Tate Pau: the machine, the man behind the magic at the MTC HopSol League

Week in and week out, Tate Pau keeps Jan Möhr Football Field in top shape

Week in and week out, players, coaches, referees, coordinators and parents gather at the Jan Möhr Football Field to witness the next generation of Namibian footballers battle it out in the competitive MTC HopSol Youth League.

To those who arrive at the field, everything appears to be in place. The grass is neatly trimmed, the facilities are clean and the surroundings are well maintained, creating an environment where young footballers can focus on doing what they love most — playing the game.

But behind the scenes, long before the first whistle is blown, one man is already hard at work making sure everything is ready.

His name is Paulus Shindombo, affectionately known as Tate Pau.

Tate Pau, who originally hails from the Oshikoto region, learned his traits when a friend of his called him for a job in Okahandja in 2000, where he started doing odd jobs for a company there that included general maintenance till 2009. He eventually met HopSol co-founder and current Brave Warriors coach Collin Benjamin through his relative. He began doing work at his residence before the gaffer retired from football in the German Bundesliga.

As their relationship grew over the years, he was tasked with painting the Jan Mohr Football clubhouse as the management undertook to revamp the sporting facilities in 2019.

As soon as that job was done, Collin Benjamin and Dr Robert Hopperdietzel (co-founder) saw that I was a hard worker and committed and offered me a full-time job to look after the whole fields at the school,

– he said.

With little knowledge of how to maintain grass, he was given assistance from a company that showed him the ropes on how to grow and make sure that the field was kept up to standard.

There was a company that came, and they showed me how things should be done and how to take care of the grass. And as soon as I was taught the basics, Dr Hopperdietzel bought a brand-new lawn mower. I was hesitant to drive it at first because I had never even driven a car in my life at that time. Dr Hopperdietzel showed me how to operate it, and then that’s where the magic started happening,

– Tate Pau elaborated.

I fell in love with cutting the grass because I would measure cutting in terms of how artificial grass would look, and mimic how it would look, and try my utmost best for it to be perfect, which took me about six months before anybody could play on the field because we had to start from scratch,

– he explained.

On an average day, Tate Pau gets in as early as 08:00 to water the grass with an automated timer set and proceeds to water the plants around the two fields.

As the grass is being watered, I make my way to the offices and the clubhouse to see if the clubhouse needs cleaning, which is obviously a basic necessity every day. I would clean the clubhouse and do a routine checkup on the pipelines and the toilets and see if anything is broken or leaking. If nothing is wrong, I would then go about inspecting the field to see if it’s clean and trim the grass. I would also go about checking if the sprinklers are broken and working properly. I also take time to walk around the field and see if there are patches on the field and replant them so that the field is properly levelled with no dry patches,

– he added.

At the age of 59, Tate Pau does his job with passion and to the best of his abilities because seeing the youngsters play week in and week out is something he prides himself on.

My heart is filled with joy every time the kids and parents come to me and say. You know, Tate Pau, you did a good job. This field looks proper. The grass is cut perfectly. I get excited every time I come to the field,

– he said.

Whenever I am not on duty, I come to the field just to watch games. Kids will come to me and be like, “Uncle” or ” Grandfather. They would be like, No, what you did with the grass is so nice. I’m not falling down; the grass is perfect, they would also say.

With such a big responsibility, Tate Pau has also won the trust of parents, as some have made use of his services privately, as his work speaks for itself.

Collin Benjamin described Tate as an invaluable member of the league with many talents.

Tate Pau can do anything from plumbing, electrical work, building, painting work and obviously maintenance and even with the transplanting of grass, he was there from the beginning. If you have to look at the preparations that go into preparing a match day, it starts already on Monday with preparing the field. The field gets watered; it gets cut every week. The painting of the lines, all of that is on Tate Pau’s plate. He is heaven-sent and we’re so happy and lucky to have him and wish him all the best.

Tate Pau walks the fields every day with great pride and admiration as he sees that his hard work has contributed to Namibia’s youth development, something he feels proud of.

I love every bit and part of my job because I do everything with passion,

– he concluded.

Strauss Lunyangwe

Captions:
Photo 1: All smiles… The man who keeps MTC HopSol Youth League’s Jan Möhr Football Field.

Photos: Strauss Lunyangwe