Glenwood House produces first class cricketers

In recognition of their fine performances in the Coca-Cola® T20 School Challenge, three cricketers from Glenwood House College, George, Eastern Cape, have been awarded with a special commemorative cap and a certificate marking their great achievements.

Coca-Cola® South Africa and Cricket South Africa (CSA) grant this honour to players who excel in the competition.  Gary Wagner, scored 116 runs against a SWD development team, Jean Du Plessis scored 80 runs not out and Richard Papenfus 89 not out, both against Parkdene High School. 

Director of Cricket, Danie Oosthuizen, is proud of the boys, who are members of the team that has won all 7 games played in the tournament to date, ending the year on a high, beating Uniondale High school by 10 wickets. “Last year we were knockout out in the quarterfinals against Oakhill, but we are a different team this year.  Our next game is in January against Oudtshoorn High School.

Sixteen-year-old Grade 11 cricketer, Gary, bats at number 5 and is the opening bowler.  Oosthuizen describes him as a gifted sportsman as he plays first team cricket and rugby and is a fine athlete.  “He is dedicated, determined and an excellent leader, which is why he has been made deputy head boy next year.  He is also an above average academic and is destined to do well in life.”

Opening batsman and wicket keeper, 15 year old Grade 9 cricketer, Jean Du Plessis, is one of the seven youngsters in the team.  “He is determined, never misses training and I am very pleased he received this recognition as has shown incredible growth in the past year and this proves to him that hard work pays off,” says Oosthuizen.  “He has great potential and, if he keeps this up, I see him playing provincial cricket one day.”

Batsman and bowler, Richard Papenfus, is also 15 years old and in Grade 9 and has been described as the joker of the team.  “He enjoys life, is smart and extremely helpful and deserves to be recognized.  Acknowledging excellence is the best motivation anyone can ever get and I comment Coca-Cola® and Cricket South Africa for introducing this initiative” 

Papenfus is an all rounder as he is also an excellent golfer and plays first team rugby.

The Coca-Cola® T20 Schools Challenge is about making heroes, explains Fetsi Mbele, Coca-Cola South Africa Marketing Assets Manager. “This grass roots tournament is where heroes are unearthed and then progress through to the Coca-Cola® Khaya Majola Cricket Week, an annual tournament, sponsored by Coca-Cola South Africa for over 30 years. It has to date produced over 200 Proteas players.”

Exceptional talent found at the Mamelodi Sundowns Development Camp

Mamelodi Sundowns development coach, Rhulani Mokoena, believes the future looks bright for Bafana Bafana.  This is based on the exceptionally skilled players, scouted at the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup  national finals, currently in a camp put on by the Club.

“I want to commend my team of scouts for their selection as all 22 boys that are  here have the potential to make the Bafana Bafana team one day.  There are no exceptions,” said Mokoena.  “From the first day I could tell that they were technically skilled so we focused on the mental side and their overall understanding of the game,” said Mokoena. “There they lack a little bit, but that’s a common mistake that all players have - a lack of applying their mental game onto the field.”

The squad has played 2 games so far. They beat a Nike Chance team 3-0, and drew 0-0 with the Sundowns u-19 Academy team (Clapham High School). “That’s not a bad result considering the fact that they have never played as team before,” says Mokoena. “I can name a few boys that have caught everyone’s  attention here . Tani Mpusana-Louis Botha, Jason Skippers of-Cloetesville High School, Lugiano Knopp of Okiep High School and Reginald Tsoela of Harmony are all quality players who could well be playing in the PSL soon.

“It’s difficult to speak of major improvements in a few days as more than a week is needed to improve a player’s skills. Our main goal for the camp was to target specific techniques, team work and communication with fellow players and the mental aspect of the game.  These boys are so used to their way of doing things, but they now know what is expected of them and I know that they will carry what we taught them forever.”

This was endorsed by Gian De Jongh of Okiep High School in the Northern Cape.  “What I have learnt from this one week has impacted my game for ever.  Perhaps the most enlightening lesson is how to better position myself on the field.  Sometimes players don’t know where they are supposed to be when a game is in play, and that’s where mistakes tend to happen. You need to optimize your position without slacking off on your duties.”

It’s also been about making friends and De Jongh says he has got to know Kabelo Mabesa more as a friend than a team mate. “We talk about anything and our friendship will continue even after the camp,” he said.  “I know that I will go back home as a different player, I am sure that I will pass it on to my mates that didn’t get the opportunity to come along.”

For Reginald Tsoela he saw the camp as an opportunity to promote his soccer career.  “I would love to play for Sundowns and give them back what they have given me this week.  As a striker you need to be able to make the field work for you.  I learnt so much about creating spaces and opportunities to score goals.  To help with our mental approach they took us out of our comfort zones and I learnt that I can play comfortably in the midfield and centre back.”

