By Sheliza Mitha
When Jama Mahlalela walked through the doors of the War Memorial Gym for his Great Trekker Award presentation during the March 15th game against Concordia, the positive energy in the air was palpable.
It was easy to see and feel the warm welcome from those gathered around, many of whom he knew from his time as a student-athlete. Jama’s open smile and friendly demeanor set the tone, making it feel like a true homecoming. Reflecting on just how much UBC helped to shape his life and career, he shared, “You’ll never forget the time you’re on this court,” during his acceptance speech from centre court. A 2004 graduate with a Bachelor of Kinesiology, Jama’s path has taken him from UBC student-athlete to assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors.
In this Q&A, Jama looks back on how UBC shaped his leadership style, coaching philosophy, and the relationships that have guided him along the way.
For sure. This makes me think back to the Storm the Wall competition. For UBC students, it’s this great time when people come together for this competition near the end of the year. And for me, this felt a bit different than my time here with athletic pursuits. I was on the basketball team and a varsity athlete, but this was different because everyone participated and everyone had an equal opportunity. I remember we won it one year, and it took all of us working together as a team to get over the wall. It’s a memory that I will keep with me; and it makes me think about the teamwork that it took to get over this wall – which is something that really made sense to me, especially in terms of how I operate even now as it was much more about the idea of team being about everybody, regardless of your capacity.
That event is unique as some people run, some people swim, some people climb – but everyone had a role, and the question is always: How do you maximize everyone’s role? And so when I think about my time at UBC, that event specifically really encapsulated the importance of teamwork.
My university days really formed the basis of my ability to organize my day. And that’s what university taught me in many ways. It’s about how to organize, prioritize and get a plan for the day. I had to do that to survive here… to come to practice, to go to the library, to study, to do all the things it took to be a university student. And that’s helped me now to be a coach to manage and to think about what does each day look like, how do I plan for practice and for the next day. So, it’s that organizational capacity that I was forced into as a university student that has helped my success now.
That swimming analogy is a great one. So, we’re in this university course where they teach you some swimming techniques… and I remember that I was a decent swimmer, but I had never done the butterfly before. So when it was time to try that stroke, I tried it for the first time and failed miserably. And for someone who is a naturally gifted athlete, they can do the skill no matter what. Michael Jordan can shoot a jump shot no matter what. Usain Bolt can run no matter what. But, how do you do something you can’t do? For me, I had to learn the mechanics of the butterfly stroke – and that means learning what happens, what’s moving first, when is it moving, how am I breathing. And learning that, it gave me such an appreciation for what coaching must feel like… and learning that some athletes I coach are in that same situation. Especially for young athletes who have never done the action I am coaching them, I learned I need to give them details. I need to break it down phase by phase, step by step. So that’s definitely informed my coaching.
I believe leadership, in what I have learned from my time with the Raptors – and especially in my initial days at UBC – is all about listening. That’s what great leadership is truly about. And in those early days with the Athletic Council, it was about listening to the athletes, about listening to the administration, and listening to what all the concerns were and then navigating the best path forward. The same thing is true in my life as a coach. I have to listen to my athletes, listen to the other coaches… and only at that time can you actually make decisions that drive the course of the organization and move you forward. That’s an important skill.
It may sound strange, but people inspire me – as well as the diversity that people come to the table with. I love meeting new people. I love seeing what makes them tick. I love understanding what humanity is at its core… that’s such a motivational thing for me. We’re all so similar – much more similar than we are different – but we should be so excited about that difference. So, to be able to travel the world and come to Vancouver for the first time as a university student was about that difference… and celebrating it. I think that for every person we meet, there’s a different exchange of energy; and that exchange is powerful, and that actually gives you energy… with hope that gives the other person energy as well. And from that exchange and from that communication, we can hopefully do great things.
A key relationship would be with Coach Hanson, who coached me when I was a student here, and our relationship post our basketball experience has grown a lot. We have both been very reflective of our time. I believe that’s something we all need to do… to look back and discuss what we would have done differently or how can we grow and learn from all the scenarios. That’s something Coach Hanson and I have done. This is something that has really helped me improve, and I think that’s something that has helped him improve… and it’s one of those formative relationships. Your coach is a formative person in your life, and for me to know that I am that for other people makes it really important for me in how I relate to my athletes, how I spend time with them, how I navigate the conversations and help them with their lives makes a difference. Because I know how much it matters for an athlete.
For me, as an athlete, you want to play. And if you look back at my university career, I didn’t play a lot. I was a back-up player. And navigating that – and trying to understand why that happened, why you’re not playing when you think you should be playing more – was a real challenge for me. But I always relied on what does it mean, and who are the people around me. So, the journey with my teammates became the most important thing. There’s a fun memory of at time we won the Canada West Championship here at War Memorial, and when they called the team captain to come up and get the trophy… they called me up, but I hadn’t played in the game – which to me spoke volumes that even though I hadn’t played in the game, I was still the one coming up to get the trophy because the challenge of not playing was mitigated by my sense of community and of team, and of making my environment a positive place so I overcame this challenge [of not playing] by focusing on the goal, on teamwork and the people.
