Associate lecturer at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) and Biokineticist of the Eastern Cape Aloes as well as Madibaz Netball, Mteteleli Biko uses his passion for sports and Biokinetics to be a reliable ally in women’s sport.
In 2019 Biko was the rowing coach of Alex Ennis who became the first female Nelson Mandela University rower to be awarded Grudge half colours at USSA. In 2022 he was part of the unbeaten Eastern Cape Aloes squad that has been promoted to the first Division flight of TNL next season.
Having recently worked with some of the Women Springboks, he is ready to leave a legacy and cast his net over the different sporting codes.
His interest in recovery and injury prevention has him working towards one day partnering with a National federation to create a program within in the South African context that can followed; from proper warm-ups to helping in the prevention of injuries.
He chats to Babsie Kutwana to unpack his journey.
Hi Mteteleli, thank you for joining us here on gsport. For those who do not know you, kindly take us through your very impressive journey.
I am Mteteleli Biko, born and raised in Gqeberha. I honestly do not know how I got into Biokinetics, but I do remember excelling in maths and science in high school. I also enjoyed being active and playing in all kinds of sporting codes, from watching to taking part. I was looking for something that I would enjoy as I did not enjoy sitting at a desk or working with numbers, but I knew I liked science and sports, so I was looking for something that can encompass both. When I was searching for a career, I came across a few professions like sports science and a few other things. I then discovered Biokinetics and found that it’s not just performance related but also has a clinical/health care component to it. A big thing as well for me is helping people. I like helping people and that is what informed the direction towards Biokinetics. This career met all my interests: sports, science and helping people.
What sparked your interest in working with women in sport?
I never really noticed that I worked with mostly women until now. How it started was when I started rowing in university, I enjoyed it a lot and had a lot of great experiences. It had a huge impact on my life and who I am today. When I was done rowing because I wasn’t a student anymore, I couldn’t row as much because of work but I still wanted to be involved in the sport and give back. The Madibaz rowing team approached me to come on as coach and that is when my coaching career started. We had a few athletes who were really committed to the craft so I helped them out in their journey. One such athlete was Alex Ennis who did very well and became the first female Nelson Mandela University rower to be awarded Grudge half colours at USSA.
When it comes to Netball, I got involved by chance. A colleague of mine who worked with the university Netball team had a baby and couldn’t go on the Netball tours. I filled in for her at the Varsity Cup with the Madibaz Netball team. Since then, I haven’t looked back. I have enjoyed my time in this sport. I am happy and grateful to this colleague for putting my name forward and recommending me.
Why is it important to have a Bio/Physio part of a team?
A good management structure, I think, was a huge contributor to the Aloes having a good season. The athlete’s job is to play, you want them to focus on playing and making sure that they are sharp on the day, ready to do what they do best on the court. As management, I had to make sure that everything else around them is taken care of. My job as the Bio was to make sure the girls stay healthy and a key interest of mine is injury intervention. What comes with that is actually quite a few things that includes preventative strapping of the athletes to reduce the likelihood of an injury during the match and sometimes there may be some niggles to take care of. Once the strapping is done, we move on to activation, engaging and mobility to get the muscles and the central nervous system ready for the work that they are about to do. We then move on to the actual pre-match warm-up where I make sure that the girls on the bench are ready any time that the coach wants to make a change during the match. A big thing when it comes to anti-injuries is making the call if I need to make a referral to my other healthcare professionals such as a Physio or a Doctor. A big part of tournaments or games is recovery. There are many ways which will include rub downs, active recovery and cold-water emersion to make sure the players are ready for their next match or tournament and perform at their best.
What more do you think needs to be done for women’s sport?
A lot can be done. Starting at grassroot levels, getting children active, I think that is one thing that we are still lacking in. Working at NMMU has exposed me to some of the research by my colleagues which is based on physical activity trends in the Nelson Mandela Bay areas and a lot of disadvantaged communities. The numbers are not looking great when it comes to the state of children, they are becoming more and more inactive. The girl child will be even more affected by this. A big part is making sure that we get mass participation, it doesn’t even have to be structured sport. We just need to get them playing and active. That’s how we can develop all of these motor skills you need for specific sports at a later stage. If you look at long term effects, at the earlier stages there are fundamental movements like jumping, hoping, throwing, catching and all of these can be developed through playing. If the children aren’t playing, it will hamper us moving forward. Secondly, we need structures from federations side. There isn’t much support or resources directed towards the women teams at times and this is across all sporting codes. A big boost in developing the coaches and infrastructure could make a world of difference. My last point would be exposure. Current top female athletes that we have now are role models for the younger ladies and they could even reach a greater pool of women and girls if they got the needed exposure. Even now we are fortunate that the TNL is broadcast on SuperSport but at times there would be certain games that are not broadcast.
Seeing that you have tapped into both Bio and Coaching, which one would you like to pursue further?
Biokinetics is still my passion and something I will continue pursuing. The coaching was because of my love for rowing. I am looking into more research pertaining to my interest in injury prevention, managing injuries and getting athletes back on the field is my main focus.
What preparation went into the Telkom Netball League season?
It was a team effort, the players and the trainers. We all played our part to ensure that we were good to go in the season. Even though we had little time to train together, we were able to make the most it and make it count. Most of the girls started training earlier on in the year to build the base which made my life easier. The big thing about this season was the recovery. From when the game was finished, making sure everyone had electrolytes and they consumed chocolate milk which is a good ratio of protein then we go into the recovery strategies that I mentioned earlier (rub downs, active recovery and cold-water emersion) and getting enough sleep.
What’s next for Mteteleli?
Going forward, as I mentioned, I am thinking about looking into research on injury prevention, trying to see the factors that contribute to injuries, the types of injuries, how they happen and trying to explain them. That will also help us limit injuries.
I would like to partner up with any National federation to create a program within in the South African context for kids and any one at any age really, that can be followed on how to warm-up properly and how to help prevent injuries similar to how the New Zealand and Australian National federations.
Photo 1 Caption: Associate lecturer at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) and Biokineticist of the Eastern Cape Aloes and Madibaz Netball Mteteleli Biko as he uses his passion for sports and Biokeneticists to be a reliable allay in women’s sport. Photo: Supplied
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