BIOKINETICIST EARNS HIS SPURS

BY JOSHUA HENDRICKS

RODET YILA HAS AN UNUSUAL BACKGROUND. He was born in Ukraine to a Ukrainian mother and a Congolese father, which explains the French origin of his name. His family moved to South Africa when he was five and he has called Cape Town home ever since. From an early age, Yila was engrossed in physical activities and sports.

“Growing up, I was always physically active and I enjoyed playing all kinds of sports and games – so I suppose this is where my interest in sports and my competitive nature developed,” Yila recalls.

LIKE MANY ASPIRING ATHLETES, Yila dreamt of becoming a professional footballer. When that didn’t materialise, he turned to the next best thing: a career working with athletes. This marked the beginning of his journey at UWC.

“Initially, my idea was to become a sports scientist, so I enrolled at UWC to pursue a BSc in Sports, Recreation and Exercise Science,” he says. “I then realised that I really enjoyed learning about how the human body works and heals itself, so I decided to extend my time at UWC by completing my honours in Biokinetics.”

DURING HIS TIME AT UWC, Yila didn’t focus only on academics. He juggled multiple part-time jobs, including coaching football, working as a fitness instructor and interning at Ajax Cape Town, now known as Cape Town Spurs. This approach helped him gain a wealth of practical experience and character. “After completing my honours in Biokinetics, I was accepted to do my biokinetics internship at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa.”

REFLECTING ON HIS TIME AT UWC, Yila expresses gratitude for the opportunities it provided and says the Biokinetics programme is as good as, if not better than, many others in the country.

“I feel that UWC offered me, a Biokinetics student, a great opportunity to apply myself, and I was exposed to a practical experience that I don’t think many other universities could offer at the time.”

AS A SPORTS SCIENTIST, Yila faces challenges that come with the territory. One is the need for athlete buy-in when new training methods are implemented. He stresses the importance of athletes understanding the value in following established training principles.

WHILE MANY CONSIDER YILA THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS, he remains humble, emphasising his commitment to continuous learning and improvement.

“I’D LIKE TO THINK OF MYSELF as someone who’s constantly trying to learn something new, or scrutinising the way I do something just to see if there’s another way to optimise the outcome.”

YILA CHERISHES NUMEROUS HIGHLIGHTS throughout his career. They include gaining promotion from the National First Division to the DStv Premiership with Cape Town Spurs; working on injury rehabilitation with England international footballer Adam Lallana, now a Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder; and helping a Paralympic athlete set and break world records.

CLUBS AND EXPERIENCE

Yila’s journey led him to various clubs, accumulating experience and honing skills along the way. His list of affiliations includes:

AJAX CAPE TOWN FC - Intern youth strength and conditioning coach (five months)

GLENDENE UNITED FC - Under-19 fitness coach (two months); first-team fitness coach (three years)

SPORTS SCIENCE INSTITUTE OF SOUTH AFRICA - High-performance centre biokineticist (eight years)

AJAX CAPE TOWN FC/ CAPE TOWN SPURS FC - Head strength and conditioning coach (six years and counting)