Huge drive to unearth gems
Budding talent grab opportunity
ASPECIAL coaching cricket was hosted by Border Cricket at Winter Rose Park in NU13 Mdantsane on Tuesday. whole host of players, from KFC mini-cricket teams, to the age group hub teams as well as girl teams took part in the afternoon of cricket coaching which also saw a number of Warriors and Border players and coaches take part in helping out the kids.
“This is where we all started as cricketers, so for us to be able to come and do these type of things is something that we really enjoy,” said Warriors coach Malibongwe Maketa.
“For me personally this is where I started coaching with young kids as well, so from that point of view it’s always nice to give back and show the kids that they can make a career out of it.
“I started off playing mini-cricket and to have Warriors and Border players coming in to assess you and giving you tips really makes you believe that there are people out there who want you to do well and are there to help you if needed.”
The players and coaches put the kids through various drills and offered their insight while coaching the various teams taking part, giving the players helpful tips and help throughout.
Quite a few talented players were on show, proving the worth of the hub structures and KFC mini-cricket programme in the region.
“I am very impressed with what I saw, you can see there is coaching that has been done which is encouraging because at the end of the day most of these kids can’t afford to pay for private coaching and they really depend on this hub to operate at its best which it looks like it is doing,” said Maketa.
To this end Cricket South Africa (CSA) has been making it their mission to get communities more involved in the game.
As a step to achieving this goal CSA has formed cricket hubs and Regional Performance Centres (RPC) across nine provinces to develop and maintain effective cricketing structures from grassroots level right through to senior cricket.
“Unearthing talent in previously disadvantaged regions is a huge goal for CSA and the KFC mini-cricket programme as well as the hubs and Regional Performance Centres around the country are integral in us reaching our goals,” said CSA Hubs co-ordinator David Mokopanele.
CSA’s cricket development programme boasts 58 clubs, 195 full-time coaches, over 4 500 players, 464 feeder schools in townships and regional offices.
The hubs offer adequate infrastructure for practice and playing facilities.
A coaching system is in place, which only allows for the appointment of suitably qualified coaches and the RPC’s have a head coach who is Level 3 certified and an assistant coach who is Level 2 certified.
“The mini-festival cricket festivals that we host which sees about 800 kids attend each regional event is fantastic in identifying young cricketing talent and then it is up to us to get these kids into the hub structures and regional performance centres from there and nurture this talent,” explained Mokopanele.
“Our most important goal is to get the right people running the hubs and performance centres so that we know that the kids are in the right hands.”
The Border region alone has five hubs namely, Khaya Majola, Buffalo Flats, Mdantsane, Middledrift and Healdtown and things are definitely moving in the right direction with Border cricket and the Warriors firmly on board.
These hubs are now beginning to flourish and players are being filtered into the semi-pro and professional arenas from them.
“At the moment I am happy where we are and I can see the positive results coming through from all over the country, so we just need to keep improving and keep expanding until we can reach as many kids as possible,” said Mokopanele.