Coach’s dream comes true! His school team is participating in the Danone Nations Cup

Participating in the Eastern Cape under-12 Danone Nations Cup provincial final at Laёrskool Kuswag, East London on Saturday, 4^th August, will be a dream come true for coach Wandile Qobisile from Nomandi Primary School.  

It took over 10 years for the coach to get the school he was at to enter the competition. When he was at Ezamukhanya Junior Secondary School back in 2009, his principal did not believe that the kids would be able to compete in such a high-profile tournament, and when he came to Nomandi Primary in 2011, again the principal did not believe the kids had the capabilities to enter such a tournament.

So Wandile took a different approach to persuade the principal to believe in him.  He put a soccer team together at the school and persuaded the other schools in the area to do the same and they began playing friendlies against each other. He managed to get the entire area more attuned to soccer at under-12 level. His focus was to teach the kids the rules of the game as well as different tactics as well as the technical aspects of the game.  He knew that finally the sport will gain momentum in the area and, as they say, change is inevitable.

Finally, in 2016, he was given the green light to go ahead and the school entered the Danone Nations Cup. “At first we were amateurs,” said Qobisile. “We didn’t even have proper kit to play in. The players weren’t comfortable playing against other schools at this level and we never made it past the cluster phase of the tournament.”

So, he went back to the drawing board. “Soccer is about setting goals, accepting defeat and being able to bounce back and most importantly trust in your team,” Qobisile said. “In 2017 we entered the tournament again and I soon noticed that the other teams had improved. I knew I had a good team, but I underestimated the opponents. I realized then that every year is a new experience completely. You play against different schools, different teams, some change coaches and so they play a completely different game.

“Once again, we didn’t get past the cluster phase, but the experience I gained excited me and, this year, I was ready to put the next group of youngsters to the test. I realised that I needed to apply what I had learnt by watching last year’s games. Well, it has worked, and we are going to the provincial finals! I know that I still have a lot to learn and I then must transfer this knowledge to my youngsters. That’s what is so exciting about this tournament.  Obviously we would love to play in the national finals, but the Danone Nations Cup is also about learning, having fun and fair play.”

As for Qobisile himself, he played street soccer and school soccer but has no formal coaching qualification, but he has a diploma in teaching and has an advanced certificate in life orientation from Unisa. He also attended a refereeing workshop which has helped a lot with his coaching.

The key player in the team, he believes, will be Bayanda Yomithi, the left back. “He is a focused player and a good motivator, I’m expecting a lot from him,” Qobisile said.

The provincial finals won’t be easy, but the team is well organised this year and they have as much chance as any of the other seven teams to get through to the national finals, he believes.

“The Danone Nations Cup is a very prestigious tournament. Since we have been entering the tournament people in the area are paying attention to us, they encourage us to do well.

“The principles of the Danone Nations Cup are important. I teach my players to believe in their dreams. We like to live by the Danone philosophy which is to pay attention to health and nutrition. Danone’s mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible, an important lesson for kids to learn and it will become a lifetime practise.”

The teams participating in the Eastern Cape provincial finals are:

Joe Gqabi district: Ngxaza Junior Secondary School

Chris Hani district: Empumelelelweni Senior Primary School

Buffalo City Municipality: Charles Morgan Primary School

Amathole district: Fort Malan Senior Primary School

Alfred Nzo district: Patekile Junior Secondary School

Sarah Baartman district: Gcinubuzwe Primary School

OR Tambo district: Nomandi Junior Secondary School

Nelson Mandela Bay district: Mzimhlophe Primary School.

 Ends.