When I joined, UCT Rowing was a club with energy and raw talent but weighed down by history. TUKS Rowing (Johannesburg) had held a 13-year winning streak at the RMB University Boat Race, and UCT had not won the race in 22 years. Despite training hard, analysing numbers, and debating rowing techniques, the team struggled with culture: there was effort, but little alignment, belief, or cohesion.

I reframed the focus from “working harder” to working smarter together. I introduced high-performance team principles from my coaching and consulting background:
Built psychological safety so athletes felt trusted and accountable.
Shifted language from opinions and blame to clarity, focus, and ownership.
Created structured systems for training, feedback, and recovery.
Balanced discipline with positivity, ensuring the culture was both tough and supportive.

This transformed culture from fragmented to cohesive, with a renewed sense of purpose and belief. They achieved historic back-to-back victories at the RMB University Boat Race in 2023 and 2024 — UCT’s first wins in over two decades, and the first consecutive victories in the club’s history.

And I was honoured as UCT Sports Coach of the Year 2024, recognising not just results, but the long-term shift in performance behaviours and team culture.