Newly appointed Hoërskool Linden coach Thabang Diole is relishing the opportunity to lead the first-team boys’ hockey side in 2027.
He joins the Linden after three years serving as the first-team girls’ coach at Trinityhouse Randpark Ridge and takes over the reins from SA Men’s Hockey player Michael Horan, who coached the side for the past two seasons.
During his time at Trinityhouse, Diole helped develop the girls’ side and produced several provincial players.
Diole had been considering a move back to boys’ hockey for some time when the opportunity at Linden arose.
He explained how it came about: “Leon Keulder is the Director of Hockey at Linden, and we worked together with the Southern Gauteng U18A girls,” he told SuperSport Schools News. “I think he appreciated the effort and work I put in with the team and proposed the offer to me.
“It was just when Michael decided to step away because of his playing commitments, and it was really a no-brainer for me.”
Diole’s last involvement in schoolboys hockey was in 2019, when he coached at Jeppe High School for Boys. He had worked with Jeppe’s age-group sides since 2017 and coached alongside Mike Bechet before leaving for Trinityhouse.
He’s also been involved with the Eastside Mavericks and won the U18 section of the boys’ Joburg Hockey League four times.
While coaching boys and girls presents different challenges, Diole believes the lessons he learnt at Trinityhouse will benefit him in his new role.
“Coaching boys and girls is about two different dynamics, and the schools are different as well.
“I think the key takeaway for me was the ability to produce provincial players at Trinity. We had five in 2026.
“That was a massive achievement, because the nurturing of players at that kind of school takes a bit longer because kids have got the option to play other sports,” he explained.
“From a coaching perspective, the past couple of years opened my eyes to a lot of things, and I’ll be looking to use those experiences at Linden.”
Diole, who describes his coaching philosophy as “simple”, says building a strong team culture will be one of his priorities.
“I ideally want to introduce a winning culture and a culture that best fits the team.
“I think it’s important to create a culture where boys can grow and develop. We will then put together some goals and targets that we want to achieve, and that’s only possible by working hard.”
Diole also said he’s keen to build on his predecessor’s work: “I want to continue where Michael left off and just bring my own style and approach to the game for the boys,” he said.
“I know we’re trying to secure more traditional schoolboy fixtures to be more competitive and test our limits.
“We also have the Aitken Cup and the Pretoria Cup; I’m looking forward to the challenge and going up against some big coaches in the Gauteng region.
“It’s going to be tough, but you never know how far you can grow if you don’t take up these challenges.”
