Jessica’s back with a zip
Selected for the SA Fast Five team, this teacher is going to Australia
AFTER taking a twoyear break from netball, umgababa schoolteacher Jessica Khomo has come back stronger, faster and has now earned herself a spot in the South African Fast Five team.
“It means that my hard work is paying off. It is my first time being part of the senior SA squad. I’m really looking forward to representing my country, stepping up to the challenges and to growing as a player,” she said about her latest achievement, which became public last week.
The primary school teacher returned to the sport this year, after deciding to take a break to focus on her work and studies.
She said it was difficult forcing herself to stay off the court, as netball had been a part of her life since the early years of primary school.
“Unfortunately, not all of us, especially women, are able to make a living out of just playing sport because, no matter how good we are, we are either not paid or what we get is not enough.
“So, we still need to have careers, which means a full-time job with its own demands,” she said.
Khomo, 26, is the only player from Kwazulu-natal who will be part of the national team when it competes in the Fast5 Netball World Series, which will be held in Melbourne, Australia, in October.
In this format of the game, only five players are on court, not the usual seven, and they are required to cover more ground, much like rugby 7s.
“I was nervous that the break could have hurt my sports career and I was not going to be relevant any more, and would only end up at provincial level, so this is really an exciting time for me.”
She is already training hard, as she does not want to disappoint her teammates when they take on the world.
“Time management, through a set schedule, is crucial because I’m really passionate about netball, so I have to make it work. My day starts at 4am, when I leave home for the gym.
At 7am, I have to report for work. Extra-murals come afterwards, before a training session.
I normally get home around 7pm, depending on the nature of my extra-murals,” said the award-winning goal defender.
She said she was just as passionate about teaching as she was about netball, so she could not prioritise one over the other.
But one of the things she had to be at peace with was sacrificing sleep to ensure that she enjoyed the best of both worlds.
“I’m lucky my mother (Maphasika) instilled the value of working hard in her family, from a young age. For as long as I can remember, she was not home much because she had to work three jobs as a domestic worker to raise her two children and her siblings.
I always think about her life whenever I feel like I might be taking on too much,” Khomo said.
She said her second source of inspiration was her fiveyear-old son, Mpilo, who “makes every achievement worthwhile and makes me want to do better every time I play. I believe he would grow up inspired and never doubting his dreams”.
Khomo also credited her coach, Beauty Saunders, and the KZN Department of Sports and Recreation for their elite athlete development programme for her achievements.
“The programme has played a huge role with regard to my fitness and medical needs. For example, previously when I had an injury I would just sit it out until it healed naturally because I could not afford physiotherapy.
“But now I get medication and advice on how to look after myself and not worsen my injury, and it’s all for free,” she said. Grade 5 educator Jessica Khomo shows her winning form at the Our Lady of Fatima netball court during the week, Jessica was selected to represent SA.