Woman soccer coach leaves critics flat-footed

24 May 2015 - 02:00 By TSHEPANG MAILWANE

When Tracy Pepper was appointed to take over as coach of a league football team, many players and fans of the beautiful game were sceptical. She would be stepping into the shoes of the legendary John "Shoes" Moshoeu - no easy challenge.But, after only one season at the helm of Alexandra United, the team is on the road to winning promotion to the National First Division. It is a remarkable achievement for a 51-year-old woman who had to fend off offensive remarks from her male counterparts.No one is guffawing now.block_quotes_start You get people saying I should be in the kitchen, but what I focus on is the people I know block_quotes_endPepper's team is leading the race to win the Gauteng region in the ABC Motsepe League and move a step closer to getting promoted. Her ultimate goal is taking the team to the Premier Soccer League.When Pepper was chosen late last season, she beat 20 male coaches for the job.Club boss Nick Nicolaou said she was selected because of her qualifications. She had completed all of the South African Football Association's coaching courses, obtained German A and B coaching licences, and had a Confederation of African Football B licence. She started out at Alexandra United as a match analyst and was given her big break when Moshoeu fell ill.United supporters adore her now that she has proved she is more than capable of coaching a team of 34 players, some of whom have played in the PSL."You get people saying I should be in the kitchen, but what I focus on is the people I know," she said.She counts among her friends Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba, Pitso Mosimane and Rhulani Mokoena from Mamelodi Sundowns and Gavin Hunt."These guys are my go-to guys. I phone them and they reassure me that they go through the same things. They keep me going," said Pepper, whose assistant coach is former Sundowns and Bafana goalkeeper John Tlale.She has dedicated her life to football, and sometimes regrets being an absent mother to her daughter and son. But she probably would not have gone into coaching were it not for her daughter, who started playing football in primary school."I grew up in Cape Town on the football field," she said. "I was the ultimate tomboy."story_article_left1Her two brothers played for Hellenic. Although she never played, she always watched their games, and the highlight of her week was being at Greenpoint Stadium on Friday nights."That's where my love for football started," she said.When the family moved to Johannesburg many years later, her daughter and son started playing the game. "My daughter decided at age 11 that she wanted to play football. So she joined Edenvale Football Club, but she played with boys because there was no girls' league."So she came up with the idea to start a girls' team. " I started doing coaching clinics during the holidays - and then it progressed into a business."She set up a company called Girlsport and went to schools around Johannesburg. Then she started a league for girls in Johannesburg and Pretoria."That's when I thought I need to get educated and get my coaching licences. My daughter got chosen for the national under-17 team and another student, Robyn Moodaly, got selected for Banyana Banyana at age 17. She is now in the US. So a lot came out of that."But it meant less time with her kids. "I lost balance because I got so involved in football. I was missing out on my children. I was so busy being a coach I forgot my role as a mother."She worked with Moshoeu before he died."He could not coach the team because he was so ill. We did not know what it was because he was such a private man. It was devastating to hear the news that he died."Moshoeu wanted to win the league last season. "It's a dream that could be fulfilled for him this season," Pepper said...

There’s never been a more important time to support independent media.

From World War 1 to present-day cosmopolitan South Africa and beyond, the Sunday Times has been a pillar in covering the stories that matter to you.

For just R80 you can become a premium member (digital access) and support a publication that has played an important political and social role in South Africa for over a century of Sundays. You can cancel anytime.

Already subscribed? Sign in below.



Questions or problems? Email helpdesk@timeslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00.