Youngsters Motivated To Be The Next Football Stars

56 talented young footballers, individually selected from Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg by a core group of coaches, got their Nike Elite Training programme 2011 underway at the Nike Football Training Centre in Soweto this morning.

The Nike core coaching staff, under the astute leadership of former Bafana Bafana internationals Shaun Bartlett and Eric Tinkler began the difficult task of determining which four young players have what it takes to prove themselves worthy of winning exclusive training opportunities with three leading South African Premier League clubs.

The four players who display the key criteria that the coaching staff are looking for will all earn an opportunity to take in training sessions with Bidvest Wits, Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns. Should the players impress the coaching staff at these respective clubs there is every opportunity that they could earn themselves a lucrative contract and begin the journey of a professional footballer.

This is the kind of opportunity that Nike are affording to talented young players who might not have had the opportunity before. Nike have cast their scouting networks around South African and this has resulted in the unearthing of a determined group of players eager to grasp this opportunity that has come their way.

The morning session comprised of a thorough warm-up routine led by renown fitness expert Elsa Storm, which ensured that the players were suitably warm and stretched for the rest of the training that proved highly intensive. The Nike coaching staff did a series of fitness drills, followed by tactical and technical drills that were hand-picked from some of the biggest clubs in the world including the likes of Arsenal, Juventus and Barcelona. The morning session ended with the players being split into groups and playing a series of small-sided games.

Nike coach Shaun Bartlett was eager to stress that these footballers had a unique opportunity to forge a potential career in the game: “Many young footballers dream of opportunities like this but seldom have the chance to make it happen. Nike have provided a platform for these boys to make the most of their talent and prove that they have the determination, desire and will to succeed.”

During lunch, the boys were joined by Reyaad Pieterse, Jonathan King and Khayalethu Nzimande who previously took part in Nike Elite Training during 2010 and were three of the chosen four young footballers who came through Nike’s The Chance scouting programme and were afforded the opportunity to train for a place at the Nike Academy in the United Kingdom. Pieterse and King were both awarded one-year contracts at the Nike Academy and have just returned from the UK for the festive season. Nzimande subsequently signed for Bidvest Wits.

Having these young players in attendance and giving them an opportunity to share in  their experiences proved highly beneficial to the young players eager to grasp the same chance. Goalkeeper Reyaad Pieterse in particular has excelled in the United Kingdom and has already been given the opportunity to train with Tottenham Hotspur.

Says Reyaad Pieterse: “I believe that not every young player has what it takes to be able to live abroad, away from friends and family for five or six months at a time, but I am determined to make the most of my time. I want to make the grade, I want to be the best footballer that I can possibly be”.