With Day 1 of Maritzburg College’s 60th annual Oppenheimer Michaelmas Cricket Week just 17 short days away I was clearing out my cupboard and came upon a December 2018 feature I wrote on Mike Bechet, the outstanding SA schoolboy cricket (and hockey) coach. The upshot is that my cupboard is still not cleared up… as I spent the next hour before going to the office reading and reminiscing on a remarkable man I came across for the first time in 1981.
Here are some of the SA School Sports magazine excerpts from that fascinating interview with Bech. Can’t wait to catch up with this legendary Durban-born DHS Old Boy and Jeppe first XI coach in the iconic Kent Pavilion on Goldstones.
Feature image: Mike Bechet with one of his Maritzburg College players who have made it big on the world stage and the SA sports star who inspires him the most – David Miller – pictured here at the SA Cricket Awards Evening in 2016.
Impressive schoolboy cricket coaching credentials of Mike Bechet.
So what does Bech – the longest-serving member of the SA Schools and SA U19 selection panel – look for in a schoolboy cricketer?
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Bech, is Gauteng schools cricket stronger?
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‘Our school structures are arguably the best in the world’
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The Mike Bechet you don’t know.
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Bech’s thoughts on the life skills that cricket teaches schoolboys.
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So what is it about schoolboy coaching that drives Bech?
Mike Bechet is director of cricket, head of boarding and a teacher/coach at Jeppe. So Bech, the teacher/coach or professional coach dilemma?
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‘Surround yourself with the right people’ – Mike Bechet
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Mike Bechet pays tribute to his family.
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Four of the best. Guess who played first team cricket too?
Mike Bechet is probably the most successful schoolboy hockey coach in SA history. Here’s Mike with just a few of his Maritzburg College players who went on to play for South Africa (from left) Tommy Hammond, Peabo Lembethe, Taine Paton and Tyson Dlungwana during a 2018 international series at Randburg.
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