Sebokeng enter uncharted waters
When he stepped down as Diphatsa Volleyball Club chairperson, Elijah Mosokotso thought he was ending his volleyball chapter.
It was an unceremonious departure for the volleyball administrator from the club that he led for five years as he was forced out by disagreements within Diphatsa.
In April, some people convinced him to set up a volleyball club and Sebokeng was born in Francistown. Sebokeng entered uncharted waters when the team made its debut in a national volleyball competition during the Liquid Open Championship.
However, the club received a baptism of fire when they lost four of the five matches they played in Pool A. Sebokeng played against giants, Kutlwano, Kalavango and Dynamites. But that did not dampen Mosokotso’s spirit of turning Sebokeng into a powerhouse.
“As a former Diphatsa chairperson for more than five years, I had taken a decision to step down as there were issues with the running of the club. Some in the leadership at that time set me down and we had a discussion. That is how Sebokeng came about.
I then decided to have Sebokeng as a private entity and of course, there is the involvement of the community in the club,” he said. Mosokotso said the club has both men’s and women’s teams.
He said the name, Sebokeng is derived from one of his projects. “As you leave Tonota along the A1
Highway to Francistown, you will see a road sign written Sebokeng Gardens.
It is an entertainment place where I am busy resuscitating it so that I can be able to help my unemployed players and also generate funds for the club as we do not have sponsors. Sebokeng Gardens is located in Shashe Bridge village,” Mosokotso said.
He said his club drew valuable lessons in the recent competition where the team was drawn against the giants of volleyball. Mosokotso said they knew that they were stepping into the lion’s den.
“Look, as a young team, we needed time to prepare for that tournament. Of course, we had challenges as some of the players stay outside Francistown in places such as Tutume, Mathangwane and Tati Siding.
That means training is costly to the club. We do not have sponsors but credit must go to the club leadership for being there for us,” he said. Mosokotso said the technical staff did well during the debut tournament, winning one match out of five that they played and claiming sets against Kalavango and Spiking Stars and two sets against Dynamites.
He said as a new team, he could not ask for more from his charges. Sebokeng was eliminated from the tournament after finishing in position five.
He said the men’s side finished in position four during the Botswana Volleyball Federation (BVF) Return to Play league. Meanwhile, the Liquid Open Championship games were cancelled last week due to bad weather conditions.
BVF president, Tsoseletso Magang said they had a free weekend, which means games that were to be played last weekend will be played this weekend.
Then other games will be pushed to the following weekend, with the finals on December 3 in Molepolole.
“When we reach that stage, the games will not be many and we will be able to use a hall. We postponed the games because we needed a venue, which had two courts and SSKB has been working very well. The sponsorship amount is not much, clubs are broke and cannot afford to travel out of town,” she said. Magang said the best option was to postpone the matches from last weekend.