The mere mention of Elsa Storm's name invites broad smiles from those who have had the fortune of working under her guidance, from kids as little as five years old to renowned football stars. Especially for the latter, who feel that had it not been for her fitness and conditioning exploits on the training ground, they would not have lasted the distance – literally and figuratively. Her impressive CV does justice to her incredible work that spans over two decades, having worked at such clubs as Kaizer Chiefs, Ajax Cape Town, Mamelodi Sundowns, Golden Arrows, Mpumalanga Black Aces and Orlando Pirates, as well as with the national U17 team and Banyana Banyana. She's also not one to box herself to a single sport, as she remains a respected figure in the athletics, water polo and tennis fields too. As Soccer Laduma's Lunga Adam finds out in this second instalment of the Diski Women, You Rock! series, the life and times of Elsa Storm are interspersed with pure passion, amazing love, scornful prejudice, admirable tenacity, and much, much more.
Lunga Adam: Hello, Elsa! You obviously are a very well-respected fitness and conditioning coach and have worked at several clubs in the PSL, but first up, please fill us in on what you're currently busy with.
Elsa Storm: You know, the nice thing about fitness is that anybody that will appreciate you will get you because if you know how to put that person in the best position, in the best power, be it whatever they need for the job, you know… If you can do that, you will always have people that need you. That is the most amazing thing. What, for me, is nice is to work with people that appreciate you, you know, work with people that you can see that you make a difference to their lives. That's, for me, important. It's not just about training and, you know, going out there, making hoo-ha… it's not about that. It's about the difference you make to the individual, that's what is important. It's amazing because we all look at things so differently. You can look at the glass half-full and I can look at it half-empty, but at the end of the day, there is a real thing under that situation and it's always good to find out. And I really appreciate you contacting me, to actually be interested in where I am and what I'm doing. So, thank you, I really appreciate it. I work with a lot of individuals, football players. I think in life we can now look at pre-Covid, Covid and post-Covid. I think that's how we look at our lives, basically. How did it go with you during Covid? Were you busy? Were you still working? What happened?
LA: It was tough. During the hard lockdown, Soccer Laduma was not on the shelves, but at least readers could still get their paper online. Well, that's where the world is moving, to the digital space, and we've adjusted well with the terrible blows that Covid inflicted on the print industry.
ES: Fantastic. No, well done, well done. That means you can adjust, you know. It's very important. You must have a lot of respect for yourself because it's something that not everybody can do. Not everybody can work online. It's hard, ha, ha, ha. The second (that) Covid came, I had so many requests, it was like a blessing. I had players wanting to just train online and be fit because you couldn't go anywhere. So, it was, for me, an amazing difference in change because I used to do a lot of travel. Most of my fitness work was always international. I basically did soccer here locally, but I was also involved overseas attending conferences together with (other) qualified fitness coaches all over the world. So, I travelled a lot, and I think Covid was sent to me to be a little bit home, ha, ha, ha. I then was approached a lot by the Arab Emirates states in their fitness, so I did a lot of work for them. That just ripped me right into online training without me even deciding. I had to do that straight away. Then I also started my own online (programme) for fitness here with the people I normally serviced, and then all the boys I've always trained privately. It was small groups, but then they started coming individually. It was amazing the results we could get online. It's actually… I find (that) if you have to do online, it can really present you with a lot of benefits, and if you have somebody that can train online, you know that that player or that person can motivate themselves internally. They have the ability to not having to be watched by a group or watch a group. They can actually train on their own and really become what they should become. It's amazing because you learn a lot of the mental state of the individual, and so much more internationally we work on the mental, hmm… basically mental wellness of individuals, players, sportspeople.
LA: Sure.
ES: Because tennis and soccer is so closely related, so I also extended my expertise not just (in) soccer but also in the tennis world. It's so much similar training, you know – multi-directional speed, the training, the fast-twitch muscle training that you give them, all of that. So, it's a lot of similarities between the two. I know you even struggled to get hold of me, but I'm really so glad to have a lot of people that appreciate what I do and appreciate what I can deliver to them. Like I mentioned to you, I had a few players that the parents said yes… I trained them from small, Lunga. A few of them I trained them from five, six, because I saw that they had talent. The parents actually let them either go to an academy where they can still study and play, or the parents moved with the kid, you know. So, it's amazing how parents are starting to realise the kid's ability. It's an amazing thing to build a little product up and to see the results. I want to really let the parents know that they must see where and who is training their kids because if there's real talent in that child, they need to make sure that they put them in the right place, not in the wrong place.
Because you develop that kid pre-puberty, during puberty and then they're ready to go to the higher leagues. So, also, when they have off-season and they come home, then my hands are full because then we train in-person, whereas when they are in the other countries, we do a lot of online. So, I sometimes don't get sleep because, you know, the time zones vary quite a lot. Whereas it's late-night here, they just got out of school, ha, ha, ha… but it's okay. As long as I can make a difference. You know, I'm one of those people that wanna make a difference. I really wanna make a difference. When I see a situation where I can't, I really will just move away from that situation. If you know there's no way that you will make a difference, move on because there's others that will appreciate what you wanna do, you know.