I try to always find positivity, and connection and step forward by the people I am around.
Being in Dr. Wilson’s classes was very important for me, especially in the way that she organized classes and could compartmentalize the different things we were learning about. This was just really unique to me. She taught me how to formulate different things and keep them in their own components, and then how to have them interact. So, every lesson was really specific and we learned something independent in that lesson, but when you put the whole thing together, it formed an entire curriculum. And for me as a coach, I try to do the same thing: What are the skills that I am coaching each and every day, and how do those skills ladder up to be something bigger and broader overall to help the athlete?
I think my coaching philosophy is really based around: How do you motivate the athletes you’re working with. And, most of the time, those motivations are much more humanistic than they are performance-based. How do you make someone feel good about themselves? How do you make them feel confident in what they’re doing? And that’s where you reap the biggest rewards.
By “humanistic,” the focus is on their contributions and how they are doing in terms of their state. What they’re feeling on a certain day really matters. It makes a big difference. So, managing that and making sure they’re in a good space allows them to perform well – such as putting them in a joyful environment, putting them in a place where we’re recognizing the positivity that they’re bringing to the table… this allows them to perform at an elite level.
Actually, I wanted to be a teacher. Throughout high school and at my time at UBC, my intention was to teach high school – specifically Phys Ed and history. That’s where my passion was, that’s what I was so excited to do… and be a representative person for a lot of other young people. And I sort of fluked myself onto the basketball side. So, again, it’s about connecting with people, loving people and loving the game – which is how I ended up in the coaching realm, though I was a teacher by training and by passion.
For me, I’m very thankful that I have a pretty positive outlook on life on most days when I wake up. It’s just the natural way for me. But there are some days when you need to actually make a choice and choose to have a positive outlook and make a choice that the sun is shining that day. And for those moments or days that are the hardest, and having situations that might be – either professionally or with family – full of turmoil, as we all have those days, it’s about: How do we find a way to make it a little bit more positive? It’s also about accepting that some days aren’t going to be “sunny,” but rather cloudy. But if my mentality is to make the next moment or day sunny, I will be in a better state. So, what helps me in navigating these cloudy days is by choosing to imagine the next as being more sunny. What advice would you give to current students on making the most of their time at university?
As I look back as an alumnus here, I think it’s about savoring the time and realizing that it’s special. When you’re in it, you don’t realize that all the time. You’re worried about your next exam, or your homework or whatever else. But it’s good to have some perspective while you’re in the moment to realize: “This is a special time in my life. I am really lucky to be here.” And to enjoy and savor the time because you will have these memories for the rest of your life.”
I believe it’s through the university experience that you gain life lessons. You gain an understanding of how to learn, how to interact with people and how to navigate society. These are some of the main lessons we learn at university. As you finish your university career, it’s about… how do you apply those skills to whatever your next steps are going to be. I think the key is to try and find joy in whatever you want to do next, to find connection with the people you’ll be spending time with, and to challenge yourself to continue to grow. Once you finish university, your learning doesn’t finish. You continue to learn for the rest of your life. And being open to this… I believe is an important part of people’s success and their futures.
Being someone who’s grown up in Canada but has real definitive roots in Africa in Swaziland, now known as Eswatini, it was formative for me to experience both cultures. It was formative for me to understand that although the places are very different, the people were very similar – warm and welcoming. And for me to now be established professionally in North America, my connection points and my motivations are often times back home in Eswatini. And when you look at my friends and connections there, and the realities of what living in different parts of the world look like… that always gives me perspective. My upbringing in Eswatini is a gift and a huge perspective-giver – and gives me a sense of what matters and what doesn’t matter, and perspective on things that are important: and it’s family, it’s friends, it’s community. And my African roots bring that to the forefront. So, it’s such an important part of who I am, and it informs the choices I get to make each and every day.
Jama’s impact on UBC and beyond is a testament to the power of dedication, teamwork and the genuine connections that we build along the way. From his role in UBC’s athletic community to the creation of the Jama Mahlalela Award – created in his honor to recognize leadership, selfless dedication and spirit – it’s clear that Jama values the people and relationships that shape our journeys.
Looking back on Jama’s time at UBC and his career since then, his story is a reminder that our relationships, our contributions, our challenges and our outlooks all play a vital role in shaping who we are and what we can become.
The Great Trekker Award is an honour presented to an alumnus of UBC who embodies the spirit of the Great Trek student initiative of 1922, when they marched to Point Grey to pressure the government to complete the construction of the university. Great Trekkers, past and present harbour the same leadership and ambition through their continued support of and contribution to the UBC Community and beyond.
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