Free State’s Clive Solomon
Stadium, in Bloemfontein will host the first Danone Nations Cup provincial
final on Saturday March 21st to determine which school will
represent the province at the national finals later in the year.
The schools participating
are:
Motheo district - Toka Primary
School, Bloemfontein
Fezile Dabi district - Nelson
Mandela Primary,Sasolburg
Xhariep district - Mofulatshepe
Primary, Smithfields
Lejweleputswa district - Thoriso
Primary School, Hoopstad
Xhariep district - Inoseng
Primary, Petrusburg
Thabo Mofutsanyane district -
Matswathaka Intermediate School, Qwa-Qwa
Thoriso Primary School
manager/coach, Mr Finger, explained that the school qualified for the
provincial finals in 2008, the first year that they entered the competition,
and have been knocked out at the regional stage every year since then.
“This year we managed to overcome
the regional finals,” he said. “It’s been long and I know that it won’t be easy
for us but I trust and believe that my team will do whatever it takes to make
sure that we win the provincials.”
Finger said that these players
are very young and still have to learn the game, so he didn’t focus on their
technique when he chose them for the team, he looked at the passion that a
player has on the field.
“Once I see that in a player,
then I can start teaching them about technique, space and passing. It’s
important for a coach to have the ability to spot a passionate player; having
players that are passionate makes your job a whole lot easier, because they
will take your teaching seriously.”
Finger has been coaching since
1996 when he started at Thoriso and coaches the u-12, u-13 and u-14 teams. He
does not have a qualification, but has experience as a player as well as a
coach. “I believe a coach needs to have some form of qualification in order to
be great and I plan on getting one soon,” he said.
“I believe communication is key
when it comes to coaching, You need to build trust between yourself and your
players and the only way to achieve that is through communication. Players need
to know and trust that you have their best interests at heart all the time, you
need to be there for them every step of the way.”
Patience, especially when you are
coaching kids younger than 14 years old, is vital said Finger. “Their
attention-span is not long, so you constantly need to repeat drills. Some kids
are able to remember from the 1st take and others need to be taken
through the drills over and over. That takes patience.”
Thoriso did very well in the
regionals, especially in the final, the coach believes. “We played against
Letsibolo, who had won one of their previous games 4-0. We were afraid that
they might bury us. That final game was competitive and we managed to win 1-0.
Scoring that one goal was not easy at all. I’m hoping that the players have the
same attitude at the provincials on Saturday.”
Finger says the boys are excited
to be travelling to Bloemfontein. “We are from Tikwana a rural area in
Hoopstad, so a lot of our kids never get a chance to travel within Free State,
or outside of it. If we win the Provincial title we could go to Gauteng. How I
inspire the team is to remind them that every time they move up in this
tournament they get a chance to travel and see places they have never been to
before.
Regional playoff results
Bronville 0 Thoriso 0 (Thoriso
won on penalties)
Tikwe 1 Loboneng 0
Kegomoditswe 1 Bronville 1
(Kegomoditse won on penalties)
Letsibolo o Tijwe 0 (Letsibolo
won on penalties)
Thoriso 0 Kegomoditswe o (Thoriso
won on penalties)
Loboneng 0 Letsibolo 4
Final – Letsibolo 0 Thoriso 1
About Danone
Danone
Southern Africa is part of the Danone Group, one of the fastest-growing food
companies in the world. Danone is present in over 120 countries across
all continents. With 160 plants and around 100,000 employees, the Danone Group
is the number one worldwide for Fresh Dairy Products. Danone’s mission is to
bring health through food to as many people as possible.
One of the core
values of the Danone Nations Cup tournament is to encourage young people to
believe in their dreams. Through this initiative Danone offers a sporting event
that reaches out to and inspires millions of children all over the world
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