WWE champ has learners on mat in awe
WEIGHING in at 109kg and accompanied by female wrestler Mandy Rose, WWE’s Apollo Crews turned the field at Cedar Primary School, in Bonteheuwel yesterday into a stage when he surprised the pupils during their Let’s Play Physical Education Challenge.
When the WWE stars, with Stormers players Bongi Mbonambi and Juarno Augustus, walked on to the sports field, pupils screaming in delight charged towards them with papers and shirts to be autographed.
Their presence drew the attention of curious eyes who peered through the school fence to see what the commotion was.
The stars arrived as part of the Let’s Play Physical Education Challenge project in conjunction with Unesco, which aimed at encouraging the youngsters to use sport to escape dubious circumstances that they may fall prey to.
“They brought in superstars in the community where drug abuse is huge.
“We don’t have lots of role models, so if we can bring in overseas people who tell them, ‘I grew up just like you,’ that’s great,” Cedar Primary principal Carlin Symonds said.
“It shows you don’t need to sit here in your circumstances, you can rise above them. We want our children to partake in sport. We have little sport here but want to develop a love for sport.”
Crews encouraged the learners to never give up on their dreams and told them to avoid negative criticism from bullies who may try to bring them down.
“People see stars and TV personalities and don’t realise we deal with real-life issues everyday.
“You have to chase your dreams, stay motivated and don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do it. You can achieve anything in life. All you need is a bit of hard work, some luck and you can make anything a reality,” said Crews.
Rose encouraged the pupils to engage in sporting activities, saying they would learn lessons that could be applied beyond the sporting arena.
“It teaches teamwork and communication, and I met a lot of the people I know today through sport. After college I started training to be a wrestler which led me to the WWE,” said Rose.
The stars encouraged the pupils to enjoy the Let’s Play initiative. The fittest of the Grade 4 pupils in each school will compete in the challenge, with the top three schools per province qualifying for the provincial semifinal, which will lead to an overall provincial winner.