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There are few known football players with hearing impairments, but Daniel Mothowagae uncovered one in SimoEsihle Jiyane, a deaf striker making strides with the Highlands Park reserve side. Mpumelelo Buthelezi took the pictures.
Just a year ago, SimoEsihle Jiyane was a promising sprinter who represented South Africa at the Deaflympics.
Such was his talent on the track as a sprinter that the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) was keen to offer support to mould Jiyane
into a future international star.
However, Simo, as he is known among his peers, was not enticed by the offer because his long-held dream was to be on the football pitch.
And he is living his dream at the Highlands Park MultiChoice Diski Challenge (MDC) team, which was just enlisted him for this season.
“Soccer is my first love,” he says via interpreter Phillip Minnie, who is Jiyane’s sports teacher at St Vincent School for the Deaf in Johannesburg. Minnie doubles up as a sign language interpreter for the Grade 12 pupil.
“I was told he had just been promoted and it was anticipated that it was going to be difficult, but on the few occasions I’ve been here, everything looks okay with his team-mates. They understand each other well. No problem,” says Minnie.
- Simo has four siblings and one of his sisters, Siphiwe (20), is studying psychology at Wits University. She has taken sign language as one of her subjects so that she can communicate easily with her brother.
- The siblings use text messages as another means of communication. Simo also uses Instagram to narrate his stories on his account, sjiyane17.
- Simo is an early riser – he is up by 5am every morning.
- Because the sound of the whistle is in a high pitch, he is able to hear when the referee blows him for an offside or foul. Simo is allowed to play with his hearing device on.
- He owns a pair of top-end Beats by Dr Dre earphones, which he puts over his hearing device to listen to hip-hop music. Some of his favourite songs are God’s Plan and In My Feelings by Drake.
- Sascoc was prepared to offer Simo a personal athletics coach and enrol him in a high-performance centre, but he politely turned down the offer to follow his passion for football.
The pair has just arrived at the Highlands North facility, their white Datsun 1400 made its way into the parking lot a few minutes after Jiyane’s team-mates started their warm-up routine.
It’s a Friday afternoon at the Balfour Alexandra training grounds, and the atmosphere around the lush green grounds is filled with constant motion and screams from coaches and players alike, all going about their sessions across the few fields.
Jiyane’s personal space is silent, but he flashes a smile each time he gazes towards the pitch on his way from the locker rooms.
The City Press team anticipates his arrival and so do his team-mates, who light up as they welcome their special member.
Jiyane’s hearing impairment was discovered when he was two, a condition his parents maintain was as a result of Simo’s being born prematurely.
Spending the first two months of his life in an incubator compromised his hearing, but it did way hinder him in his pursuit of becoming a football star, his father, Chris, says.
Simo celebrated his 21st birthday this week.
“Just how difficult or easy was it to play football given your condition?” I ask him.
His response via WhatsApp was:
“I had no difficulty per se, but [other] players had difficulties as they looked at me with suspicion and anxiety.
“But they soon exchanged that for respect and recognition as feet did the talking ... The talent and passion start taking over and I got this much-needed acceptance.”
Jiyane highlights that “soccer, by and large, is sign language”.
But no one understands Simo better that his team-mates.
Within minutes of swapping his school’s navy-blue blazer for the dark blue of the Highlands Park training kit, hand motions become the order of the day on the field.
Head coach Willem Jackson joins in, relaying instructions with a few hand signals or by simply getting the message delivered via any player closest to the big striker.
Jackson includes Jiyane in the second group to play a practice match against Highlands’ other development team.
Watching on the touchline with elder brother Musa (35) and Minnie, Simo’s lightning pace and physical strength are evident.
We all marvel at how defenders find it hard to stop him each time he charges forward or when coming from the wing or number nine.
