ACG Strathallan PE teacher, Mitch Thompson, never intended to be a teacher, but a stint coaching water polo at Stirling High School in South Africa led to an opportunity to teach a class, and within five minutes he was hooked. “I loved it,” Mitch says, “and my love for teaching has just kept on growing.” Now he couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

When I was younger I wanted to be a professional sportsman. I didn’t really care what sport it was, I just wanted to be a sportsman. Towards the end of my school years I discovered a love for cooking and thought about becoming a chef, but my passion for sport was greater so I decided to study Human Movement Science. 

I started my teaching career at Stirling High School in East London, in East Cape Province, South Africa in September 2022. After two years, I felt like I needed a bit of a change and wanted an opportunity to grow as a person and as a teacher. I had always wanted to visit New Zealand. People who had been here would talk about how beautiful the country is and the endless opportunities it offered. It was only after my fiancée and her family visited last year that we decided to move.

Mitch joined the college staff at the start of this year, teaching year 8-10 physical education and health. He loves teaching PE, viewing it as a way to ensure students remain physically and mentally ‘fit’ in a world that some would argue is becoming increasingly sedentary and solitary.

I love that the subject isn’t only about getting students physically active but focuses on developing their self-esteem as well. It also gives students the opportunity to improve their social well-being through communicating and working with others. And it provides them with a taste of many different activities to get them interested in participating in some sort of physical activity in the future.

This is also the value he sees in the extra-curricular programme.

Taking part in extra-curricular sport teaches students time-management by having to balance sport trainings and school work with any other commitments they might have. They develop better social skills through working as a team and there’s also evidence that it improves a person’s concentration and memory, resulting in improved academic results. I love that there are endless extra-curricular opportunities on offer for the students at Strathallan. The team here does whatever they can to accommodate the different needs of the students.

Mitch’s passion for sport has meant he’s always been involved in coaching and managing teams.

 At Stirling High School I was the first team boys’ water polo coach as well as the U14A rugby coach, and was also selected to coach the U14A boys’ provincial team. Here at Strathallan I was manager of the senior touch rugby team and I’m now manager for the year 9C netball team as well as coach of the AIMS ripper rugby team. What I enjoy most about coaching or managing a team is that I get to see each player grow, not only as an athlete but as a person. I also get the opportunity to give back to sport. 

In between his teaching, coaching and managing commitments, Mitch still finds time for his own physical pursuits.

If I’m not at school, I can be found either at the gym, going for a run or on the rugby field at Karaka Rugby Club.

Mitch plays scrum-half for the Karaka Development Team, otherwise known as the P2 team. At one below the Premier team, that’s a significant commitment.

We train on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Normally Tuesdays are for fitness and skills training, while Thursday is for the final fine-tuning of the structure that we’ll be playing on the Saturday. Game day involves arriving at the field one and a half hours before kick-off, even earlier if you need to see the physio before warm-up which takes place 45 minutes before the game starts. After the game, many of us stay to support the Premier Team, and that’s followed by an after-match function which is attended by most of the players.

And how is the season going so far?

We’re currently doing very well as a team and as a club. The team I’m playing for is currently unbeaten and we’re working hard to keep it like that for the rest of the season.

PE teacher, sports coach, manager, rugby player ... what else is there to know about Mitch Thompson?

I think one thing people would find surprising about me is that I love to cook. I love experimenting with different foods and flavours, especially if it’s a spicy dish. I’m just not a fan of having to do the dishes after all the experimenting!

And one final question: All Blacks or Springboks?

I might have moved out of the country but the Springboks stay as my favourite team.