Seventeen years and hundreds of thousands of strokes ago, Lunga Mcetywa knew nothing about rowing other than it took place on the water.
Like most kids his age, he played a bit of soccer and rugby while at school in Port Alfred and few would have believed that he would go on to represent South Africa on multiple occasions – and become a respected coach to boot.
However, as Mcetywa has proved throughout his young life, the only belief that really counts is that in oneself.
This week, the 33-year-old dons South African colours for the third time as he lines up at the eight-day Africa Beach Sprints regatta in Tunisia.
Making his return to the North African country even more special is that one of the Fort Hare rowers he is mentoring, Alvin Rukuni, is suiting up for Zimbabwe.
It has been quite the voyage for the man first introduced to the sport in the coastal hamlet in 2006.
“They [recruiters] were looking for rowers, so I tried my luck. As it turned out I could be quite competitive,” he recalled ahead of his trip to Tunisia.
Star rower and University of Fort Hare rowing coach Lunga Mcetywa (left) is representing South Africa in the Africa Beach Sprints regatta in Tunisia this week. His selection was made all the more sweeter when one of his young charges, Alvin Rukuni (right), was included in the Zimbabwean team. Photo: Full Stop Communications
His passion grew quickly and the next stroke was to join Port Alfred’s Nemato Rowing Club, where he immediately impressed.
Trips to East London to compete against local clubs followed, a path which led him to Kate Godfrey, who was to become his mentor at Fort Hare.
“I had been working as a sports administrator in Port Alfred. Then there was a job opportunity at Buffalo Rowing Club in East London and I linked up with Kate.
“The club assisted Fort Hare, so that’s how I got involved. I moved to East London in April last year.”
It is his second trip to Tunisia, having made his debut for Team SA there last year. In-between, he represented his country at the Commonwealth Games in Namibia.
He believes that this international experience will translate into even better performances this time around.
Mcetywa competes in the men’s and mixed doubles events, which require competitors to power through the surf and negotiate tides and currents.
His loved ones were incredibly proud and supportive of him, he said, especially since he was the first in his family to travel outside the country.
He is thrilled that Rukuni is joining him at the continental event as it shows the university’s rowing programme is in good shape.
“It’s great having an impact on younger guys. When I was in Tunisia the first time, I observed other coaches.
“I was learning how I could coach coastal rowing, and this has been beneficial to me.”
The sport is as much about a strong mind-set as it is about physical strength and Mcetywa feels it translates well to “life’s challenges and struggles”.
When he worked at the Nemato Change Your Life youth empowerment organisation in Port Alfred he coached several sports and he just loves that Fort Hare shows the same enthusiasm for the various sporting codes.
“It really inspires me to work harder and get the guys to work harder.”
He credits Godfrey, her husband (South African rowing legend Bill Godfrey) and another coach, Jan Blom, for being instrumental in his development as a rower-coach.
While his body, mind and soul are in Tunisia right now, he hopes to make the SA team for the World Beach Games in Bali in August.
Should he achieve this, it will most certainly be the pinnacle of his career.
However, it will not spell the end of his ambitions in the sport as he looks ahead to one day, hopefully, coaching his country at the highest level too.