Registration closes and Gauteng school is ready for action

Registration has closed for the 2015 edition of the Under-19 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, sponsored by Sanlam, the Motsepe Foundation and the Ubuntu-Botho Trust, and schools that have registered will now start competing in their various clusters.

The Kay Motsepe Schools Cup has become the foremost youth talent identification tournament in soccer in the country and the role that schools attached to the development academies of professional clubs cannot be underestimated.

A case in point is Clapham High School of the Tshwane North District in Gauteng, which was one of the first schools to register this year and houses the school-going players who are in the Mamelodi Sundowns Youth Academy.

The 2015 under-19 team will comprise of seven of last year’s players that are still at the school and it will be bolstered by 5 new recruits and team manager, Ngwato Petje, explains that not all their players are associated with Mamelodi Sundowns.

Keamogetswe Ledwaba comes to the school from Benny’s Sport Academy in Limpopo. He plays for Edu Sport FC in the SAB League and, according to Petj he is star quality and is definitely someone to look out for during the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup this year.

Clapham are former winners of the competition, but they were knocked out at the provincial finals last year and are keen to make amends for that. They were one of the first schools to register for the 2015 tournament and are eagerly waiting for the cluster level games to begin.

The team will once again be coached by Mike Manzini. “Last year was the first time Mike coached the team and he did a good job with the team even though we ended up being knocked out of the tournament,” Petje said.

“He has obviously learnt a few things from last year and I believe that he has prepared the team better this time around to ensure positive results.”

Petje is looking forward to seeing how the new players fit in. “They are new to the schools and will be new to this tournament but luckily we still have 7 previous players that can share their experience with them, overall the team is doing well and they get good quality training.

Preparations are going well said Petje.  “We have played 5 friendly games already and we obviously want the team to be familiar with each other and for them to see if there are any adjustments that they need to improve upon. The Mamelodi Sundowns Academy team will be playing in the final against University of Pretoria in the Multichoice Diski Challenge and that’s the basis of the team that will be participating in Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, along with the non-Academy players.”

Petje admits that it wasn’t easy to accept defeat last year as the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup is the biggest schools soccer tournament and every school wants to be successful in it. “The loss showed us that we need to work twice as hard as other teams in order for us to win again. The tournament is getting tougher and tougher and becoming more and more competitive each year.”

Gauteng is by far the most competitive province, Petje said, and they are not under-estimating any team they will meet.

“Of course our main rivals are the defending champions, Holy Trinity. We have to take back the title from them and should we meet up with them it won’t be an easy match. Neither team will go down without a fight,” he said

As 2013 champions, Clapham won R1 million in funding for the school and they are in the process using the funds to build two new classrooms and a life skills centre.  They are awaiting the Department of Education approval of the site they have identified.

Registration for the 2015 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup has closed and the 2015 Free State Champions are preparing for their first games.

Registration for the 2015 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup has closed and 2014 Free State champions, and the most successful school in the tournament over the past five years, Harmony High School of Virginia, are hard at work preparing for their opening cluster level matches, and determined to represent the province at the national finals once again this year.

Harmony coach, Pitso Mokoena, has been with the school since 2008 and has guided them to two national titles – in 2008 and 2011. He sees that 2008 victory as his greatest achievement. He didn’t have a lot of time to prepare that year and injuries meant that they played in the national finals with just 12 players in the squad.

“Winning the 2011 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup was easier” he said. “I think that the 2011 team was the best team I have coached. They were talented and they made my job very easy.”

This year Harmony will play with a completely new team.  The entire under-17 team that won a key knockout tournament in 2014 and also participated in the SAB Regional League has been promoted and they will join seven of last year’s under-19 players.

“All are currently training together, but we will select the best players for the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup and it does not necessarily have to include last year’s players,” he said.

“We also compete in open tournaments and leagues to give the players experience with teams other than schools as they grow and learn this way.”

In the cluster phase of the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, the team will be playing against local schools, but Mokoena said they will not underestimate them. “Every year teams grow, they have new talented players and there’s no guarantee that Harmony will win every year.

“But we try to be optimistic,” he said.  “We have always represented Free State in this tournament and we know that other schools in Free Sate are gunning for the title and are working hard to make sure that they get that title, we don’t take competition lightly. Local rivals HTS Louis Botha are a very strong team and they are the team that could well give us a challenge. In 2013 they took the provincial title away from us for the first time and they will be a threat again this year.”

Mokoena’s coaching philosophy is based on hard work and a good relationship with his players. “Soccer is an ever-evolving sport and as a coach you need to develop your skills by attending coaching clinics, getting more qualifications and equipping yourself with what’s current,” he says.

“You also have to be a father figure to the players. You need to build and maintain relationships with all your players. You need to be open to being a father/mentor to them, so that they can be open to you in return.”

For Mokoena the biggest challenge is having to deal with the players’ attitudes. “You sometimes have players that think that they are the best thing that has happened to the team; they tend to be egotistical. As a coach you need to be able to bring down those egos. I try to make it a team problem which needs to be resolved as a team.”

