Young players rewarded
Coach speaks from the heart at football club prizegiving
The boys and girls of Eleven Destroyers Football Club in Bathurst enjoyed their second annual prizegiving at the Bathurst Arms on Friday November 18. The club’s main sponsor, Vetpaw, was there to witness the youngsters receiving their certificates of appreciation.
Club coach Vuyolwethu Sontsonga emphasised that event did not mean the club was closing down for the holidays.
“We still have special programmes for those that who aren’t going away during this period. The main purpose of this prizegiving is to motivate the children to keep doing more of what they are doing. These are amazing young people [from whom] I learn a lot,” he said.
Speaking from the heart, he said the club had lost some players in the past year because of substance abuse.
“Drugs are killing this community,” Sontsonga said, explaining that he worked closely with social welfare organisations.
“I know how it feels to grow up in this small village called Nolukhanyo.”
Sontonga said it had not been an easy year, with a number of challenges for the club, but that he and the players had supported one another. His role was not only as coach: he also took his responsibility as a father figure to many of the children very seriously.
Sontsonga said substance abuse was a lived reality in Nolukhanyo Township.
“As small as Bathurst is, there are so many things that are happening. People are dying because of drugs.
“These players have dreams of making it in the future. They need to be active so that they stay away from these [destructive] things that are happening in the location,” he said.
Sontsonga went on to extend words of appreciation to the Pineapple Growers’ Association, local businesses, Vetpaw and Wellington Njadayi for their continuous support to the club.