Navigating a lonely road

MASERU – Tennis great Arthur Ashe once wrote that “success is a journey and not a destination” and that “the doing is often more important than the outcome.” Chakatsa Lephole clearly took those words to heart. Not many people believe in themselves as strongly as the Mafeteng native does and this self-belief has helped the 34-year-old navigate a sometimes lonely road in what is a backwater sport.

Lephole’s willpower is also one of the major reasons he is finally receiving recognition after years of toil. Today, not only is he in charge of development at the Lesotho Netball Association (LNA), he is also amongst the world’s elite netball umpires. Last month Lephole officiated at the African Netball Championship and Netball World Youth Cup and last year he umpired at the Europe Open Championship, all the while overseeing the LNA’s development programmes.

Clearly, Lephole is a very busy man these days – but, he wants to be even busier. “I want to be part of the coming events from early next year,” he says.
“I want to umpire in international test series, the Constellation Cup, Fast5 or even the Diamond Challenge which is hosted by South Africa and invites teams from the region,” he adds.

The competitions Lephole is referring to are the premier International Netball Federation (INF) events. The Constellation Cup is contested by the world’s top two netball nations – Australia and New Zealand. The Fast5 Netball World Series is an international competition that began in 2009.
The tournament features modified “Fast5” rules and has been likened to Twenty20 cricket and rugby sevens. The competition is contested by the top six national netball teams in the INF’s world rankings.

Regardless of their stature, these assignments are well within reach for Lephole thanks to his own increased standing as a netball umpire. Just two months ago, Lephole joined the ranks of the INF’s International Umpires’ Award (IUA) umpires, a group of the world’s elite netball officials.
The IUA title runs for a four-year period and only 39 umpires worldwide are on the prestigious list.These elite umpires are the ones who oversee the biggest matches, series and championships in the netball world. A different path

Not many young boys end up in netball. It is not one of Lesotho’s popular sports with football and athletics being the primary pastimes for youngsters.
Growing up in Ha Seeiso in Mafeteng, Lephole was no different. Although he played a variety of sports through his school years at Matelile Primary and Mafeteng High School, his interest in netball only began in college after he enrolled at the Institute of Extra-Mural Studies (IEMS) in 2003 to study business management.

“I started playing volleyball in high school then I played basketball until I went to IEMS where I developed an interest in playing netball because it is similar to basketball. That’s where I also started developing an interest in being an umpire,” Lephole recalls.
He soon found himself enjoying officiating as much as playing.

“I was taught how to umpire by Mme Mary Mokoatle and the people who made me love umpiring were Mme Lintle Mohale and Mme Ntsieleli Mokitimi who was also my teacher at Mafeteng High School,” Lephole says.
His umpiring break came in 2007.

“My coaches saw potential in me and they helped me,” Lephole says. “I was chosen to umpire when Lesotho hosted the Confederation of South African Netball Association (COSANA) Under-21 netball games in 2007 and then I got a C+ COSANA grading.”
The advanced grading opened more doors for Lephole.

In 2009 he was awarded a ‘B Africa’ rating after the COSANA Senior Challenge in South Africa. Later the same year he performed well at the African Nations Cup in Tanzania and was given an ‘A Africa’ award. Then, in 2010, Lephole officiated at the World Netball Qualifiers in South Africa after which he qualified for the INF’s International Talent Identified (ITID), a final four-year review stage before the coveted IUA.
Continuing the journey

Through long hours of hard work and travel over his four-year ITID period, Lephole finally attained the prestigious IUA umpire status in June. He is the first Mosotho to achieve the award and the only African man on the 39-strong panel. Lephole says he has to do even more, however. In any case, achieving the IUA doesn’t mean relaxing. Umpires are expected to show on-going improvement and, at the end of their four-year IUA cycle, they go through a re-endorsement process to determine if they are reappointed for a further four years.

And – as Lephole explains – a lot more goes into umpiring than just officiating on game-days. Being a top umpire requires quality diet, training, fitness and matches – which all need finances. “I need more competitive matches so I can be on the same level with the competition,” he explains.
“Having proper meals all the time during preparations in order to keep the body in good shape and have enough stamina is important,” he adds.
“Mental toughness and psychology also play a big part. I am always sharpening my mind so I can maintain concentration throughout and not lose focus.”

While he is doing this, Lephole has to balance with his duties as Lesotho netball’s director of development. It is energy-sapping but gratifying, he says.
It is in his role as the country’s development manager that Lephole has a direct hand in shaping local netball and, as he travels the world, he often sees first-hand what needs to be done in Lesotho. One headache is facilities.

At the moment Lesotho only has the Lehakoe Centre and Lesotho Correctional Services grounds as viable venues. Teams in the districts struggle for facilities and Maseru is where every tournament is held. “We don’t have facilities and if we had facilities it would enable other things to be possible,” Lephole says.

“We would see the performance of players in the field improve, we would see many more teams, coaches, umpires and administrators; and that would bring greater competition whereby, at the end of the day, we would build a strong team to umpire internationally.”
Another issue is funds. “We have got good plans but the problem that we face a lack of funds,” Lephole says. “To end up executing and implementing all the good plans that we have, we need funds.”

The LNA has tried to implement some improvements. In April, Lephole oversaw a training course at Lerotholi Polytechnic that was attended by 12 coaches and 20 umpires. The seminar was held to tackle the shortage of coaches and umpires which has hampered local netball in recent times.
The LNA has also added more teams to the league.

The year’s netball season sees several new sides including SOU Maseru, Galaxy Mafeteng, Qacha’s Nek, Liphakoe, Moorosi as well as Mopholosi High School and, for the first time, there is a first and second division in both the women’s and men’s competitions.
The development of local netball, of course, would have dual benefits for Lephole – it would improve Lesotho’s status and give him a better stage to umpire. On the horizon are events such as the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia and the Quad Series featuring Australia, New Zealand, England and South Africa.

Looking to the future Lephole, however, is not getting ahead of himself. “(The IUA) is the last and highest grading, but I am only in the beginning,” he insists. “There are people who experienced this before me and they are miles ahead of me – I still have to learn from them.”
“I am not putting myself under pressure now that I have been awarded this international award. I cannot say that tomorrow I want to be umpiring the Commonwealth finals. Time will tell – one step at a time. I don’t run before I walk,” Lephole adds.

“I still have to learn in order to reach where I want to go. If I will work well, I will eventually get there. This (IUA) award enables me to umpire globally in the Quad Series. I can go to the Constellation Cup, test series, Fast5, senior World Cup and ranking games. But I still have to learn,” he says.
One thing Lephole is unashamedly bullish on is the development of Lesotho netball which currently is not amongst the 38 nations ranked by the INF.
“I think it will be far from where it is now in the next few years,” he says.

“I think with the ideas we have and the courses we could have, we will rank a little higher. Right now we are not in the (INF) world rankings but in ten years’ time we will be there.”

Mohloai Mpesi