LA: So Covid was actually a blessing for you then.
ES: Ja, because actually then, I saw who are the people that appreciated me before Covid, you know what I'm saying, because they are the ones that are still with me and they are the ones that have gone much further because of my training with them online. Look, we went back to in-person sessions when it started lifting a little bit, but we couldn't even move in the beginning. Now I'm starting to move around a little bit more. Obviously before Covid, I was asked to help with a lot of clinics. Like, I have some goalkeeping clinics with Allan Marques and I was lecturing at the universities for the students and bringing them the practical side of training. Now I'm mostly focusing on a lot of the agents bringing the talent and getting them ready before we take them overseas. Give them that final push, you know. I find a lot of times some of the fitness people train them, but not exactly on par with the finer details of the player's training, and I appreciate these agents coming and they realise what I do with them before they go and leave the country. Because it's a big change for them, you know, it's a huge thing. If I look back, I had a lot of years in teams and when you are with a team, you are full-time, so hardworking with players. When you're the fitness coach, you become, also, a private coach to each of those players. You spend time in the gym with them afterwards. While the rest of the technical team is resting, you are busy working on their weaknesses or enhancing their strengths.
If I think back to one of the hardest-working but most rewarding times, (it) was with Mpumalanga Black Aces, obviously, because it was players that were… you know, it wasn't all of them young players, there were players with a lot of problems and you had to look after them. I mean, you look at Aubrey Ngoma, Collins (Mbesuma) … players that had to be looked after physically. Lebo (Manyama). And I appreciate Lebo, even not too long ago, before he now gave up on football, he still came to me just for some rehab in the water because it's an amazing thing to do your rehabilitation in water. Also, post-Covid, there were a lot of people that needed to literally be pulled back into life, so I used the water training a lot for that. If I look back, I don't know if you remember, I went with the (national women's) U17s to Trinidad Tobago for the World Cup and then I was a bit involved with Banyana Banyana. For me, like I say to you, when I see a situation doesn't give me what is necessary to make my impact, then I need to step away from that situation. I like professionalism, Lunga, I really do because I work, always, on a worldwide market and it's sometimes hard because you expect it from a local market as well, but it's not always there.
LA: Why is it that players, even top PSL stars, enjoy working with you so much?
ES: You know, Lunga, I think it's because I have never done this to become famous or important. Because I see a lot of people out there wanna be famous – it's not about that. You know that it's a hard job, and I think if players see that you really care about their success…. And look, my training is not easy, okay. My little European, one of the boys right now, he said to me, "We're training, but we don't train so hard like with you." Ha, ha, ha. The thing is, I know if I give them what they need, they will go out there and feel good about themselves and they will give that extra mile. I get very frustrated when I look at a match and I can see the players don't have the power or the fitness. I get very frustrated, you know. You need to make sure that you train them in those different aspects of soccer. It's not just about running and doing some weights, it's not that! To add to that question of yours, each player, for me, is an individual. I really care about doing the body assessment, knowing what they can, what they can't… because you can't just give them all the same thing to do. It's ridiculous, you can't. You have to individualize their training. I think maybe that could be it, and it also maybe could be that I was always involved and doing the training myself with them, which they could see works, so they must also do it. So, we were very much a team and there was mutual respect, I think, which helps a lot.
LA: Correct us if we're wrong, but you must have been the first female fitness trainer in the topflight. Do you remember where the journey started?
ES: Well, I will base it on South Africa, not when I was in the United States. It's actually an interesting story. It was 1999, and I was actually busy with… I think it was basketball players I was busy training every Friday afternoon, and out of the corner of my eye I saw somebody watching the training. You know, you don't pay attention, you're busy. That's my difference, I don't watch out there, I watch my players. But I was busy and I saw a few Fridays somebody is watching, and then on one Friday this person came walking over to me and he said, "I want you for my team. I've been watching your training. I like what you're doing. You are doing a high-quality training. This is what I want." That person was, obviously, coach Muhsin Ertugral, and he had just been appointed at (Kaizer) Chiefs. So, that's how I came into the local soccer market. And ja, definitely, first female. You know, for me, it was never about 'female'. There was never a difference, that you could say female, male. We just got the job finished, you know. There was a job to be done and you do the job. Maybe other people had their thoughts about it, but when you're in that situation, you do the job because also, if players are not fit, the finger points to you, you know. I mean, you are the person that's supposed to make sure you sort their weaknesses out, that they don't get injured, that they are fit enough, strong enough, powerful enough. So, it's a hard job if you do it right. It's really hard. Personally, I see it as a very tough job because I take huge responsibility for players that get placed under me. Huge. And you know, also, because I work well with coach Muhsin, he expects to have players in peak condition. There is no excuses. When he wants to use a player for a game, I must make sure that guy is right and ready.
