Keeping on the straight and narrow lane has enabled Lux Gordhan to excel at life, particularly as an athletics coach with an impeccable track record for producing quality athletes, many of whom have enjoyed international success.
Some of the 76-year-old’s latest crop of protégés were in action at the High Schools National Championships held in Germiston, Gauteng this week.
While the 14 athletes from the Aspire Sports Coaching Academy, which Gordhan heads, may not have landed podium finishes in Germiston, he believes their glory days are around the corner.
“My athletes were generally a year younger in their respective age groups on this occasion. They were there for the experience.
“Next year will be a big year, as about 90% of them will be back in the same division with more experience,” Gordhan projected.
It’s hard to be disparaging about Gordhan’s assessment.
After all, he’s been coaching since 1971 and has produced numerous athletes who have delivered star performances in international events.
He is also a World Athletics “elite jumps” coach (long, high and triple-jump), with a Level 5 coaching badge.
Gordhan is a World Athletics lecturer, who runs courses for the sport’s controlling body in South Africa and neighbouring countries, and a former national coach of the Youth and Junior World championships squad.
He was included in the coaching complement that guided the South African team at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, India.
Among SA’s crop of emerging stars that participated in Pune was Caster Semenya.
Given all his coaching experience, especially with youngsters, a sore point for him was the number of athletes who shine at a junior level, with some even setting world records, but fade away when they approach the adult ranks.
“That’s because they are pushed more than necessary to achieve records and other accolades, but 95% of the time these kids never make it at the adult level,” he said.
Gordhan said their bodies and its system were not able to cope with the rigours of the sport, while some lost interest because of the manner in which they were worked as juniors to achieve success at all costs.
He prefers a more pragmatic approach to coaching youth.
SOME OF THE ATHLETES IN GORDHAN’S ACADEMY
“I am meticulous with everything. My policy is to build a career rather than to destroy it,” he said.
Gordhan is focused on “long term athlete development”.
With the advent of YouTube, Gordhan agrees that coaching material was easily available online.
“Love is what sets me apart as a coach. You don't get life lessons from YouTube. I use life lessons and life skills as part of my coaching. It helps youngsters’ overall development.
‘I think it is a calling from God for me to be a coach. I never missed a training session since 1971, regardless of weather or other challenges. My commitment remains the same,” he said.
Gordhan was born in Newcastle but his family relocated to Durban early on in his life.
“We were very poor and lived in various places like Riverside, Warwick Avenue and on May Street, near the Greyville Racecourse.
“Living on May Street saved my life,” he said.
That’s because he lived near the racecourse and was able to run twice a day around the track.
“Running saved me from all the friends who got up to bad habits like alcohol and cigarettes. I was about 12 at the time,” he said.
By then his desire to run was already piqued. What gave him an extra spring in his step was his dislike to work as a jeweller, like his other family members.
“Running drove me to eat healthy, I was going against the culture of the day so that I could become an athlete,” he said.
During training, he ran long distances at a slow pace but competed in faster races like the 800m. That never worked for him.
Without proper coaching, he wasn’t aware that individuals had two types of muscles; fast and slow twitch.
“I was building the slow twitch muscles and racing the shorter distances, instead of working on my fast twitch muscles,” he said.
His perspective and understanding of the sport changed after reading a book; “In Quest For Gold: The Jim Ryun story”.
Ryun was an accomplished American athlete who relied on God to achieve his successes.
“That’s how I started to do speed-work,” he said.
Previously, his performances in middle distance races were dismal, but he persevered and the knowledge he gained from the book, transformed his running. He eventually represented the province and the national team.
“I wouldn’t have been talking to the Sunday Tribune. That book helped me understand athletics,” he said.
However, while playing a game of football on May Street in 1971, he injured his leg, which killed off his own running ambition.
The first athlete Gordhan coached happened in 1971 and was due to a mother who was concerned that her son would also pick up the bad habits from others on May Street.
“His name was GT Moodley and he became the first schoolboy to run the 400m in less than 50 seconds.
“It was a SA record at the time. That was in the days of Sacos (South African Council of Sport).
“I was a student at the Springfield College of Education at the time. I was training to become a teacher,” he said.
With the country banned from the international athletics because of its apartheid policies, Gordhan knew that Olympic dreams had to be grounded, as he steadfastly supported Sacos’ call for “no normal sport in an abnormal society”.
Gordhan remembered fondly how he was able to turnaround the fortunes of Ladysmith’s Windsor High’s athletics team, in the space of two months, when he was appointed there in 1972.
Windsor were perennial wooden spoon also-rans in the Northern Natal inter-school athletics championships, but in 1972 they enjoyed a landslide victory through Gordhan’s efforts.
They were well on track for another huge victory on the red-sand track in Glencoe the following year, but heavy rains during the relay events ended the meeting.
Gordhan was also able to inspire the athletes of Reservoir Hills High similarly when he joined the school in 1974.
From no-hopers, Reservoir Hills finished tied for first with the favourites, Bechet High, in a short space of time.
Work-wise, in 1984, Gordhan became Stanmore Secondary’s (Phoenix) Head of Department before taking up an inspector of school’s sport position in 1991 and he eventually retired from the teaching profession in 2009.
He took up a manager/coach position at the High Performance Centre (HPC) in Pretoria for two years, and has been coaching ever since.
Mervyn Abrahams’ son Neo, who was the top Under-13 sprinter in KZN last year, is being coached at Gordhan’s academy.
He had this to say about his son’s coach: “He spent most of his life in education and he has a commitment to young people, developing excellence.
“That is what shines through in his coaching.
“He teaches them to be confident and goal-focused, which helps them in all aspects of life.”
Abraham said his son was not the most confident individual, but is now outspoken and is able to set and achieve goals.
“He’s learnt all that through Gordhan’s coaching and he has something to look forward to in life,” said Abrahams.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE