A
dream came true for the Under 12 football team from Blaauwskop Primary School
from the Northern Cape when they took their first steps on the road to London
after winning the Danone Nations Cup regional finals this past weekend.
This
past weekend saw two sets of regional finals in the Northern Cape being
completed with the next stop for Blaauwskop Primary School from the Siyanda
region and Willie Theron Primary School from the Pixley region being the
provincial finals happening at the Keismos Sports Stadium, Keismos on the 16th
March. Namaqualand, John Taole and
Frances Baard regions will be playing their qualifiers this week.
Coach
of Blaauwskop Primary School, situated on Kanoneiland, near Upington in the
Northern Cape, Johannes Julie, says the school played in the Danone Nations Cup
for the first time last year, when they made it through to the regional finals
where they lost to Upington Primary school in the quarter finals. “To qualify
for the provincial finals in our second year of participation has brought a lot
of confidence on the boys and I think that will help us a lot moving forward,”
Julie said.
“We
have worked on new strategies this year and it took a lot of determination and
commitment from the boys. Fortunately I had 7 players who were part of the team
last year, so that made things a little easy for me. I knew deep in my heart
that I would want to reach the regional finals again, but I didn’t expect to
win because we have strong teams in our region, including last year’s
provincial finalist Keidebees Primary School.
I am glad we have passed this stage and our eyes are now on the
provincial title.”
Jurie
says he sits with the team for about 30 minutes before each practise session
and talks to the boys individually trying to build their confidence. “We trained three times a week in preparation
for the regional finals and, although that was difficult, we will now continue
where we left off.”
The
challenge for the team, Jurie says is that most of the players live about 12 km
from the school and, as a result, he can only keep them for an hour after
school or else they will miss their last bus. “Sometimes there are only busses
three times in the week and on the days when there are no busses we don’t
train.”
Jurie
says that should they go all the way and make it to the finals in England this
year it would mean a lot to the boys. “They come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Most of their parents work on the farms in the area and the kids don’t even
venture out of Upington let along travel to the National Finals. I would like to see us get there as it helps
them see that the world is big and anything is possible.”
Jurie
singles out two key players in his squad. Randal Bonson, who was part of the
team last year, and is a disciplined player and a good attacking midfielder;
and Ambrosier Pretorious – also a midfielder whose pace and good passing make
him exceptional.