“He is a natural athlete. He has even asked for a gym membership to work more on his physique. Soccer has always been a game he loves with a passion,” says Musa, who used to play for the Kaizer Chiefs development structure that went on to produce the likes of Jabu Mahlangu and Nhlanhla Kubeka.
Simo’s journey started with trials in 2013 and his meteoric rise, via the Under-16 and Under-17 sides, saw him bypass the Under-19 side and be promoted straight to the SAB League – South Africa’s fourth-tier league.
He is now an integral part of Jackson’s MDC squad.
Jiyane made his MDC debut coming in as a substitute in a goalless draw against Golden Arrows a fortnight ago.
“He had two chances at goal against Arrows. After the match, he sent me a text message to ask about his game. I said he must work on his fitness and he acknowledged it. He also responded that he needs to work on scoring. I said: ‘That is the only thing, you’ve got everything,’” Jackson tells me at the conclusion of a training session that lasted for almost two hours.
Simo and I take a seat on an unoccupied players’ bench to conduct our interview, which takes three to four minutes before I finally get the response as the conversation starts and ends with Minnie, with Jiyane coming only in between.
While his passion for the game is unquestionable, he also assured Minnie and I that he would still find time to juggle his school work and football.
Jiyane is already seen as a role model and a potential ambassador for other kids with disabilities.
As a parting shot, Jiyane says we must keep an eye on their next fixture, then he and Musa drive off in their 4x4 double cab.
The Highlands Park reserves face Mamelodi Sundowns at the Tshwane University of Technology today, where Simo and his mates will be chasing their first win of the campaign.
Highlands are placed 13th on the 16-team log after five matches.
Catch the game live on SuperSport 4
Jiyane: the joy of coaches and players
Highlands Park development coaches Willem Jackson and Benny Tsola, as well as the players, are happy to have SimoEsihle Jiyane in the team.
“At first I thought it was going to be difficult to work with Simo, but after knowing him and seeing what he can do, I realised that football was not only about talking,” said Jackson, adding that Jiyane was an incredible player.
“I’ve never played with a player with this condition before and now I am coaching one. It’s a really incredible experience,” said the former Orlando Pirates and Bloemfontein Celtic legend who hung up his boots at the now defunct Platinum Stars after almost two decades as a player.
“I talk to him slowly and that way he’s able to respond to an instruction. Otherwise, when you shout from the bench, he can’t hear.”
A little bit of lip reading also helps him, observed Jackson.
Jackson underlined the importance of education while Jiyane is pursuing his dream.
“I hope he can go further in his football career, but he must finish his studies first.
“He has his whole career in front of him. Not many get the opportunities with his condition. He’s a great boy. I always make jokes and have fun with him.”
Jackson’s assistant, Tsola, has worked with Jiyane for the past four years – since the player was recommended by another development coach, Lebo Ndebele.
“It was a bit of a struggle when Simo first came to the team. I mean, it was the first time I had ever coached a player with his condition. It was really difficult to give him instructions,” admitted Tsola.
“I gave him the freedom, using some sort of sign language that we could both understand and other players also followed suit.
“I am happy to see how he has developed as a player. He doesn’t want to fail. He gets angry when results are not going his way but he tends to lose it when he tries too hard. He is always willing to learn.
“He is a nice boy with a warm personality. He loves being around his team-mates and vice versa, so much so that some don’t believe he’s got a hearing impairment.”
Tsola recalled seeing glimpses of what Jiyane was capable of as a striker when the youngster scored a hat-trick in a game a
while ago.
“We should have had him for our opening MDC games already, but there was a delay with his registration.”
One of Jiyane’s team-mates, Nyakala “Nyakes” Raphadu, has been his closest friend for four years.
“We were not aware of Simo’s condition until the coach told us about it and taught us the way to work according to his strength,” said the 21-year-old.
The two share a room when they are in camp.
“We use the same hand signs that we use on the pitch, but Simo doesn’t talk much. Maybe if I knew proper sign language, the conversation could be deep.
“Still, we get along very well.”
