Performance coach Kruyt delighted to be part of Uganda Rugby 7s journey
Work and play. Kruyt shares a joke with Solomon Okia in training. PHOTO: E. CHICCO
KAMPALA.
Uganda landed in Hong Kong on Monday, four days prior to their HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series Qualifiers with a new face on board. First introduced to the side in February, South African Ninette Kruyt, the new strength and conditioning coach, feels she’s on cloud nine to be working with Uganda.
“A lot of new things are happening, there used to be 10 to 12 players for training but today we 22. Its growing as the guys are hungry to learn and willing take on new things,” Kruyt speaks of her time with the Sevens thus far. She’s not the first to take up that role, Kenyan Geoffrey Kimani was in charge last year only to leave but Kruyt says she is here to stay.
“I have resigned from my job back in South Africa to do this at least up to July,” says the former Project Manager for the South Africa get into rugby program. Kruyt, a Level Two performance coach has in the past worked with big names like the Junior Springboks and Namibia at the 2015 World Cup on top of spending loads of time around the Blitzbokke to widen her sevens knowledge. She has now worked with the Rugby Cranes Sevens for about two months and believes the results will not show overnight. “It’s still the beginning and hard to say anything but they learn really fast.
We have implemented activations, gym routines, testing battery, agility, body compositions and fitness. There’s still a lot to do between now and the World Cup,” she adds.
Like any optimistic soul, Kruyt is backing the Cranes to get that sole core status spot because it would keep her here even longer with more tournaments and incentives. “Funding is a big problem, if we get onto the circuit from Hong Kong, then there will be lots of games.”
KRUYT AT A GLANCE
Name: Ninette Kruyt Country: South Africa
Role: Performance coach Level: 2
Former sides: Junior Springboks, Namibia
Education: Master’s in Sports Science, Degree in High Performance specialised in psychological and physical demands, Master’s Degree in sports science with Sevens Rugby. Studied at Stellenbosch University, North Western University.