Most of the players that attended the camp have just completed Grade 12 and Sundowns has invited all the local Clubs to attend the games and see if they are interested in signing up some of the players.  “I wish we could sign up all the players, but we will only be looking at three or four signing and hopefully the other Clubs will sign up the rest,” said Mokoena

Ofentse Motlhanke	GK	Louis Botha
Junaid Stevens ( PM )	GK	KZN
Tani Mpusana	Defender	Louis Botha
Kabelo Mabesa	Defender	Harmony
Mandla Masangane	Defender	Harmony
Lugiano Knopp	Defender	Okiep
Samkelo Nkosi	Defender	East High
Gian De Zongh	Midfielder	Okiep
Elton Kapinga	Midfielder	Benny Sports
Thabiso Mothijang	Defender	Louis Botha
Ernest Mabathoana	Midfielder	Louis Botha
Khuliso Mudau	Midfielder	Benny Sports
Victor Noosi	Midfielder	Harmony
Reginald Tsoela	Striker	Harmony
Muzi Thabotha	Striker	East High
Bojosi Manjoe	Striker	East High
Fumani Mathebula	Striker	Eric Nxumalo
Molefi Gaobudiwe	Midfielder	Freedom
Jason Skippers	Midfielder	Cloetesville
Angelo Van Rooyen ( PM )	Striker	Rietvale High
Sive Klauhse	Midfielder	Executive Academy
Tshepo mskgopela	Defender/MD	TUKS

Heroes will be made at the Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Cricket Week

Stefan Klopper of Hoérskool Centurion, Pretoria, has been recognised as an outstanding achiever in the Coca-Cola® T20 School Challenge, for the 84 runs he made in his side’s 128 run victory over Hoérskool Zwartkop in October.  This outstanding player has also been selected to play for Northerns in the 2014 Coca-Cola® Khaya Majola Cricket Week happening from 16^th to the 20^th December in KwaZulu-Natal.

Coca-Cola® South Africa and Cricket South Africa (CSA) grant this honour to players who excel in the competition and they are awarded a special commemorative cap and a certificate marking the occasion.

Stefan has had an exceptional season notching up 999 runs, averaging 38, and taken 37 wickets with an average of 27/6. His performance has earned him the school Sportsman of the Year.  

Coach, Johan Cloete has known Stefan since primary school.  “He is naturally competitive in everything he does and since childhood his dream has been to play professional cricket, a dream that is getting closer to becoming a reality.” 

Stefan is also one of the schools top athletes, excelling in the javelin.  “He gave up rugby recently after suffering a back injury, which jeopardized his cricket career,” said Cloete.

Centurion has played three Coca-Cola® T20 Schools Challenge matches to date winning all. The next match will be in January against Hoérskool Menlopark in the quarter finals.

“I was speechless when I was called up to receive my recognition award,” said Stefan.  “I have worked so hard at my cricket, my goal being to get selected to play in the  Coca-Cola® Khaya Majola Cricket week.  My older brother, Hans, played in the week and he said it was the best week of his cricket career.  I am so looking forward to December.  I would like to get selected to play in the SA Schools Team as well.  That would be a fitting end to the week.”

Players arriving in Pretoria for the Mamelodi Sundowns camp

Twenty two of the most talented under-19 soccer players in the country will gather in Pretoria on Friday where they will attend a week-long training camp at Mamelodi Sundowns. They were selected as those with the most potential at the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup national finals in Durban in August and will now be given the opportunity to develop further.

They will receive training from top development coaches, and get individual attention as well. They will play three games, one of them against the Mamelodi Sundowns first team, and will attend a PSL match.

Mamelodi Sundowns have invited coaches and talent scouts from the first division and PSL clubs to come through and see the players in action.

Mamelodi Sundown’s youth development manager, Shawn Bishop, said there were so many talented players at the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup national finals they felt it important to give them an opportunity to develop further. “Hopefully some of the clubs will then take them that step further,” he said.

One of the invited players is Ofentse Motlhanke, the 19 year-old goalkeeper from Bloemfontein’s HTS Louis Botha, who was named the goalkeeper of the tournament at the national finals. “I think this is a great opportunity for my soccer career, I will be exposed to the best coaching staff,” he said. “I have never attended a camp before, so I don’t really know what happens but I think that I will be taught the technical skills of goalkeeping, and see how other goalkeepers handle the goal posts. I hope that after the camp my goalkeeping skills and mental game will have improved. Being a ’keeper, you need to pre-empt a player’s action, a skill I hope to learn from Sundowns.

Ofentse said that while he didn’t expect to be selected for the camp, it has always been his goal to play at a higher level. “Hopefully this opportunity will take my soccer to much greater heights. Like playing for a PSL or first division team,” he said.

Not surprisingly, Kennedy Mweene, the Sundowns goalkeeper, is his favourite Sundowns player. “He was goalkeeper of the season in 2009, and I hope to meet him and pick his brain a little about the position that we play,” he said. “I would like to ask him how he prepares himself before a match and how he keeps his composure during the game.”

Ofentse will be joined at the camp by his team mate Tani Mpusana, who is 17 years-old and a defender.  Tani says he is very proud to have been selected to attend the camp. “I am filled with a lot of emotions, I can’t really explain it in detail,” he said. “It really means a lot to me and I will try to learn as much as possible.”

Tani’s father Simon Mpusana, who has never played the game before, is more pleased than he is, he says, because he has been the one to encourage him to continue with the sport. “Hopefully when I come back I will have good news for him, like maybe being selected to attend trails for Sundowns.”

At the camp, Tani is hoping to learn about the basics of understanding how to defend and to attack. “I want to learn how to effectively communicate with my team mates, as that’s a problem when it comes to team work. I have noticed that many teams don’t play as a team, they want to shine individually and end up messing up the entire game for everyone.”

Tani was surprised, and happy to be selected to attend the camp. “I never thought I would make it because my performance was not 100%, but now that I know that I made it, I want to work hard at the camp and listen to all the advice that I will get from the coaching staff,” he said.

“I know that all the players will be going all out to be noticed, so I have been training hard and working at improving my strength,” he said. “I train 4 times a week and I play in local games to improve my performance.”

He is looking forward to meeting the Sundowns first team players and said it would be an honour to speak to them one on one. “ I see them on TV all the time and meeting them will encourage me to do better in my soccer career. I look up to all successful soccer players.”