When she speaks it’s with a soft voice. I’m sitting about a metre away from her but initially have to lean in a bit to hear what she is saying. Perhaps it’s because Dr Koketjo Tsebe is a sports psychologist and presumably most of her work with clients is that they do the talking and she does the listening?
After all, isn’t that the visual impression we all get when thinking of the client/doctor relationship , so romanticized in movies with a chair and a couch.
“I do speak softly, and this is my natural voice. But, if I’m speaking to a group of people or in a class, I CAN SPEAK LOUDER.” And she laughs. Dr Tsebe has what many would call, “a Colgate smile”. It’s genuine, it’s warm and it shows a professional who is in complete control of the situation.
Despite still being 34 years-old, she has an engaging, caring demeanour, a CV that is getting more and more impressive by the assignment. She is one of two sports psychologists with Team SA at the 13th African Games in Ghana and this adds to other assignments with the SPAR Proteas, Softball SA and Banyana Banyana. In fact, her latest cll to national duty was the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand last year.
Her input, quiet and understated, bore fruit. Banyana Banyana finished second behind Sweden in their pool, ahead of Italy and Argentina, before going down to powerhouses Netherlands in the last 16.
Softball was the sport that the diminutive (1.50m) Dr Tsebe was drawn to. She was selected for the University Sports South Africa (USSA) team and says of her softball days. “I started out playing short stop, and then became a catcher. But as I got older I went to the No6 position (third base).”
Her love for softball started early and she says it was popular in the township where she grew up, Mahwelereng, in Limpopo.
“As I started getting older I decided that the best way to go forward was to take the sport that I was passionate about and I blended it with my tertiary qualifications. So, I enrolled for a degree in psychology and embraced two worlds.
“I got a BA degree in psychology and did my Masters in clinical psychology. I then did my PhD researching sports-related topics. In South Africa it’s compulsory for all sports psychologists to have a Master. Sports psychology is not recognised by HPCSA as a speciality or sub-category.”
We then chat about the mechanics of the job. “Our role as sports psychologists is athletes-orientated,” she says. “We are there to support. It’s a safe space for the athlete, a place where they can express themselves. We can talk about anything and everything and in sport it’s important that they get that platform.
“We do individual and group classes – and clearly she has two different voice levels for that! – and we encourage openness. Classes can be either separate or combined. We have quite a bit of team building and joint sessions.”
Dr Tsebe says that there is no such thing in sports as success without it having pressure. We call it a champion’s mindset when it comes to finals. Often, the difference between a champion and the rest is the mindset. They are all similar at elite level when it comes to athletic ability.”
She also dispelled the notion that some athletes who have their own sports psychologists wouldn’t necessarily feel they have that relationship with a virtual “stranger” in a team environment on tour.
And now, a subject that shouldn’t be swept under the carpet – safeguarding, which has been implemented by SASCOC to protect athletes and officials from abuse. “Obviously we have strict confidentiality between myself and the athlete. We encourage them to speak without repercussions in that safe environment. If there are either mental health, or other issues, we will engage with the Chief Medical Officer and follow all ranks of communication and professionalism.”
Dr Tsebe, like so many others in Accra, put the “team” into Team SA. “We’re here for the athletes. For some athletes this is a first experience for them with a sports psychologist in the village. We’re humble and know that we’re not the only ones involved. There’s the technical and tactical aspects to an athlete’s performance and we constantly watch and monitor an athletes’ well being. We track our own performances and continually strive for improvement with the common cause being the team and the athletes.”
As her career grows, so does her reputation. She has ticked off a lot of boxes on her journey, but there are a lot more on her list. She might be softly-spoken but she’s making a big noise in the field of sports psychology.
Photo: Roger Sedres in Accra