Mpumalanga Secondary School hopes to compete at provincial level in the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup

With two games to go in the cluster level playoffs in the Emalahleni 2 Cluster in Mpumalanga, Mehlwane Secondary School are on track to end on top of their section and go through to the next level of the Kay Motsepe Schools Cup competition.

Mdu Skosana, the team’s coach and manager, explains that they have not had much success in tournament before, always eliminated in the early phases, but this year they have won three and drawn one of their games so far, which puts them at the top of the table, with two games to go.

“It’s been a psychological thing with the players, they have let themselves believe that if the previous team didn’t make it further they also can’t,” he said. “But, at the moment we are leading the log standings by 10 points and we are left with only 2 games to finish our cluster games and proceed through to the sub regional games. Things are looking good for us, but we don’t want to count our chickens before they hatch. We just have to remain strong and continue our game plan for the upcoming matches.”

Skosana said the players at the school are passionate about soccer and they understand that playing soccer is not always about winning, but they would still like to experience playing in the provincial and national finals of the tournament and be exposed to schools from other districts.

The cluster games have been smooth sailing for them, he explained and they even drew with Zacheus Malaza SS, who participated in the provincial finals last year. “We viewed them as our biggest competition, but we realised that they are no more competitive or stronger than our side,” he said.

Skosana said the main challenge they face is not having a proper soccer field to train on. “The school does have a pitch, but it’s not in a good condition, which makes it hard for us to train as much as we would like to.  We currently train at our local stadium when it’s available,” he said.

The team has a number of very talented players who Skosana regards as key players. “But I have to single out the captain, Aubrey Mahlangu. He is a versatile player who can play any position, but lately he has been the striker for the team and is currently our leading goal-scorer. He is one of those players that need to be exposed to academies.  It is a pity that we are in the outskirts Emalahleni.”

The teams participating in the cluster playoffs are:

Zacheus Malaza Secondary School, Empucukweni Secondary School,  Leonard Nthuntshe Secondary School, D.M Matsaosele Secondary School,  Mehlwane Secondary School, Mabdande Secondary School and Phillip Ndimande Secondary School 

Previous Danone Nations Cup champions take a step closer to repeating their past success

Daniye Primary School of Bushbuckridge go into the Mpumalanga provincial finals of the under-12 Danone Nations Cup competition determined to relive the glories of 2013 when they won the national title and represented the country at the Danone Nations Cup World Finals in London.

They will be taking on the province’s other regional winners at the Themba Senamela Stadium in Middelburg on 9^th May, and they have a new coach - Mr Gideon Theko – at the helm.

The school was eliminated before the provincial level last year and Theko, who joined the school as a teacher this year, said he has been following their soccer journey for a long time now and is glad that he has been the one to lead them into the provincial playoffs.

“I am passionate about soccer; I used to play soccer while growing up wishing that I could make a career out of it but unfortunately I didn’t reach the professional level so I opted for coaching,” he said. “That was in 1996, so I have 19 years of experience. I have no formal training in coaching and I use my experience that I gained from when I was a soccer player to coach the boys.”

From the first game this year Theko said he could tell that the boys really want to win the tournament this time. “They have been strong, determined and consistent from the beginning and I hope that they keep the momentum going forward. The team has been disciplined, they listen to my instructions and advice all the time, coaching them has been easy for me.”

The team is a completely new one and Theko said while it’s hard not to feel the pressure of wanting to repeat what the 2013 team did, there is the advantage of having the other teams feeling threatened by them.

The 2013 victory has had a positive effect on the school, Theko believes. The number of soccer players at the school has increased dramatically and the parents are more involved now.

“They want their kids to be part of the u12 team because they have seen the benefits,” he said. “There are currently 25 under-12 players who want to make the team. They know that not anyone gets to make the team they have to prove that they are worthy of being a part it.

“We are fortunate to have a great team of players who have natural talent and are thirsty for exposure. We will be selecting the starting line up on the basics: trapping and passing skills as well as the ability to shoot on target.”

Bohlabela Regional Results

Lehukwe 0 vs Daniye 3

Dwarsloop 1 vs Ximhungwe 0

Mashishing 0 (5) vs. Samson 0 (4)

Thulamahashe 0 (4) vs Marite 0 (5)

Daniye 3 vs Madile 0

Dwarsloop 1 v Mashishing 2

Daniye 2 vs Marite 0

Final - Daniye 1 vs Mashishing 0

The teams participating in the Mpumalanga provincial finals are:

Maminza Primary School-Ehlanzeni District

Daniye Primary School-Bohlabela District

Dumelani Primary School-Nkangala District

TBC-Gert Sibande District

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

DNC Partners:

North West School wins the Danone Nations Cup provincial trophy for the second time

Everything went according to plan for Kgetleng Primary School, when they were crowned the North West provincial champions for the second year running at the Matlosana Stadium in Klerksdorp over the weekend. Kgetleng beat Laerskool Rustenburg 1 – 0 in the final match to retain the title.

