Academy View: A week in the life of coach Graham Knott

Monday:

The week begins with a 09:00 meeting with all the coaches, interns and management interns where the weekend activities and matches are reported on by the respective coaches. The planning of the coming week's activities and duties is also discussed and thereafter, the practice for the high-performance team for the day is discussed with the interns. Then we head back to the office to prepare English lessons for the U/12 and U/14 boys from 16:00 to 16:45. I then leave at 15:30 to collect the boys from the township and take them to English classes and tutor them with the help of the interns at a nearby school. Practice starts immediately after the classes and finishes at 18:30 whereafter I take the boys back to the township and I get home at about 19:00.

Tuesday :

The morning begins with a meeting at the interns' residence at 09:00 and we discuss training and any other issues that need attention. The workload for the day for each intern is also decided upon. Then it is time to write a report on the weekend's matches for a local newspaper which has to be in by midday. Some admin work is then done before it is time to do some coaching at a local school where kids from all over Somerset West come together for some informal coaching and fun. The coaching starts at 17:00 and ends at 18: 30.  I get home at about 19.00

Wednesday :

Again a 09.00 meeting with the interns and a planning for the high-performance training in the afternoon, followed by some admin and preparation of English lessons for the afternoon classes at 16:00 - Practice follows at 17:00 to 18:30. I collect and take the boys and get back at 19:00.

Thursdays :

We have a technical meeting with all the coaches and interns from 10:00 till 12:00 every Thursday. Various topics are discussed and homework is required for some of these sessions. Then we discuss the afternoon's high-performance training and then head back to attend to administrative matters. Training is from 16:00 to 17:30 and I collect and take the players back to the township to get home at 18.00

Friday :

Morning intern meeting at 09: 00 to finalise the arrangements for the three Saturday matches the following day in respect of kit, transport, nutrition and referees.After lunch, it is informal training at the school from 16:00 to 17:30 or the playing of some matches with teams from the area.

Saturday :

It is off to an early start with the completion of team returns for the days match at 07:30 and then on to collect the interns and the players from the township at 08:00. Our matches are all played in the greater Cape Town area and start at 09:50. The matches finish at 10.=:45 whereafter I drive them back to the township. Most of the time we stay after our game to watch either the U/14 or U/18 team play their match and then get back to Somerset  West at about 13.30. 

This is a typical week, however, in between, we take part in Tournaments over long weekends, friendly matches in the week, take the kids on outings or to the beach and attend to social problems where necessary. I also collect and take the interns to and from the airport and help them settle in for their stay of between three and six months as well as helping them with the management of the house and the various non-training activities of the Academy.