As for his own future, Mokoena believes the nexst step is coaching PSL teams. “I look up to the likes of Rulani Mokoena (former coach of Mamelodi Sundowns Academy), he started with the junior team and he is now the assistant coach for Mamelodi Sundowns first team. That’s my next step, I want to start with a developing team in the PSL and take it to greater heights. I give myself plus minus 3 years to reach that level.”

Before then, there are those cluster games, beginning on 18 April with their first opponent being Marematlou Secondary School.

“I believe that giving praise to a player or a team inspires them to be better next time; I always congratulate a player if they played a good game. In that way I build their self-esteem and empower them to do better next time, that’s how I inspire my players for the challenges that lie ahead,” Mokoena concluded.

Limpopo School progresses in the 2015 Danone Nations Cup

Benny’s Sports Development Academy of the Vhembe District, Makhado in Limpopo are about to enter the inter-circuit phase of the under-12 Danone Nations Cup soccer competition and, under new coach, Mbishi Mokoena, they are confident of going far in the competition this year.

Benny’s have been playing in the tournament since 2010 and only once – in 2013 – did they get as far as the district finals.

What has changed this year is the school has appointed a specialist coach to take care of the junior players (in the past they had one coach for all the age groups).

Mbishi Mokoena will take care of the under-12, under-13 and under-14 teams at the school, and has already made a difference with the under-12s, who won their zonal games quite easily, scoring seven goals in one of them.

The new coach has been impressed with his players so far. “Andries Mokgwethega has scored 3 goals out of the 8 the team scored so far, and we also have Tshimagatdzo Mokwevho. He only scored 1 goal but he assisted other players to score. I believe that those players will take the team to the nationals,” he said.

Mokoena believes passion is the key to being a successful coach. “Coaching is not just instructing players on the field, it’s about building and maintaining a relationship with different players,” he said. “You need to have the heart for it.”

Skills and experience are also required. “You need to have experienced playing soccer in order to be a coach. You can’t teach players something you don’t know about.”

While this is Mokoena’s first time coaching the under-12 team, he has done his homework before entering the Danone Nations Cup.   “I had the opportunity of watching last year’s under-12 team play and I noticed that they lacked the basics and the team was all over the field with no structure. This year we have gone back to the basics of soccer. The team has since grasped the concept and I have definitely seen a change in them. “

The challenge for Mokoena is the different roles he has to play. “The players are all boarding at the school and don’t have their parents around them, so I have to be a father figure to all of them at the same time. It’s an adjustment for me, but I am gradually getting used to the fact that I have to play different roles to the boys.”

Mokoena said the reason he got involved in coaching was to develop and nature young players’ talents and he wants to be known for developing some of the best players in the world. “I don’t see myself coaching a PSL team, I see myself coaching internationally recognised academies. 10 years from now I still want to be focussing on the development phase in soccer, coaching u-13. I believe that age group is open and willing to learn as opposed to older players who think they know everything about soccer “

Mokoena got his players to Google the Danone Nations Cup Soccer Tournament to find out more about it and to see what it is they are playing for.

“When they saw what last’s year’s winners experienced, it got them more and more excited about winning this tournament. I think that Danone is doing a great job in giving these players a chance to travel to in different parts of the world and to play a sport that they love.”

Ends

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

Mpumalanga’s Eric Nxumalo benefits from Kay Motsepe Schools Soccer Cup prize money

The Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, sponsored by the Motsepe Foundation, Sanlam and the Ubuntu-Botho Trust, is the biggest soccer tournament in the country, reaching far beyond the field of play by making a massive contribution to education via the legacy projects that are funded by the prize money awarded to the provincial champions each year.

One of those, Eric Nxumalo High School from Thulamahashe was the Mpumalanga provincial champion in 2013, and was granted R100 000 to spend on educational and sporting projects in their community.

The official unveiling of the projects, which included the upgrade of the soccer pitch, replace broken windows and doors and tracksuits,  took place at the school recently and in attendance were representatives from Sanlam, The Motsepe Foundation, the SA Schools Football Association (SASFA) and the Department’s of Sport and Education.

At the unveiling the coach, Canon Simango, said the school has already registered for the 2015 Kay Motsepe Schools Cup tournament, and they are ready to start playing their cluster games.

The school still has 3 players from the successful 2013 team in their ranks: Enock Lebesi, captain Sydney Moyane and Leonard Nkuna, who have the experience and skills to help motivate the other players and set an example which will hopefully take the team to the national finals again.

Moyane in particular will prove dangerous on the field this year.  “He was part of the team that went on a training programme to Brazil in 2009 and he has improved dramatically and I believe he has the skills to help any PSL team,” said Simango.

Simango says the team has been training hard, at their local clubs, as well as with the school’s under-19 team.  “I would love nothing more than to win more money so that we can make even more improvements to the school for learners that will be attending it in the years to come,” he said.

Photo Caption:

Back row: (from left to right) Mr Sithole L.R. Deputy Principal , Mr Dennis Madondo, Mr Simango C.C Coach, Ms Wendy Ndlovu, Mr Mashele P. Principal,  Mr Mahlalela S. E. ,
Front row: (from left to right )  Leonard Nkuna,  Hlawulekile Moyane,  Enock Ubisse.