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Kotze, however, was reluctant to share the limelight and looked on like a proud father as his star athlete etched his name into South African athletics history after clocking a stunning time of 47.66 seconds.
Despite Kotze's successes as a hurdles coach, he believed athletics mentors in South Africa received a raw deal as they had to juggle full time careers with part-time coaching.
Kotze is a teacher and sport organiser at Hoërskool Garsfontein in Pretoria and can sacrifice only two hours a day for his athletes.
He says his ultimate dream is to be a full time coach in his own country.
"I believe recognition should come from making coaches, who are successful and passionate, full time coaches," Kotze said in an interview this week.
He believes these coaches should be given the opportunities to live out their passion.
"It will help them to focus on the premier task of producing athletes who can win gold medals at the Olympic Games."
Van Zyl agrees, saying it will help if Kotze is able to focus on coaching, even if it is only during the build-up to the Olympic Games.
"The sad part is that he is coaching for the love of it for an hour-and-a-half per day," Van Zyl said.
"We have 20 athletes in our training group and he does not only work with me."
Kotze says it is something Athletics South Africa, Sascoc and local universities seriously need to address.
Van Zyl and Kotze's relationship has progressed since the start of the athlete's professional career which will enter its 10th year in 2012.
As a 15-year-old Van Zyl made a seven-hour bus trip from Bloemfontein to Pretoria during school holidays to begin the moulding process by Kotze into the athlete he is today.
The 25-year-old's recent meteoric rise to the top ranks in his discipline may have come as a surprise to some observers, but Kotze believes his charge's recent results have been the culmination of years of planning between athlete and coach.
"You improve year after year and get stronger and you realise what works and what doesn't," Kotze said.
Kotze feels that trust and a belief in the training programme are the key components in a good athlete-coach relationship.
"You need to deal with each personality but in the end it is all about what the athlete does on the track."
It is clear from speaking to Kotze and Van Zyl that they have built a good understanding over their decade-long partnership.
They separated for two years when Kotze was appointed Saudi Arabia's national hurdles coach in 2007, but their partnership resumed on Kotze's return to South Africa at the end of 2009.
Van Zyl attributes his recent upward curve to the return of his trusted coach.
"The relationship I have with Oom (uncle) Hennie is good for my confidence," Van Zyl said.
"When he was in Saudi Arabia I was on a different programme and it was bad for my confidence."
Van Zyl says his coach's training programme and the group he trains with have instilled the confidence in him to reach greater heights.
His earliest successes were achieved under Kotze when he was crowned world junior champion in Jamaica in 2002 at the age of 16. Four years later he clinched the Commonwealth title.
Kotze says his approach to coaching is to truly accept and understand each athlete with whom he works.
"I need to make the athlete feel that I believe in their potential and that I am doing everything to develop it," he said.
"You shouldn't fuss with them and there shouldn't be an atmosphere of conflict.
"There should be a good amount of spirit with the training group who support each other."
He added that the relationship between he and Van Zyl has also been built on the trust the athlete shows in his knowledge of the discipline.
Kotze has an impressive 400m hurdles pedigree and, like Van Zyl, has been coached by the best in the country.
He was a South African 400m and 400m hurdles champion and earned his Springbok colours in athletics for five consecutive years.
The coach, like his athlete, held the South African record in the 400m hurdles when he clocked 49.26 in 1983.
The pair make it clear that a lot of planning and thinking goes into an athlete's training programme.
"There should be good synergism between our training programme, the doctors and physiotherapists," Kotze said.
"The athlete should feel the harmony and communication which builds his confidence."
Kotze says they have left no stone unturned during their planning for races, to the extent at which they had done detailed analysis of Van Zyl's major competitors.
"When I joined LJ in the Netherlands we analysed every single good 400m hurdles final race and all his good competitors' strong points and weaknesses."
The coach adds that Van Zyl's respect for him is palpable and they hardly ever have a difference of opinion.
Kotze says Van Zyl now has the self-belief that he can become one of the greatest 400m hurdlers in the world.
"I honestly believe that, and he (Van Zyl) knows it. He has not reached his full potential yet."