According to coach, Benjamin Ngcuka, the strategy was to win the first game of the day.  “Winning the first game gives the players that boost of confidence and sends a message to the other teams to be on the lookout for us and this is exactly what happened.  What also helped was the team’s dedication and hard work they have put into preparing for the provincials.”

In recognition of the team’s success the school held a special assembly said the coach.     “The school has been behind the team from the first game we played at cluster level, which helped give the kids confidence in their own ability.”

Experiencing the nationals last year was of great help to the coach.  “Although the team was new to the tournament this year, as the 2014 winning coach I was able to guide the boys because I knew what to expect.”

What is of great excitement to the coach is that two of their players were identified by Mamelodi Sundowns scouts:  “My entire team did well on Saturday but I am particularly proud of my striker, Kealeboga Moeketsi, and winger, Makhotla Jantjies, who both caught the eye of the Sundowns scouts that attended the games.  Hopefully they will perform well at the nationals and if they do join the Sundowns Development programme they will go through to Jo’burg next year.”

Ngcuka does not believe in sitting back and basking in the glory of being the provincial champions and it is back to work in preparation for the nationals.  “Last year I focused on my defence which cost us the title,” he said.  “So this year I am changing the approach completely and scoring goals is my focus.  I will also pay particular attention to building team spirit and get the boys all fired up for the nationals.  I know they will be nervous and I will make sure that do not let anyone intimidate them.”

Ngcuka is already analyzing his opponents: “I have been following the tournament since it began and I see that the Northern Cape and Free State 2014 winners will be back in action again at the nationals.  But the province I believe will give us a real run for our money will be Gauteng.  I watched Farraremere Primary last year and they were impressive, in fact I believe they should have won the nationals and if they are back again this year I know it will be tough for us.”

Results:

Seichokelo Primary 0 vs. Laerskool Rustenburg Noord 1

Kgetleng Primary 1 vs. Bophepa Primary 0

Kgetleng Primary 1 (2) vs. Seichokelo Primary 1 (3)

Laerskool Rustenburg Noord 1 vs. Bophepa Primary 0

Bophepa Primary 0 vs. Seichokelo Primary 1

Laerskool Rustenburg Noord 0 (7) vs. Kgetleng Primary 0 (8)

Final

Laerskool Rustenburg Noord 0 vs. Kgetleng Primary 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

DNC Partners:

Grey College moves a step closer to participating in the Free State Kay Motsepe Schools Cup Provincial Final

The Bloemfontein Cluster Games in the Free State Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, sponsored by the Motsepe Foundation and Sanlam, are under way and in action there is one of South Africa’s leading sports schools, Grey College.

Ludwig Koekemoer, the school’s sports co-ordinator is also the team’s manager, and he explains that the school has been participating in the competition for four years now, and each time they have been eliminated at the regional finals stage.

“I think one of our biggest challenges is that our team mainly consists of under-17 players, and most of the other schools field 18 and 19-year olds,” he said. “Physically our boys don’t match up to the others and that’s where we encounter problems. Further, our players are not as experienced.  However exposure to older players does make them mentally and psychologically stronger and they are learning to compete outside of their comfort zone.  That’s when we get to evaluate their growth as a team and individually.”

Grey won the prestigious St David’s Challenge Cup and the Waterstone soccer tournaments in Johannesburg last year, showing that they are competitive against some of the country’s top schools. “We just need to gain more experience in terms of playing outside our comfort zone,” Koekemoer said.

This year, he believes has to be different compared to previous years. “I think we need to focus on the players’ mental game. We need to build their confidence, which is the most important aspect when it comes to the mental side of soccer. Even though physically our players are not as strongly built as other players they need to know and understand that soccer is a mental a game at the end of the day. We are known as the school to beat when it comes to rugby, now we want to be known as the school to beat when it comes to soccer as well.”

In their first cluster game this year, Grey beat Sehunelo Secondary School 4-1. “The team is looking very strong at the moment.  We are going hard in our attacking, defending and shooting on target. I didn’t expect the team to win by 4 goals, it’s a lot especially for the first game of our cluster,” Koekemoer said.

“But this indicates that the team is ready and they have a positive spirit going into the tournament. Winning the first game has definitely set the tone for our next games. I am confident that the team will go further in the tournament this year.”

Grey College has its own soccer complex, with possibly the best school fields in the country so, Koekemoer said, it’s a challenge when they have to play away games, sometimes on gravel fields.

“That definitely causes problems for the players, because they are not used to playing on such fields. This year we have arranged for all our cluster games to be played at our school, because we know that getting a venue is difficult for schools that don’t have their own soccer fields.”

The teams participating in the Bloemfontein cluster are:

Grey College

Bloemfontein High School

Sehunelo Secondary School

Kopanong High School

Heatherdale Secondary School

Headstart High School.