The South African Hockey Association (Saha) is on the hunt for a new national women’s coach following the shock announcement this week that Ros Howell has quit the job.
Howell will, however, continue in the position until the end of the year, after which she will return to being deputy headmaster at St Mary’s School in Johannesburg at the start of the 2005 school year.
Howell had been given a sabbatical by the school for a period of five school terms — to accommodate her appointment as full-time national coach — and that runs to an end in December. She literally could not afford to have only an income from hockey, thus her decision to resign and return to the more lucrative teaching position.
The decision, while seemingly sudden, was always on the cards, but may have been prevented with a little foresight by South Africa’s hockey bosses, who have allowed one of the foremost hockey brains in the country to slip through their fingers.
”I don’t know about that, but there was no ill feeling that I know of, and I certainly didn’t resign as a result of what happened in Athens,” Howell said on Tuesday.
South Africa had been expected to challenge seriously for a medal, but their campaign came unstuck and they finished ninth out of 10 teams.
The results leading up to the Olympics saw South Africa beat each of the gold medal hopes — bar world champions Argentina — at least once.
Howell was ultimately left with three choices.
”I had three options. The first was to continue as coach, the second was to be part-time at the school and part-time as coach, and the third was to go back to St Mary’s.
”I chose the latter because I had to look at my future financial security,” she said.
Saha is an amateur organisation and simply could not match the salary offered by St Mary’s. An alternative was to secure a sponsor, but that avenue had not been fully explored.
Howell’s record as coach of South Africa, against teams mostly ranked higher, makes for impressive reading: played 75, won 43, lost 25 and drew seven.
On the field, Howell added an extra dimension and made South Africa a feared hockey team. Unfortunately, it all came apart in the heat of Athens.
”Athens was frustrating,” she said, ”because we had played much better previously and I believe we can play much better in the future. It just wasn’t our time.”
Nominations are now being sought from the various provinces. Individual applications will also be considered. The cut-off date is October 31.
Dave Carr, a Saha executive member whose main portfolio is coaching, said it was a disappointment to lose someone of Howell’s experience.
”We are very disappointed, but we understand her situation. Hopefully, we can keep her on board in some capacity,” said Carr. ”We are hoping to announce the new coach before the end of November.”
Howell will have a meeting with the Saha executive in Johannesburg on Friday, but it is doubtful it can lure her back to the job.
South Africa’s next assignments will be against England and Scotland in the new year, when South Africa will play three Tests against each country. — Sapa