LA: You've always had a special working relationship with Ertugral…
ES: I like working with somebody who expects the best because, you see, for me, there's no second-best. In my entire career, I don't stand for second-best. So, I like pressure, I like working with the best and I like the results to be the best. I mean, I remember when we stepped into Chiefs, you know at that time Chiefs was one of the top teams, you know they want silverware and that's what we created. If you think back about the silverware we were able to put there, that's what I like. I like working with somebody who wants, who's not… when they leave the field now you go and take the rest of the day off. No, no. With him, this is a full-time job. And you know what was really nice at Aces? Because the owners of the team knew who they hired. They hired me, they hired him, and they gave us the responsibility to make it happen. So, we really changed the background into a little European team. We had meals, we had education for the guys, we had a sleeping place in the afternoons, we trained twice a day. Everything was running like an overseas team and there was no time for anything else. So, he expects that and if he shouts at you, you must know why he is shouting because there is a problem. The main thing is, don't get shouted at. Do your job. I mean, he gets frustrated, but I also even… you can ask anybody that trains under me, I also lose my temper because if you are not bringing your side of the bargain, how on earth must I give you results? This is a relationship between individuals or an individual and a team or the technical team and the team. It's a relationship.
When you're in a relationship, there's responsibility and if one of the two parties doesn't bring their side, there's gonna be a bit of issues to be sorted out, you know. But we had more love than screaming because at the end of the day, they realised if he cares for you, he will scream, but when he gets quiet, then you're done. When he screams, he cares because he wants you to succeed. And it's the same with me, Lunga. Even if you train with me, I'm gonna be strict with you because I want you to have success. We're not playing around. You know, when we work together, there's no playing around. We really work, and I like that because I have a high work ethic. I mean, you see how I'm working at the moment, ha, ha, ha. No rest, we work. So, anybody that takes him up the wrong way, they must get a bit educated because honestly, he's passionate, he's Turkey, he's Germany. He's gonna be a bit vocal, but I mean, honestly, it's not anything personal against you. Not at all. What is maturity? If you can fight and then afterwards you shake hands and say, "Yes, you were right" or, "I was wrong", or whatever the case may be. I think it's just about immaturity maybe in individuals. Like I said to you, everybody looks at situations in a different way and, at the end of the day, it's only you, Lunga, that knows about your life. I can look at your life and think xyz, somebody else can think something, but you are the only one that actually knows your life. You know, people that watch a game, you know how many opinions there are, but in the team, we know the real story, ha, ha, ha. I think one thing that people have to know is that when you see something going very smooth… ok, like when you see Barcelona play and it's so beautiful, just understand the hardships behind the scenes to get to that place where it looks so beautiful. Behind the scenes, there's so much effort put into it because behind the scenes you do your job, you work out what needs to be done today to go in with the specific training of the day. Like I always say when I train people, your preparation must be part of the final product that's gonna happen that day. You'll always hear… I mean, the coach will always say to me, "Tomorrow we'll do xyz." So, again, my preparation, my activation, my entire warm-up must align to what he wants to do that day, because those muscles have to be ready for that. And it's really hard work if you do it right.
LA: There must have been challenges along the way though.
ES: Well, like I say to you now, when you work under an educated, confident coach like Ertugral, there is no problem because there is only respect for what your work is, you know. But then you get somebody that Chiefs got in, like (Vladimir) Vermezovic, who does not or did not respect women. So then I leave. I can't be disrespected. I know my job, I know what I do and those who get left behind get left behind, and he was left behind. I move on. I'm the one moving on. If there's disrespect from coaches, goodbye. And if the team also does not support you, move on. Move on! Because you know what you know, you know who you are, you don't need to be wasting time. I don't believe in any disrespect in any place in life, not at all.
LA: What actually happened between you and Vermezovic?
ES: Remember Laduma gave major write-ups about how he was disrespecting me as a female. We were filling the newspaper, ha, ha, ha. And obviously then, a team decides they'll keep the coach, if I wanna leave, I must leave. So then you also start seeing who's who in the zoo, ha, ha, ha. So, no… I have a philosophy in life. You know, Lunga, life is short and you don't have time to waste it. That's why I am in a very blessed and lucky position that I can choose who I want in my space. I am so blessed for that because life is so short to waste with idiots or whatever the case may be.
LA: Didn't you feel let down by the club for choosing the coach over you?
ES: I don't have an emotional thing about things like that, Lunga. I don't feel emotional. Nobody can take my energy emotionally, so if that's what they chose, it's what they chose. I move on, and I was, after that, offered jobs in Europe. Actually, (there's) that thing which says when one door closes, be happy because so many others go open, so it's not like I was emotionally… I had no emotional feeling about it. It's a fact for me. It's a fact they chose him, not me. Move on! No emotion.
LA: Lovely! Thank you so much, Elsa. We celebrate you.
ES: I can say thank you to you for digging me out and coming to see what I'm doing. I can see the thank you is on you, Lunga, ha, ha, ha, because you're one of the people that actually value what I can do for people in fitness, not just in soccer but for any person in fitness, so well done.
