Clemen Kock

The feature coach this week is an exciting one for me. This coach is one I’ve had the pleasure of playing for in a short stint with the Phenomenal Phenoms and met while playing in the BNL. With one of the biggest reputations among SA coaches, Clemen Kock, is known for being a critical coach and smart decision maker. As a FIBA International qualified coach, Clemen has coach at some of the most competitive schools in the country.

I spoke to Clemen to see if he could share some knowledge on his career as a coach and was not disapointed!

Who or what motivated you to get serious about coaching?

My high school coach (science teacher) jokingly forced me to play basketball by threatening me to withhold my science results. On a more serious note... I basically realised how big the need for coaches in our province at a young age and I was tired of playing without a coach. So I decided to prioritize coaching instead of playing. I also wanted to help players get more opportunities through basketball and also to raise the standard of play and coaching within our community.

Have you modelled your coaching philosophies after another coach or has it been "self

taught"?

It was definitely a mixture of both:

Other Coaches: I used to look at how certain coaches approach their matches, their player

rotations, the offenses and defenses they would use and make notes of that. I would ask

certain Coaches for advice about their approach to their training routines and match preparation

but the most important thing was I'd always focus on what works for the teams I normally

work with.

Self Taught: Coming from a province where we did not have too many coaches who worked

at a national level, it was important to develop my own because the players I used to work

with weren't necessarily the same fit of players that other coaches would advise me on. For

example, our province did not have size to mention one. So I needed to adapt my philosophy

accordingly. It does not mean that I did not learn how to Coach players with size, it just was

not higher on our list of priorities.

Favourite coaching moment?

Being the assistant coach during 2017 where we could coach against China, Russia and India

where we managed to beat India and gained a Bronze medal during the BRICS tournament.

A favourite team to have coached?

Free State Warriors, BNL: As much as I have helped the team in a tremendous way, but the

team gave me an opportunity to do some of my best coaching that helped shape my outlook

on development as a whole.

Highest level coached?

Snr men's National Team (Asst Coach)

Biggest accomplishment as a coach?

Building a programme at the University of the Free State with multiple milestones.

Established:

1. Residence leagues, First Year camps, Annual tournaments

2. Bursaries for basketball players

3. High performance programmes for first teams

4. Financial support for Coaches.

5. Qualified for Varsity Sport -Top 8, 2019 (Coached by coach that I help mentored from being a

student to becoming the head coach of the First Team)