward understands what it takes to perform at a high level. She represented South Africa in golf, once finishing seventh in the South African Open, as the leading amateur.
Westville’s Director of Sport was also good enough to be offered a tennis scholarship to a college in the USA, but she turned that down – to her later regret, she admitted. The point is, however, that she knows sports, and her coaches understand that she knows sports. They respect her.
She remains a formidable racquet sport player. Proof lies in the South African Padel rankings, where Hayward currently occupies sixth place among women.
Since 2011, she has been a member of the Westville community, having served as a golf coach, a teacher, and more recently as the Foundation Manager, very successfully.
Seeking support
Given her success, it was fascinating to learn in a conversation with Pinnacle Schools that she turned down the position of Director of Sport on numerous occasions. It wasn’t until Westville legend Errol Stewart urged her to take on the role that she accepted it.
Even then, she kept it as an interim position. It was only when she was sure that she had the support of the sports’ staff that she accepted the position on a permanent basis.
“It has been an interesting learning phase. The buy-in from my staff was key. I only acted in the job until I realised that there was buy-in. It was never going to work as a female Head unless there was complete buy-in. As soon as I ascertained that the key people in sport were happy with the transition, I accepted it,” she said.
“Far from win-at-all-costs”
People management has been a crucial focus in equipping Westville Boys’ High for sporting success, Hayward said. A clear vision and clear goals were set. “Our approach is far from win-at-all-costs. Obviously, results are important, but the happiness of our boys is far more important.”
Time and seminars have been spent addressing the how to, with the bottom line being to strive to be the best Sports’ Department in the country.
Hayward has given coaches plenty of rein to do their jobs, but she has set clear parameters within which they should function. A decision to seek outside help has also proved to be immensely valuable, she said: “We brought in [customised team coaching specialist] Craig Matkovich to help us to goal-set as a team, and to provide cohesion. That’s gone really well.”
In her speech at the 2022 WBHS Sports Awards, she outlined the keys to helping the boys achieve their best, while also deriving satisfaction from the sports of their choice: a safe environment; quality coaching, with an element of fun; effective communication; an opportunity to play and to also learn life lessons along the way.
The results have been astonishingly good, and they’re reflected not only in match situations, but in the number of boys who choose to spend their down-time utilising Westville’s sports’ facilities.
Plans that work
Furthermore, there have been many examples of intent and implemented plans delivering spectacular results. Take cricket, for example.
Hayward felt that the school was not reaching the level it was capable of achieving, so Wayne Scott, an Old Boy with a long and distinguished record in schoolboy cricket, was brought in as the Director of Cricket.
Christo Esau, one of only a very small number of CSA level four coaches in the country, also interviewed for the post. Westville, recognising he had plenty to offer, signed him, too. Esau was appointed the Head of High Performance for Cricket at Westville, although his skills quickly translated into many other sports.
The result was an exceptional 2022, with Westville’s 1st XI being crowned the KZN 100-Ball champions. They also placed third at the very competitive North-South T20 in Pretoria, up against many of South Africa’s leading teams. And they played 43 matches, winning over three-quarters of them. 1st XI coach, Richard Wissing, was named the WBHS Coach of the Year.
The under-15 A team won 18 of 24 games, while the under-14 A side posted 20 victories in 23 matches. Westville boys were named KZN Coastal captains at under-15, under-16 and under-19 level. And five staff members served as coaches or managers of KZN teams.
The addition, also, of a new Indoor Cricket Centre and turf nets ensured a detailed, committed plan delivered major rewards.
Rugby
Hayward is attuned to what stirs the Westville Old Boys’ community. Of course, it’s not that difficult to know: rugby is what supporters are most vocal and passionate about.
Already, she’s taken steps towards raising the bar in the sport, including bringing in former Shark, Dusty Noble, as the Director of Rugby. There are signs of improvement already.
While it was an up-and-down season for the Griffins’ 1st XV, they came out of the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival with an unbeaten record for the first time, which included a win over English powerhouse, Hartpury College. And their age group teams proved themselves to be among the best in the province.
Hartpury captain: ‘SA schools the toughest’ | Pinnacle Schools (pinnacle-schools.com)
Evidence of the esteem in which Noble is held came in his appointment as coach of the Sharks’ Craven Week team.
Developing people, developing coaches
“Maybe it’s because I am a woman, and I am not involved directly in the coaching, I have had to believe more in the people that are on the ground doing the coaching. I have invested a lot of energy into developing the people that I am working with,” Hayward said.
“I don’t know if we are doing it more than the other schools, but we are allowing them the freedom to take charge of their codes, to have a player-led environment.” By that, she means putting responsibility into the players’ hands for their sessions. That has been one of the keys to their success.
The coaches, too, have defined collectively what a quality session looks like and achieves. It is the attention to detail, not the focus on the end-result, which has produced outstanding returns.
Hayward has also invested a lot of her sports’ budget into getting coaches onto courses and helping them develop. “They feel that there is a career path being put in place for them to make a career out of coaching. It’s not just something they do for a salary, but a real investment into their lives,” she explained.
“I have tried to be thorough in spending a lot of time with coaches, and in trying to start a plan for them and their lives which, I think, has been quite successful.”
Parents included
Furthermore, Westville’s Director of Sport said she wants to play open cards with parents. “We’ve been strong in on-boarding them. We decided that the more information that we can equip them with from the start, to say journey with us, this is where we’re going to go, this is where we want to take your teams and your sons, the better. This is our way.”
She continued: “We’ve been a little bit vulnerable, to say we’re not always going to get it right. We’re going to make wrong selections, not deliberately. Once they hear that, they say ‘Westville’s got this’.”
Hayward said the Sports’ Department works its way through the various sports’ codes in this manner, meeting with parents, improving communication, growing the Westville family.
Embracing all sports
Another part of the reason for the eclectic success of Westville’s sportsmen and sports’ teams has been the school’s willingness to embrace all sports, whether they are official school sports or not. At sports’ assemblies on Fridays, all sports’ achievements are enthusiastically celebrated.
In fact, it extends beyond sports, too; at the Sports’ Awards, the loudest applause was saved for the photographers who documented the many achievements of the sportsmen over the course of 2022. The clear goal has been one of inclusion, of working together to pull in a singular direction.
A couple of examples of this, Hayward pointed out, were the sports’ staff offering up their time to the academic staff to take on most of the invigilation duties during exam times, and also offering to do break duties, allowing the academic staff time to relax with a cup of tea.
No time for complacency
Hayward’s and the school’s holistic approach has led to a happy environment, but one which is always being worked upon. Complacency is a no-no.
After an extraordinary year of success in 2022, some felt Westville Boys’ High had reached sports’ heights that it cannot possibly continue to attain, but Hayward and her Sports’ Department staff are not resting on their laurels. “The rankings suggested we might be on the peak of a wave, but, in our minds, we’re very much in the development phase. We’ve got a lot to improve on,” she said.
Always striving to be better helps combat complacency. It also produces excellence, like Westville laying claim to being number one in South Africa at tennis in 2023 after winning the Spar Kearsney Easter Festival against the cream of the country’s tennis talent.
Westville Boys’ High are South Africa’s best! | Pinnacle Schools (pinnacle-schools.com)
At Westville Boys’ High, the path to outstanding achievements is very clear. It doesn’t start at the end, with the results. It starts at the beginning, with the sports’ staff and with the boys.
It starts with creating the best possible environment for them.
It starts with providing them with opportunities to both enjoy and excel in sport.
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